Berry back, excited for new-look ground attack

By Hunt Palmer

While a new offensive staff came from Ole Miss to LSU, Harlem Berry‘s position coach headed to Oxford.

With Frank Wilson, a lifelong relationship, gone, doubt crept in whether or not Berry would remain at LSU after a promising freshman season.

He did.

“I wanted to come back here,” Berry said. “So, just knowing that they wanted me back here was a great feeling. I’m still here ready to work. Nothing is earned. We’re just out here working right now.”

In a way, the process went a lot like his recruitment. Berry burst onto the scene early in his high school career and was dubbed the top running back in his class by On3. He torched the prep scene in New Orleans at St. Martin’s and had offers from every major program in the country.

While plenty of options presented themselves, only one represented home.

“This is my hometown,” Berry said. “I’m from Louisiana. I’m from New Orleans. All I knew was LSU. I committed to LSU. When I was getting recruited, I was trying to fake like I was going to go somewhere else. But I always wanted to come here.”

As a freshman, Berry averaged 4.7 yards per carry and amassed 491 yards and a pair of scores for the worst rushing offense in the SEC. He showed flashes of his talent late against Ole Miss and early against Texas A&M, but LSU’s system and execution never allowed for the ground game to excel. It was a learning process.

“What I took away from that, coming from St. Martin’s to LSU, was just how fast the game is, how fast everybody is, even the d-linemen are pretty fast,” Berry said. “They get after you. How fast the game moves, the different types of plays, the physicality.”

Enter Lane Kiffin.

At Ole Miss, Kiffin’s Rebels finished fourth nationally in rushing touchdowns and ran the ball more than 38 times per game. Kewan Lacy earned All-American honors and was second in the country in rushing scores.

Two weeks into spring football, Berry senses an exciting difference.

“This is definitely a different type of offensive scheme. A lot of different things I’m seeing, getting out of the backfield in routes in space is something we’ve seen a lot. I’m loving it.”