Chennis Berry has been handed the reins of South Carolina State University football, and he couldn’t have been more excited.
The husky-voiced, animated coach was introduced as the next leader of the storied HBCU football program on Tuesday, days after the hire was confirmed by the Board of Trustees.
“South Carolina State. You’re talking about – to me, that’s the blue blood of college football, HBCU football,” Berry said. “I am HBCU. I’ve been on an HBCU campus since 1991. As a player and as a coach…I’ve been on an HBCU campus for the last 32 years of my life. I’ve been on an HBCU campus and I look at South Carolina State as the top of all top dogs.”
Berry, of course, inherits a program that has been an NFL factory for as long as he’s been alive. He says that he will look to recruit within a four-to-five state radius, but South Carolina will be the home base.
“This state of South Carolina has been amazing to the program I’m leaving from and I felt like it was a good time to be able to come in for South Carolina State,” Berry said. “You talked about players. I mean, I know that we won’t be short for talent in this state and there’s some talent on this football team already, and it’s my job to come and put my stamp on it.”
Berry inherited a 1-9 Benedict team when he took the job in February 2020. The team went 5-5 in his first season with back-to-back 11-0 regular seasons. He says he feels SC State has the tools to win quickly.
“It be cultivated because we can win. And I’m talking about winning now, not talking about winning. I’m talking about winning immediately and I feel like we can do that with the roster. And I got a chance to examine looking at the guys that we already have coming on this football team. We have a chance to be special. We have a chance to be special right away.
Chennis Berry was asked about the transfer portal, and he talked about retaining the players on the team.
“My job and our coaching staff’s job is to make sure that the experience that the young men have while they’re here is so rewarding that they don’t want to leave. Because ultimately they’re going to throw – these different higher level schools – are going to throw these opportunities, and most of the time is financial opportunities that these young men and they get excited about,” Berry said.
“While they’re here, we’re going to take care of love, treat them right and try to provide the type of environment that they want to stay here at South Carolina State University, because at the end of the day, you have to you have to understand that. That’s the real deal.”
Berry says some players will be leaving Benedict College and coming to Orangeburg with him.
“We won 22 games in two years,” Berry told the media. “So I’d be crazy not to bring some of those guys with me. So absolutely attitude and gratitude for those guys as well.”