Morgan State University Athletics

MEAC TELECONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT
WEEK 2 – Sept. 3, 2013
MSU Head coach Donald Hill-Eley
 
QUESTION - Last week you faced Army, can you talk a little bit about it?

HEAD COACH DONALD HILL-ELEY – “It was a great matchup. I thought that our guys played well minus some mistakes and a turnover, which made it a totally different ball game, but that’s what comes with that first game. We went in knowing that we were going against probably one of the most recognized and disciplined teams in the country. This was the first game and they didn’t have any penalties --  we completed the first half with eight plus a turnover. When you play teams like that running off of eight to nine play drives, a triple option and up a division those types of mistakes become an Achilles heel."

Q - The Bears offense recorded over 300 yards versus Army, how do you assess the offense after game 1?

COACH HILL – “Coach Gregory had a great plan for them. We wanted to keep their offense off the field to be able to have some matching drives and we were able to do it. We were over fifty percent on third down conversions and when we had opportunities to get extra yards we did. Being able to get those yards but not points only helps in one degree but we have to get in that box, finish those drives and put some points on the board. Being the first time we took the offensive game plan out against a Division I star opponent like Army, to have done as well as they did I am really impressed with my team."

Q - Looking ahead this week you face Robert Morris, talk about this pending game…

COACH HILL – “Robert Morris is a team out of the Northeastern Conference; we played them a couple years back. Coach Joe Walton does a great job of making sure those kids are sound on defense and special teams, blocking, tackling and things of that nature. We are playing them in their arena around ceremony time for their Hall of Fame, so we know they’re very enthused and pumped coming off of a loss to No.19 Eastern Kentucky. You can see that they have some talent, but as always we have to make sure we go and make corrections to the mistakes made in the first game and find a way to get into the end zone. We are definitely looking forward to the contest and are feeling good about it!"

Q - I saw the game on television verse Army, can you talk about the play of your quarterbacks as well as your running backs?

COACH HILL – “We feel that our running backs did a great job. We have at least three that can run the ball hard pound for pound on just about every attempt, Lamont Brown III, Orlando Johnson and Herb Walker Jr. Our quarterbacks have always been sufficient, Seth Higgins does a great job orchestrating and moving the offense. He’s also a big gun kid who can throw, and then you have Josh who can extend plays and make things happen with his feet as well as his arm. I think that those two guys along with Moses Skillon who we hadn’t had a chance to place on the field give us depth and I think that it’s only going to get better as the season continues to move along."

Q - What did you do defensively to shut down the triple option, particularly the quarterback who ran wild early on?

COACH HILL – “Coach Holmes and the defensive staff had a plan for them, once you draw it up the players have to execute what has been gone over in practice to be effective. We were in position to stop them but we kept coming up short. However, as the game progressed we made a few changes in personnel to stop the bleeding. Coach Holmes also did a great job with keeping the defense energized forcing the Army offense to become unbalanced. When you go into a place like that with 4,000 cadets behind you raising oil cans with cannons going off it felt like we were in one of the 8^th Wonders of the World. For our guys to have been able to realize that they can play the way they did on that high of a platform, it was a totally different ball game coming out of the locker room."

Q - What did you learn about your football team after this game?

COACH HILL – “I always knew that our guys would play hard and never quit. We have always played good offense, good defense, and running the ball. Seeing them play together with a lot of class was great. They represented the program very well and the conference by just playing our brand of football on a national platform. Army is the first team that I have ever played against that did not have a penalty or a turnover in the first game, whether it was things questionable or not, it just wasn’t called. We told our guys that some of the fouls that we had were controlled fouls like being offsides and alignment, those are mistakes that can be fixed. We are really going to take a lot from that game going into the next."

Q - Can you talk about Coach Walton and what you know about him at Robert Morris?

COACH HILL – “Coach Walton has added a lot to our game from being a player to being the coach of the Jets and just showing longevity at one place. You know Robert Morris evolved from no scholarships, two to three coaches, but now being a fully outfitted Division IA FCS program it’s a great thing that he’s been a part of all of that. With him getting ready to retire it will be great for him to be able to look across the sideline and see some of his protégés continuing to further the program."