Morgan State University Athletics

QUESTION: “Tough loss last week against the Pirates can you talk about the game?”
 
LEE HULL: “It was a tough loss. The Pirates came in an executed their gameplan. Offensively, we didn’t play well. We turned the ball over four times, two times in the red-zone, one leading to a touchdown and we missed two field goals. We didn’t play particularly well on offense. I thought the defense did a great job keeping us in the game. Special teams did well also, we had a punt return for a touchdown and a long one that was called back because of a penalty. So all in all, the defense played well; the offense didn’t show up.”
 
Q: “Coach despite the loss, what was the big takeaway from last week’s matchup?”
 
LH: “The biggest takeaway is that you can’t think that you are better then what you are. In this league it’s very tough. Everybody is equal. You have to come to play every single game. Hopefully this was a learning experience. We only have one loss in the conference, so we still control our own destiny. We just have to come back strong against a very good N.C. Central team.”
 
Q: “This week you will take on North Carolina Central, what are your thoughts on this pending game?”
 
LH: “It’s going to be a hard fought game. Last year’s game came down to the wire. We beat them in the last second on a two minute drive to win the game. Their coach [Jerry Mack] does a great job. He has those guys ready to play and believing in his system. They’re going to go come out playing hard, they never quit, and have a very good quarterback and running back, so we’re going to have to contain the run. On defense, they do a good job of putting pressure on you. They bend, but don’t break. I look forward to a very hard fought game this week.”
 
Q: “Can you talk about the growth of your team this far on offense, defense and special teams?
 
LH: “On offense, up until this last game, I thought we were going in the right direction, but we didn’t play very well last game which hurt us in the outcome of the football game. So I’m looking forward to see how they bounce back this week. It’s going to be interesting because we need them to play well. Defense, they’re getting better and better every single game. They are very hard to score on, they’re very aggressive, and I like the growth of our defense. Special teams, they are getting better. There are some we need to get better on, but all in all they are play pretty well.”
 
Q: “North Carolina Central may not get off to the best start, but they tend to get better in the second and third quarters. How do you plan to deal with that?
 
LH: “Well we are kind of similar. The last few games we haven’t gotten off to a good start. We have been kind of a second half team. This game we are pretty evenly matched. It’s going to come down to whoever can come out and have a great start. We have to come out fast and finish fast. Obviously, they’re going to come out in those second and third quarters like you said, so we are going to have to withstand that.”
 
Q: “Coach prior to last week’s game the teams that you beat were a combined 1-17, can you talk about that a little?”
 
LH: “We are still a young team and winning is still new for us. They haven’t really won a lot in the past before I got here. So we are still learning how to deal with winning. What comes with winning is everybody telling you how good you are and you cant believe that. I’m trying to get my guys to understand that you can’t listen to all the hype. So we have to work on handling the success we are having.”
 
Q: “I noticed that Lamont Brown didn’t play on Saturday can I ask why?” 
 
LH: “Lamont Brown is out for the remainder of the year. He has a torn ACL in his other knee.”
 
Q: “How much does that affect the running game, because the team had a nice rotation with Lamont and Orlando [Johnson]?
 
LH: “It defiantly affects it, but we are a ‘next man up’ team. Marcolm Banks is the next guy up, so he will be in the rotation with Orlando and I feel comfortable with those two guys handling the load.”
 
Q: “Does this put a lot of pressure on Orlando to sort of carry the load?”
 
LH: “No, like I said Marcolm is going to help him carry the load. Obviously Orlando is going to be the focal point, but we don’t put pressure on him. We have to design other ways for other people to help us.”