The success of Chennis Berry at South Carolina State is all too familiar. The dominant victories, defensive mastery, balanced offensive attack, and a conference-clinching regular-season victory against the second-best team in the conference is a story we’ve seen played out before. Although the location has changed, the main character has stayed the same.
Berry, a proven HBCU football coaching veteran who emerged from Savannah State University as an offensive lineman in the 1990s to one of the biggest names in HBCU football, has proven his model of success works. Berry and his Benedict Tigers terrorized the SIAC, going undefeated in 2022 and 2023 en route to conference championships and top rankings in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Berry’s philosophy took over the nation: go 1-0 each week and treat every day like it’s the start of the season.
The former Benedict coach then gets an opportunity to succeed a legend in Buddy Pough at South Carolina State and improves on the team’s win total from last season by four wins. His Bulldogs immediately clinch a birth in the Celebration Bowl, beating every conference contender that comes their way. Not even North Carolina Central, a perennial MEAC contender led by their talented and affable head coach Trei Oliver, could derail their pathway to success.
It was always clear that Berry would succeed at South Carolina State for those who paid attention to his run of dominance at Benedict College. His offensive and defensive philosophies along with his adept coaching staff and penchant for landing talented, blue-chip recruits was always going to pan out at the FCS level. But many tried their best to doubt his potential success, minimizing him to just being a former Division II coach who would have to pay his dues at the Division I level.
Berry spoke on it himself following his team’s dominant 53-21 victory in the Bulldog’s regular-season finale, captured by Chaz R Frazier of ABC Columbia.
“Look around. Nobody thought we were going to be here. But these guys, they believed from the beginning. Nobody on the outside…they said we bringing in all these D2 guys. We got this D2 coach. But I believed from the beginning, that we were putting young men together that believed in this process.
He continued, “I’m falling in love with it every day. That’s why I love each and every one of them. It’s not about all the people on the outside. Cause there are always going to be naysayers. But when you got young men, you put God first and you got young men that believe in the process of what we do every day and fall in love with the process.”
What Berry said was neither a lie nor a half-truth intended to motivate himself, the players, or his coaching staff internally. Berry, a highly sought-after prospect on the coaching free agent market, contended with the notion that his success was due to a perceived weakness in the SIAC and Division II HBCU football as a whole. Benedict’s appearances in the playoffs in 2022 and 2023 were held against him as a sign that Berry and his Tigers were only HBCU good but paled in comparison to schools with more resources and a sustained history of winning.
The premise was always faulty, as Berry’s Benedict teams were competitive in both of their Division II playoff matchups. Benedict’s 23-6 loss to Wingate in 2022 was a battle of two of the best defenses in Division II football that season. Nothing much separated Wingate and Benedict in that game except Wingate stopping the Tiger’s rushing attack, holding them to 38 yards on the ground. The game was closer than the boxscore made it appear.
The 2023 matchup between Benedict and Lenior-Rhine, now coached by Mike Jacobs—who transitioned from D2 to FCS and currently leads Mercer University—unfolded as a completely different narrative. Benedict entered the game as arguably a better team than they were in 2022, boasting a year of unprecedented success under their belt and upperclassman players who knew how to win. Benedict was once again ranked at the top of NCAA Super Region II with a talented defense that was one of the best in D2 football.
But Lenoir-Rhyne had success of their own. They were dominant, blowing out many of the teams on their schedule with a capable offense and stout defense. Their playoff resume speaks for itself in 2023: 63-17 win over Shepard and 35-7 win over Valdosta State before they lost 55-14 to the eventual Division II National Champion Harding Bison. Benedict was one of their best opponents last season, controlling a good portion of the game before Lenoir-Rhyne ultimately battled back into the game and eventually won 35-25.
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Benedict was who we thought they were in that game, stout defensively with a dangerous balanced offense that could put up points. Yet, many in the HBCU space looked to use Benedict’s playoff losses to insinuate that Berry wasn’t ready to win at the FCS level. Yet, he had the same level of success in the MEAC and he and his team are concluding their HBCU football season in Atlanta, just as Benedict did in 2023 en route to their second straight SIAC Championship.
I couldn’t understand how people didn’t see the success of Chennis Berry coming. It was inevitable. Buddy Pough personally recruited him to be his successor and Berry created recruiting inroads in South Carolina that he could certainly act on now that he would be a Division I coach. If Berry wasn’t successful in his first season it would’ve been more shocking. His Division II success mattered and was clearly the blueprint for his success in the MEAC.
The success of Chennis Berry and South Carolina State in his first season should dispel the notion in HBCU football that it is a big drop in talent amongst players at the division two level. Caden High, Deondra Duehart, and Eric Phoenix, who was recently spotlighted by Pat McAfee, aren’t just “D2 good” and they showed that each week this season. And, in front of an audience of millions on ABC during the Celebration Bowl, Berry’s “D2 players” will prove their immense talent.
Berry’s success should also dispel the notion that Division II coaches who have success or dominate at the Division II level aren’t ready to lead FCS programs. There isn’t this miraculous drop in play from Division II to FCS football amongst the top programs. What worked in Division II football can work in the FCS.
Sure, not every D2 Coach will find success at the FCS level for many reasons but coaches such as Chennis Berry can succeed when given the opportunity. Time, place, situation, and the talent of the coach and his staff should matter. But, Berry will show you better than he tells you on the biggest stage in HBCU football: the Cricket Celebration Bowl.
