Safeties in the NFL can run near Olympic speeds and must read the plays immediately.  The safety position is one of the most difficult positions in football and one of the best players at the position is Eric Berry of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Eric Berry is not just the highest paid safety in NFL history, a two-time pro bowler, the 2009 Jim Thorpe award winner, and the 2006 Georgia high school player of the year. He is also afraid of horses and is one of the nicest guys that you would ever meet on a football field.

Last Friday Eric Berry came to Liberty North to speak to the sports marketing students about careers in sports. He walked into the class just looking like a normal guy. He wore Adidas sweat pants and an NFL sweatshirt. He talked a bit about himself and then the rest of the time he answered questions.

Eric Berry graduated from Creekside High School in his hometown Fairburn, Georgia just outside of Atlanta. From there he went to the University of Tennessee where he continued to overpower his competitors and collect award after award. After his third year at Tennessee, Berry declared for the NFL draft where he was drafted fifth overall by the Kansas City Chiefs.

Eric Berry answered questions about everything from contract negotiations to apparel deals to the upcoming season. Eric answered the questions very professionally while still having fun. As I left the room, I shook his hand and asked him if we were going to make the playoffs this season. He then said, “Oh yeah, for sure.”

The lesson from this is that the professional athletes are the best at what they do and they do make millions of dollars, but they are just people and many are just kids right out of college doing what they love most.