Football Player Feature

Tay Berry By Joey Mullins Samford Athletics

If anyone on the Samford football team could say they were born to play football, it would probably be graduate defensive lineman Tay Berry .

Like a lot of college football players, his involvement with the game started at a very young age . He said a couple of family members were influences in him starting to play .

“I started playing football when I was around six years old,” Berry said . “I was introduced to it by my dad . It was something where they just wanted me to get tough and I stuck with it ever since then and I’ve had a bunch of mentors throughout my life . I had a cousin that was playing football at the time that influenced me, but he’s gone now, he died about two years ago . But he was playing football, he played nine years, he just influenced me to keep going . He was a mentor to me . ”

His love of the game of football started at that young age . But what was different about Berry is he mostly stayed with football only, barely trying other sports .

“I tried basketball,” Berry said . “But my heart wasn’t in basketball the way my heart was in football . ”

Berry said, even at that young age, he felt like he understood the game quickly after picking the sport up .

“When I first started playing football, it was nothing to me and it stuck with me,” Berry said . “Football is a big part of my life . I know football like the back of my hand now, I’ve been doing it for a long time . I know the ins and outs of football . ”

Berry is a native of Flora, Mississippi, and he attended Madison Central High School . In his career for Madison Central, Berry accumulated 121 tackles, nine sacks, three forced fumbles and 13 quarterback hurries . He was a two-time team captain and two-time All-Region team member . As a senior, he was named first team All-State, tallying 53 tackles, three sacks, seven tackles for loss and one fumble recovery .

When Berry was going through the recruitment process, he almost missed the opportunity to come to Samford .

“One day I was working out, going through offseason training for high school and I got a phone call, and I actually missed the call,” Berry said . “I checked my voicemail, and it was Samford . He was like, hey, I’m calling from Samford and just wanted to let you know we were reaching out, so when I

returned the call, he told me he wanted to offer me a scholarship here . Samford offered a scholarship and Southeast Missouri State offered me a scholarship . But when I came up here, my parents fell in love with the school, I fell in love with the school . It just grew on me, and I felt like it was the place God wanted me to go . So, that’s where I ended up going . ”

Berry came to Samford in the fall of 2018 as a freshman . That season, he played in five games, tallying six tackles, including one solo stop . Berry said it was a tough transition from high school to college football, but he says once he caught on, he felt comfortable playing at the college level .

“It was a big challenge because once I got here, I wasn’t the biggest, the fastest guy on the field, every guy here was either as big or bigger, as strong or stronger, faster,” Berry said . “I had to adjust because the speed of the game was 10 times faster than high school was . I think I got my feet wet as a freshman and then I started playing more and more, once I got my feet wet, I was fine with it . ”

As a sophomore in 2019, Berry saw action in eight games, contributing 13 tackles, including four solo stops . After the fall of 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Berry and the Bulldogs played a season in the spring of 2021 . The Bulldogs played just seven games that spring, but Berry started all seven contests, finishing the season with 26 tackles, nine solo stops and two and a half tackles for loss . In the 2021 fall season, he started nine games, playing in 10 contests, tallying 30 tackles, nine solo stops and four and a half tackles for loss .

So far this season, Berry has played in all eight games . He has contributed 22 total tackles, two and a half tackles for loss and one fumble recovery . The Bulldogs enter today’s game against VMI with an impressive record of 7-1 overall and 5-0 in Southern Conference play . Berry talked about how he feels he has improved during his career at Samford .

“My knowledge of the game has improved a lot,” Berry said . “I know so many different things that I wish I knew when I was in high school that would help me be successful . My awareness in football has gotten better, I learned to take studying film more seriously, that helps me a lot in my game . Breaking down film, recognizing blocks, recognizing offensive linemen’s stances, all those things have helped me tremendously and that has been a big area of growth for me . ” Prior to the 2022 season, a new defensive coaching staff was brought in, led by defensive coordinator Chris Boone . Berry’s position coach as a defensive lineman is Darien Moody, also in his first season at Samford . Berry talked about how this season has gone with the new defensive staff . “There’s a tremendous difference,” Berry said . “It’s more physical, you’ve got to take pride in doing your job . It’s a three-down front, so they’re trying to block three guys with five people, sometimes six, so we’re going against two people at a time, and we’re taking pride in doing our job and taking each play, play-by-play . This defense here, we are all brothers and we’re going to do what we do for the guy next to me and the guy next to him and we’re just going to lay it all on the line . ” Berry has already received his degree from Samford in sport administration, and he is currently working on his MBA . Berry said when he finishes at Samford, he would like to stay involved with the sport he loves . “My goal is to continue playing as long as I can,” Berry said . “As long as God lets me play, I’ll continue playing . Whether it’s NFL, CFL, XFL, USFL, any of those leagues, I’ll continue playing football . That’s how much I love playing ball . And also, once I’m done playing ball, I just want to give back the knowledge I have to guys that are younger than me and that’s why I want to go into coaching . At the college level or the high school level, it doesn’t even matter . I want to start at the college level and then maybe retire at the high school level . ” Berry’s love of the game of football is obvious when talking to him . Once his playing career is over, whether that is from college or professional football, there is no doubt he will be a positive influence on the young men he coaches .