Chennis Berry made Benedict a champion. Now he wants to do the same for S.C. State.

During South Carolina State University’s first team meeting under newly hired coach Chennis Berry, he showed his team a PowerPoint presentation that included a picture of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, where the Bulldogs took home the Cricket Celebration Bowl title in 2021.

To most, reaching the Celebration Bowl was a lofty goal for a first-year head coach with a brand-new roster composed primarily of Division II football transfers from Benedict College, Berry’s former institution, and for a program coming off of two consecutive losing seasons. However, Berry was operating with the end goal in mind.

He never brought up Atlanta again after that initial meeting, but just over a year after his hiring, South Carolina State (9-2 overall, 5-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) will make its second Celebration Bowl appearance. The Bulldogs will face Southwestern Athletic Conference champion Jackson State University on Saturday.

“We want to do simple better,” Berry said at a Celebration Bowl news conference Sunday. “That’s kind of our philosophy. Our thing is, the separation is in the preparation. We have to make sure that when we come to work we have a mindset of 1-0. Anybody that knows me knows we just want to win today. Obviously we had to fall in love with the process rather than the outcome of getting there.”

Berry credits his faith and his philosophy of falling in love with the process of becoming better men, on and off the field, as the driving force behind his success at every historically Black college and university where he has coached, from Southern University to Benedict and now South Carolina State. 

As offensive coordinator at Southern University, Berry won a SWAC championship in his first season in 2013. Berry also won two consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and two conference Coach of the Year awards as head coach at Benedict.

South Carolina State’s win over Norfolk State on Nov. 23 to clinch the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) championship earned the program its 19th conference championship and MEAC Coach of the Year honors for Berry, adding his name to a list of successful South Carolina State coaches that includes Willie Jeffries, Bill Davis and Buddy Pough, who have earned similar accolades.

“[South Carolina State] is no stranger to winning championships. They’ve been dominating for a long time, so the pedigree is already there. It’s my job to come in and put my stamp on it,” Berry said. “One of the things that I wanted to make sure I did when I got here was just continue to build on the traditions and the things that they’ve been doing well.”

Berry methodically built South Carolina State’s football program. He started by addressing weaknesses in the roster, recruiting for depth at several different positions. He also retained three members of Pough’s coaching staff and added other coaches that fit his vision for the program.

“I want different ideas but men with shared values. … They have to treat my players the right way,” Berry said. “They have to love them just like I love them. They have to coach them in our culture.”

Outside of recruiting high-level talent, Berry wanted a coaching staff that also knew how to develop players. He tells his coaching staff daily that turning good players into great players is the difference between good and great coaches.

Getting players and coaches on one accord also was at the top of Berry’s priority list.

“As the head football coach, it’s my job to get buy-in from our staff, and then also you got to get buy-in from the young men and our coaches,” Berry said. 

“It’s about us making sure that we put our young men in a position to be successful, and they go out and execute.”

Berry strong emphasizes the trust and relationships he builds with his players. Those bonds are why quarterback Eric Phoenix, wide receiver Caden High and several other players from Benedict felt comfortable following Berry to South Carolina State.

“You always going to get the same Coach Berry,” High said. “It’s never going to be an off day with him. That’s just somebody you can commit to as a player. At the end of the day, football is going to be football with him, and he’s already going to be ready to coach and be who he is.”

Keeping his faith at the forefront, Berry starts his coaches’ meetings with prayer. Berry prefers gospel music in the morning on a playlist that includes the Mississippi Mass Choir and Mahalia Jackson.

When Los Angeles Rams cornerback Cobie Durant, the 2021 Celebration Bowl defensive MVP, returned to his alma mater for homecoming in October, he was impressed by the direction of the Bulldogs under Berry. He also felt South Carolina State would be special this season after the Bulldogs’ close loss to reigning Celebration Bowl champion Florida A&M University earlier in the season.

“The atmosphere is a little different there,” Durant said. “I was just telling some of my homeboys that was on the sideline, ‘Man, I wish I had just one year to play for this coaching staff’ because he got the fans engaged. He has a rah-rah type of style. He’s got more enthusiasm.”

USC defensive analyst Skyler Jones worked with Berry at Southern from 2015-17. Berry was the Jaguars’ offensive coordinator, and Jones was a graduate assistant before being promoted to defensive line coach. Jones described Berry as a pious man who loves his players fiercely but isn’t afraid to push them to become better men.

Berry’s immediate success at his coaching stops hasn’t surprised Jones.

“Coach Berry, his energy is contagious. His energy makes me want to run through a brick wall for him. Not only is he a coach, but he’s [also] a pastor [and] he’s a teacher,” Jones said. “He’s always trying to find ways to push you, to make you the best version of yourself. … He’s a conference champion, and just talking to him, the job is not finished. It’s not just [playing] in the Celebration Bowl – he wants to win it.”

Pough and Berry were offensive linemen in college, and were previously offensive line coaches. The two became further acquainted while Berry was at Benedict. He gave several speeches at a South Carolina touchdown club where Pough was a member.

Pough said Berry’s methods, techniques, play calls and coaching style convinced him before he retired that Berry would be the right choice as his successor and would continue South Carolina State’s winning legacy, which includes two Black college national championships under Pough.

Berry and Pough spoke occasionally during the preseason and regular season, with Pough serving as a resource for Berry.

“If you do all of what you’re supposed to do, over and over again, at that point, man, you know, it becomes second nature to you. That’s his whole deal,” Pough said. “We hired him because of who he is and what he does. He just needs to keep doing it just like [he’s] been doing it.”

In the two weeks since the Bulldogs’ last football game, South Carolina State has gone back to the pad-level fundamentals of football, working on tackling and studying film on Southern University and Jackson State while awaiting the result of the SWAC championship game.

After Jackson State’s victory, Berry and his team are prepared to face off against a balanced Tigers’ offense. With coaching experience in the MEAC and SWAC, Berry is confident his team knows what to do to leave Atlanta with a Celebration Bowl win on Saturday.

“Don’t turn over the football,” Berry said. “Win the penalty battle, win the effort battle, win the turnover battle, win the explosive battle, and if you feel like you win all four battles, [you’re] gonna have a chance to win the football game.”