Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley doesn’t have to continually remind his players of their goal of winning a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title any more — they do it for him.
“Before you had to sell them on the fact that they didn’t want to be part of a losing tradition and they just wanted to be competitive,” Hill-Eley said. “I hear them talking about championships, but I see them doing extra laps, I see them putting in extra time in the weight room.”
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The Bears, coming off of consecutive 5-6 seasons, have their sights set on a MEAC title and automatic berth in the 16-team Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. Morgan State’s six losses last season, were by an average of 6.5 points, with none by more than eight.
Offensively, the Bears must replace Chad Simpson, the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year last season. The leading candidate to fill the void left by Simpson, who signed with the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent, is redshirt sophomore Devan James, who rushed 418 yards and two touchdowns on 85 carries last season.
And the Bears should be in plenty of tight games again this season, as they return eight starters from a defense that ranked second overall in the FCS. Morgan State yielded 20.5 points per game, but gave up a meager 267 yards, including just 136.1 per game through the air — tops in the country.
The secondary expects to be even better this season with the addition of Illinois transfer, redshirt senior safety Jody Ellis. The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder already has a reputation among teammates as a hard hitter.
Senior linebacker Jarrell Guyton also is expected to be a playmaker for the Bears. Guyton was among the best in his position in the league last season, posting 62 tackles — including 3.5 sacks and 15.5 for a loss — in just nine games.
“Everybody stayed over the summer helping people out, when people were hungry we helped them out, we are like a big family,” Guyton said. “[The close losses] pushes you to work harder.”
And his coach is ready to put that hard work to the test, starting on Sept. 6 at Towson.
“Guys are making a commitment to work together,” Hill-Eley said. “We are looking to reap those benefits.”
