Morgan State University Athletics

MEAC TELECONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
WEEK 1 - Aug. 27, 2013
MSU Head coach Donald Hill-Eley

QUESTION - Talk a little bit about the Morgan State Bears …

DONALD HILL-ELEY – “Well you know we’re very excited about taking the field and about the season. You know we’ve been here going against each other during training camp. The young men returned to camp in great shape and the recruiting class. We had the third ranked recruiting class in HBCUs and it actually shows out there on the field with the speed and the depth that we have. So we’re real excited about this upcoming year. “

Q – Last year the Bears quarterback position was managed by two players that combined for over 1,500 yards, with both players returning this year can you talk a little bit about their individual roles?

HILL – “The thing about it is both of those young men are different in the way that they play. The good thing about it is they both have from the past couple of year’s great experience, so now we’re going into the season with two seasoned quarterbacks with Robert Council and Seth Higgins. Those two young men have been doing a great job all camp during the scrimmages of just protecting that football and moving their offense through different transitions.”

Q - Looking ahead this week you face Army, talk a little about this upcoming match up.

HILL – “Well you know again it’s probably the first time our program and the conference has gone against one of these military institutions, and we’re looking forward to that. There’s been a buzz all summer about going up to play Army very prestigious university, and to be a part of it during a Labor Day weekend and to be on CBS Network is great for our university, and for our program. For our young men, as we take the field we’re going against the number one ranked rushing offense in the country. They led the country in rushing last year and do a good job with time of possession on the offensive  --  and they also are a little undersized, but they play with a lot of heart and very fast. As always we have our work cut out for us verses this FBS opponent and we are looking forward to the contest.”

Q - Can you talk about the guys you expect to kind of come in and help you this year?

HILL – “With the class that we have, and we definitely thank you for following our program actually our ranking camp from your information. Those young men that we have coming in that have made an immediate impact are: Ricky Fisk a quarterback out of Port Arthur, Texas, Landon Marlbrough a wide receiver out of Beaumont, Texas, Ramos and Isaiah Lewis out of Dallas, Texas, Josh a running back . They bring so much speed to our game that is much needed in various areas; they’re also a host of them that help us out on special teams as well as offense and defense. We feel good about the guys that returned but to be able to add competition in the various positions will definitely help us.”

Q - You faced some adversity towards the end of last season, does that go away a little bit now that the season is starting? Do you still think about it or have you put it to the side and your main focus is the season?

HILL – “Well the thing about it is as a coach you stand before your young men all the time and talk about adversity, this is what the game teaches you when you face adversity, and this is how it’s going to help motivate you when family reaches crisis as coaches we are not exempt from that. So when you go through adverse situations sometimes you have to lead from the preaching about what you need to do about the learning about. I had to sit down with some of the players and lean back on some of the things that were taught to me as a player and you move on. If you continue to deal with what happened to you and never look forward to what is about to happen, you will never move forward. And just being human none of us are exempt from adverse situations you just have to prepare for how we’re going to respond to it. Being human you think about it but you’re either going to think about it, and let be your downfall or motivation. Everything that happened to me I use it as fire, it’s coal to the fire for me and has been motivating me to put forth my best effort and to continue to do what I need to do.”

QUESTION - The commission that has been put together to bring back the program, talk about that a bit.

HILL – “Well I was excited when the president formed the committee to restore the greatness because when you are in this profession and you are doing it the right way, people can’t ignore that. And when you see truth it’s got to be dealt with. And I’m sure there are things that we could have changed as a program here and there but there are a lot of other infrastructure things that we need help with. Whenever you bring outside eyes in and people that are not so close to the program they’re able to see things a little differently, and I was excited about it! As the committee continues to meet, whatever recommendation that they make to the program to move this program forward I’m excited about it because I know once they find the truth and it’s dealt with something will have to be done.”

Q - For a couple of years now you’ve always played a 1A opponent Army this year and Buffalo was last year, how good is this game financially for the university? Also, how good is it for you in terms of helping you to compete in the MEAC and what are some of the main concerns that you have about Army? 

HILL – “The thing about having an opportunity to play these FBS teams is that it does a couple of things. First thing it does is it gives you a platform to sell your university. On a larger scale I look at playing these contests as if it’s just like having a debate team because you get a chance to go into these places to show what you have. It also helps with recruiting, and being able to play those games in that region gives the scouts something to see; student athletes going up against high ranking opponents is very beneficial on both ends of the spectrum. Monetarily it does well with being able to bring those size purses back that are normally bigger than any gates that we have which adds to the overall scheme of things. Now we’ve evolved from playing one FBS to FBS teams but you don’t want to get to the point where you’re traveling like the Temptations and performing in every city so now when it comes down to getting things done you’re wore out so you have to decide whether you’re going to be a fundraiser or a competitor. Right now because of financial crisis we have to do what must be done to generate money for the entire athletic party not just football, you have a lot of other sports that benefit from those purses. As I tell the guys sometimes you have to go into very unusual circumstances to feed your family and that’s what we’re doing. We are going in but we’re not going in limp or with any expectations other than winning. We’re preparing for them the same way we prepare for anybody else in our conference.”

Q - How did you feel about your team this year compared to some of the other FBS opponents you’ve played? What are your main concerns about Army?

HILL – “The biggest concern when you’re going against a team like Army we had to really fix their triple option to Alvin Wyatt who left from down at Bethune-Cookman because they probably ran it best in the conference. But when you look at those teams like your Georgia Southern’s they run a four down offense, when you look at their stats they’ve ran the ball on 4^th down over fifty times. With that being said you’re looking at a very typical game with a lot of chop blocking and a few other things that you normally don’t see every game. You have to contain the game and keep it in front of you and force them to play different type of game on offense and find where you can take advantage to close them out in the end. With Army they’re not the size of the normal FBS opponents they we go against but when you watch the tape because of their size they’re moving faster in the offensive and defensive line which creates blocks faster. Having a 260 pound lineman coming at you, he’s coming a lot faster than the 300-pounder that you’re used to facing in these type of contests.”