Tigers Wrap Up Spring Practice With Purple-Gold Scrimmage

COLUMBIA., S.C. – The Benedict College football team will wrap up their spring with their final practice on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium with their annual Purple-Gold Spring Game, which will really be more like a practice and scrimmage, according to Head Coach Chennis Berry.

The scrimmage was open and free to the public.

"The number one goal is to get out of there healthy, and to go out and execute," Berry said. "We still want to get some of the young guys reps and opportunities, and obviously we want to be sharp. We always want to do what we always do and be great and win the effort battle. We want to not turn over the football, but at the same time we want the defense to try and create turnovers. We want to have explosive plays, but at the same time on defense, we want to eliminate the explosives. At the end of the day, we want to be sharp and execute. We're not going to be out there long, only run a few plays."

The Tigers return 15 starters from last year's SIAC championship team. One of the main things the team has focused on this spring is getting some of the young players more repetitions and experience during practice.

"We have a lot of returning guys, and we don't get them as many reps because we kind of know what they can do, but we still want to polish their skill sets," Berry said. "I'm excited about a lot of young guys and putting them in game-like situations, and I feel like they've really gotten better.

"More than anything, I'm excited about the young guys getting reps," Berry said. "Specifically, the defensive line. The defensive line is one of our strong suits. We've got most of our defensive line coming back. But we've also been able to rep a lot of the young defensive lineman we've had who were just sitting back and they were on the scout team last year. They've been getting a lot of reps, which is going to create depth on our defensive line. I'm excited about our offensive line. We lost some starters on the offensive line, but a lot of guys who played in backup roles last year are now stepping up to the next role. I'm excited about those guys as well."

Among those young players who have stepped up with additional playing time is Israel Rhodes. The freshman is moving from wide receiver to running back, and Berry thinks that will be a good addition to an already talented group of running backs.

"Our running back room is explosive as ever. We moved Izzy Rhodes from receiver to running back, and he's been a highlight, really stepping up and making some plays in the backfield," Berry said.

A lot of eyes will be on the quarterback position, where the Tigers will be looking for a new starter. Zavien Foster, who started two games in 2021 as a true freshman, and Zayshaun Rice have both been in Benedict's system for two years. Kendall McKoy, a transfer from Gardner-Webb, is learning the system, but has been impressive with his deep throws.

"The best thing is they've been getting reps," Berry said. "Zay Foster has really, really been stepping forward. To see his growth in the 15 practices, we're super excited about Zay Foster. He's really starting to increase his urgency, taking care of the football and managing our offense. Zay Rice, another young man who has been in the program, he's been on the scout team, but he's got a chance to maximize his reps, and he's been doing a good job. Then Kendall McCoy, a transfer quarterback, he's still learning. Things are coming to him. He definitely has arm talent. And help is on the way. We have some quarterbacks that we've signed coming. We're going to have a really good quarterback room in the fall of 2023."

Saturday wrapped up spring practice for the Tigers. They will return in late July for preseason practice, and the season kicks off on Sept. 2 against Shaw in the Carolinas Classic.

I'm very, very pleased with the practices we've had. The guys have really bought in," Berry said. "Overall, I think a lot of guys have experienced growth. Growth comes with reps. There's nothing more valuable to a coach than experience. The guys have been maximizing their reps."