The Berry brothers, as individuals Elliot [Elliott*] and Evan have become known in recent years [Awkward wording], seemingly have just a bit to live up to at Tennessee based on what their father James, and brother Eric, have done [Passive -- replace "have done," with "did."] before their arrival in Knoxville. [Consider rewriting this lede -- it's kind of wordy/awkward.]
James, a tailback from 1978 to 1981, finished his career with more than 1,700 yards rushing yards, 19 rushing touchdowns and was the captain of the 1981 Tennessee football team that went 8-4, but was the first team eight-win team in eight years. [R/O sentence.]
Then came Eric from 2007 to 2009. Two-time All-American, All-SEC, top-five overall NFL draft pick, Jim Thorpe Award winner, [No comma, use "with," instead.]245 career tackles [ and 14 career interceptions] in three seasons,[Replace comma with a period.] 14 career interceptions[Remove.] and[Remove "and," start new sentence with "The list. . ."] the list could go for a mile.
But,[Replace "But," with "However. . .] that didn't scare away either of the youngest Berry's[Possessive?], both some of the most talked about recruits since their brother was on The Hill.
"I try not to think about it and just do what I can do," Evan Berry put it last week when several freshmen met with the media.
Added Elliot[Passive, Elliott*] in the same tone, "That's not really on my mind. I'm just trying to do the best that I can do."
But, it's hard not to think about it when your brother's pictures and [Remove "and," replace with a comma.]trophies and awards are throughout the Anderson Training Center and the Neyland-Thompson Center.
Even though they[Incorrect pronoun -- should be "he."] may not think about the legacy set before him by his talented family members, Evan admitted that he does see [Remove "does," use "sees."] it as something to try and strive for. [Wordy, remove "try and"]
"I kind of embraced that," Evan explained. "It's always good to have a milestone in front of you and great goals ahead of you, especially that's made by your family members[Comma] and it's just a good experience to have goals to reach."
There are plenty of milestones to be reached on the defensive side of the ball where both Evan and Elliot are projected to play.
Evan is starting out at cornerback [Comma -- used in situations when while means whereas.]while Elliot[Elliott*] is playing nickel, a touch of linebacker,[Non-essential comma]and safety,[Add "which is"] the position where his brother excelled.
Neither of the brother[SP, "brothers"] said they felt any pressure to live up to what had come before them even though[Remove "even," and use " , though they. . ."] they both recognize what the expectations will be for them as well.
"It's just one of those things that are understood," Elliot said. "My dad just said do the best that you can do. I just want to do me.[No ending quotation marks.]
"I feel like I already have my own name because my name's not Eric, either. I feel like I'm already going to make my own path,[Remove comma, and replace it with a semicolon] it's just whether it's going to be positive or negative."
Even though neither expects themselves to be their brother, they stay in touch with him often and talked with him before making their way to Knoxville in late May.[Awkward segue at the start of the paragraph -- consider using "Nevertheless," instead of "Even though. . ."]
"I talked to Eric before I came here and he just gave me the basics of college, keeping up with your school work, staying on top of your plays and really just being smart, because it's the real world now and you have to make smart decisions," Evan said.
Added Elliot, "We probably talk two or three times a week. [Attribution is passive and incorrectly placed at the beginning of the sentence.]We don't really try and bug each other too much,[Use a semicolon instead of the comma.]we've both got a lot to do. He's working out getting ready for his season,[Missing the conjunction "and"]I'm working out getting ready for mine."
Both brothers have already been praised for their work ethic[comma] and Elliot has been praise[SP, "praised"] for his understanding and study[Switch to "study and understanding"] of defensive schemes, even[Awkward transition -- replace "even," with something like "fueled by. . ."] watching more film than anyone on the team in April and May,[Remove comma]while he was still at Creekside High School.
"I was just interested in what type of coverages they were running and what type of things go on. It's just one of those things that will help me learn on the fly," Elliot[Elliott*]said. "Watching it so often makes it become like second nature so watching it has helped me when it comes to seven-on-seven and conversations in the film room."
While both Berry brothers have embraced what being a 'Berry' at Tennessee means, they have also bracing[Change "bracing," to "embraced"] for[Remove.] another challenge of being a Vol legacy;[I would use a dash or a colon instead of the semicolon.] trying to bring Tennessee back.
For the Berry brothers[Needs a comma -- introductory clause.] the concern isn't living up to the hype, it's about making Tennessee, 'Tennessee' again,[Replace comma with semicolon]that's what being a legacy means to them.
"I think I feel like, especially since all of us are legacy guys, Tennessee has always been close to our hearts," Elliot[Elliott*] explained, "so just the fact that we're in the position and have the opportunity to put Tennessee back on the top, it's just a big deal to me."
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IMO, JMO.
