Bert Berry Goes Home

Bert Berry

Bert Berry has been looking forward to this for quite a long time now. It is finally his turn to go home.

In fact, the senior will experience two homecomings, so to speak, this season. Tomorrow, when the Humble, TX native takes the field of Memorial Stadium, it will mark his first game in the Lone Star State since the 1994 Cotton Bowl.

"I'm just excited to go back," Berry said. "I've been waiting for this game for a long time. I've known it's been on our schedule since freshman year."

And while this is the sort of homecoming that Berry will enjoy for a few days and maybe gain a handful of warm memories from, he has already had the pleasure of another and probably more lasting homecoming this year. He has returned to his "home" on the football field - the position of rush linebacker.

"I really do consider it my home. It suits my abilities well." It also suits his personality well.

The role calls for an attacking, aggressive, animalistic sort of demeanor. It is a persona that Berry, who stands 6-foot-3 and entered the season weighing 245 pounds, has no trouble portraying on the field. "He's a wild maniac out there," classmate and close friend Lyron Cobbins said. On the field, his face hides behind a darkly-tinted sunshield and his hands ready to inflict bodily danger upon all who get in his way. He's not the kind of guy opposing quarterbacks like to meet. On the quad, though, it's another world. His face beams a smile and his hands ready to greet anyone along the way. He's exactly the kind of guy you'd like to meet.

"Off the field, it's night and day with Bert," Cobbins explained. "When he's not playing, he's very sociable."

One might diagnose Berry as a sort of schizophrenic when it comes to his on-the-field, off-the-field variations, but he attributes it to something else.

"You can't really carry that stuff over onto the field," the senior said. "You are supposed to be aggressive and reckless and I have always been a shy, quiet, to-myself-kind-of guy. I take pride in that. I don't like to talk about football off the field. I try to live and treat people like I would want to be treated."

But as evidenced by his three sacks and 10 tackles thus far in 1996, Berry's role in pads is to seek and destroy. It hasn't always been so simple.

In large part due to his immense athleticism, Berry earned starts in 4 late-season games as a freshman. At that point, his specific role was still undefined.

But as Berry put added muscle between freshman and sophomore year, it became apparent that his future was at the rush linebacker spot that new defensive coordinator Bob Davie put emphasis on. Berry responded with six sacks in 1994, including three against Stanford's Steve Stenstrom. His tremendous potential was within reach. And then Kory Minor and the move came.

Minor, a highly touted freshman in 1995, merited a starting linebacker slot. Since the rush spot requires a bit less experience and in-depth knowledge of the system, Berry was shifted to the more complex drop spot in favor of Minor.

While his stats were down and many critics wondered if the shift would stunt Berry's growth, the 1996 Lindy's pre-season first-team All-American thinks it actually helped.

"It has helped my overall game," Berry admitted. "When I came here, I was more of a one-dimensional player. Having to drop and go into coverage has helped me. Of course, I would have wanted to play rush but whatever helps the team is best."

Now, with Minor having a year of seasoning, Berry is back where he belongs - at rush.

"This has been a position that I've wanted to play since I followed (Texas) A+M (growing up). I've always loved that position and I think it's exciting. You can be a playmaker. It's something I've waited for awhile."

The wait for his literal homecoming, the Texas showdown, has been just as anticipated.

"There are some bragging rights at stake," said Berry. "They've been waiting on us because last year, we beat them pretty good last year and they want to turn things around. We need to approach it like we approach every game. It's going to be a tough environment. "The hardest part about going home is getting tickets for all your family. Being able to go home and play in front of family and friends is incentive. That will help."

Berry and his fellow Texans (5 defensive starters) know the immediate importance of the contest, but they also are quite cognizant of its' more important consequences.

"We have a good shot at the national championship "This game is going to have a lot to say about the national championship," Berry declared.

And Berry is going to have a lot to say about Notre Dame's shot. The linebacking corp that includes Minor, strong-side backer Lyron Cobbins, and weak -side backer Kinnon Tatum is among the hard-hitting and best in the nation.

"The Headbangers", a moniker they gave themselves during the spring of 1995, thrive off each other, especially the seniors (Berry, Cobbins, and Tatum).

"Lyron, Kinnon, and myself came in here together and we have been friends all four years. We've just gotten closer every year. When you go out there, it's almost like 'I don't want to let them down'. We go out and play for each other. It helps when you're out there and you have to make certain checks because you have confidence and you know that they are going to get the job done."

Next year, Berry hopes his job will be in the NFL, but right now, it's all about sacks and wins - not necessarily in that order. "I';ve always taken pride in making sacks. I like to set the standard pretty high. I said to my fellow linebackers that I want to average two a game. That would make 24. If individual awards come, then so be it but our primary goal is to win a national championhip." It all starts at home.