Chennis Berry is set to make his debut as a Division I HBCU head coach at South Carolina State on Saturday against FAMU.
The former Savannah State offensive lineman has spent the last three seasons turning Benedict College into a powerhouse at the Division II level. The team went 11-0 in the regular season in each of the last two years claiming the SIAC Championship after a 5-5 inaugural season in 2021.
Berry’s success may have seemed overnight, but it was a journey nearly 30 years in the making. He bounced around at HBCUs at the Division II and FCS level for decades before finally getting his shot at Benedict, and he made the most of it.
“I was never worried about the next job. I just wanted to be the best I could be at the job I had,” Berry said of his journey on the MEAC football coaches call. “ And at the time, I was a OC/O-line coach, which a lot of times that doesn’t happen you know, a lot of times they give the OC play-calling jobs to the quarterback guys, man. But I was one of the few offensive line coaches and play callers in America for the last 15 years.”
He was pursued by several HBCUs looking for a head coach after the 2023 season, but ultimately headed less than an hour down the road in Orangeburg, SC. He takes over for Buddy Pough, who spent more than two decades as its head coach. He was hand-picked for the job by Pough and he’s aware of the awesome legacy he inherits at the school, which has had just four head coaches in the last 50 years.
“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be the head coach now at South Carolina State University,” Berry said. “I’ve been following South Carolina State for a long, long time. You know, as a player and as a coach. And I’ve been knowing about the Bulldogs and the tradition. You talking about 18 (champion)ships, man, you’re talking about since 1974.”
Transisitoning from Benedict to South Carolina State
Berry retained many of the top players for South Carolina State, including stud middle linebacker Aaron Smith and the entire offensive line. He also brought in several of his former Benedict players. Since being hired in December he has been putting his imprint on the program and building a sense of cohesiveness around the program
“The guys bought in and to what we’re doing and how we’re doing, we had the opportunity to have a spring ball, offseason workout, situation, as well as have summer weekly bond together. We had about 70 of our guys here this summer just kind of coming together and then obviously have a training camp where we had some guest speakers, things of that nature, a lot of team bonding because for us i t’s about the team.”
One player who followed Berry from Columbia to Orangeburg is quarterback Eric Phoenix. Well, sort of. Phoenix took the scenic route to SC State, spending a season at Murray State after propelling his career at Benedict College. However he got there, Berry is glad to have him as his starter heading into Tallahassee.
“He can make every throw. He’s a true dual-threat guy,” Berry said of Phoenix. “The growth and maturity that I’ve seen him since he left the program, when you get a chance to go to Murray State, he was able to see some different things and how other people does things – so he was able to bring some ideas of some of the things that they did at Murray State as well.”
FAMU presents big challenge at home
Looking forward, Berry, Phoenix and South Carolina State have their work cut out for them. Not only will they go up against the reigning HBCU national champions – but they will face the program with the longest home-winning streak in the FCS.
FAMU does have a game on its belt – something Berry and his team don’t. That also gave them a chance to observe FAMU’s new starter, Daniel Richardson, who made his debut in the team’s 24-23 win over Norfolk State last Saturday.
“(Richardson) did a very good job of managing the game. You look at Richardson and you know that’s what he did – manage the game. He didn’t make mistakes. He didn’t he didn’t turn the ball over. He did a good job of just taking what the defense gave him and that’s definitely a challenge. Whenever you have a quarterback you have a chance.”
Berry went on to say he observed Richardson’s poise, which he credited to having played quarterback proficiently at the FBS level.
“He’s not going to do anything to put them in bad situations. So I thought he was very efficient,” Berry continued. “He got the ball to his open guys. And more than anything we always tell the quarterback ‘don’t turn it over.’ And he did a good job of not turning it over to the team. So we have a big time challenge.”
SC State and FAMU are scheduled for a 6 PM kickoff. The game will be broadcast on ESPN Plus.