It looks like a harmless black rat snake. I picked one up a few days ago. It tried to strike me once, then it calmed down pretty quickly. My sons was holding it for several minutes. It never struck at him at all. It was approximately 4.5 feet long. Beautiful creature. The biggest I've caught was just about 6'.
Some snakes are more inclined to strike and poop on you. Mature Garter snakes are very defensive. Water snakes will strike at first but are quick to calm down. Supposedly Racers are pretty defensive too. We've caught lots of the first two. I've never found a racer. The bites don't hurt if you happen to get nipped. In PA we only have two venomous snakes species. But its very easy to tell different snakes apart with a little bit of studying.