Born and raised in San Jose, California, Berry played football at Willow Glen High School, where his father was a longtime head coach.

[3] At Oregon, Berry teamed with future Pro Football Hall of Famers Mel Renfro and Dave Wilcox and led the Ducks to three consecutive winning seasons.

In the balloting for the Heisman Trophy won by John Huarte of Notre Dame, Berry was thirteenth, just behind Joe Namath (Alabama) and Gale Sayers (Kansas).

[4][15] Berry played three seasons with the Vikings, the first two under head coach Norm Van Brocklin, himself a former Oregon quarterback, and was primarily a reserve behind Fran Tarkenton.

[16][17] Following the 1966 season, Tarkenton demanded to be traded and was sent to the New York Giants for multiple draft picks and Van Brocklin stepped down as head coach.

[19] In training camp in 1968, Berry was behind Kapp and Gary Cuozzo (acquired in a trade with the New Orleans Saints) and missed the final cut in early September.