Preseason No. 1 Hampton aiming higher
ROSCOE NANCE
Special to the BCSP
Coach Joe Taylor has developed one of the premier college football programs in the country during his 13 seasons at Hampton University.
With 17 starters and 46 lettermen returning from last season's 10-2 squad that shared the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference title with South Carolina State and 12 preseason all-conference selections on hand, Taylor is cautiously optimistic about Hampton's prospects for the 2005 season.
They are the No. 1 team in the Black College Sports Page
preseason Top Ten, just ahead of defending
Southwestern Athletic Conference champion
Alabama State and Grambling State.
"We've got to stay focused,'' Taylor says. "We've got to stay healthy and make sure we don't put Hampton on our schedule. We can't let distractions get to us. We can't listen to the fact that just showing up is going to be enough. The key is to remain focused and not to forget what got us where we are.''
The Pirates, the defending SBN Black College National champions who were rated just behind Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference winner Albany State (11-1) in the final BCSP ranking, have won six conference titles in Taylor's 13 seasons as coach (three as members of the CIAA and three since joining the MEAC). But their run of success hasn't extended to postseason play. They are 1-6 in the I-AA playoffs, including a 42-35 first round loss to William & Mary in 2004 after leading 13-0.
Taylor doesn't dwell on Hampton's previous postseason shortcomings, but he acknowledges that one of the Pirates' goals is to make amends for their collapse against William & Mary.
"This is their goal, to avenge what happened last year in the first round,'' Taylor says. "A lot of things go into it. When you score 35 points, in my mind you should win. Once the kids have been there and see what it takes, it should be to your advantage if you get there again. Experience is something that you can't overlook or pay for. When they left the field last Thanksgiving, I could tell they were disappointed with the outcome. They know they do belong and they can get it done.''
However, Taylor says that the Pirates' program isn't defined by postseason play, and that Hampton doesn't need to win in the playoffs to validate itself.
"You start off and you want to win all the championships, even IAA,'' Taylor says. "I don't look at it (the playoffs) as a monkey on our back. We've had 150 guys who have graduated. We want to get it done. But the world is not surrounded by winning IAA. We'd love to win it. We want to win it. But we're not going to let (not winning it) say that we have not been successful.''
The Pirates, picked to repeat as MEAC champions, ranked No.12 in the Sports Network preseason poll. Their defensive unit, which has nine of 12 starters returning from the group that led I-AA with 43 forced turnovers, will be critical to Hampton's success.
"You hope your strength is defense,'' Taylor says. "That's where it all begins. If you play defense you always have a chance.''
Middle linebacker Justin Durant, the MEAC preseason Defensive Player of the Year and reigning defensive player of the year, is Hampton's top defender.
The Pirates will feature a big, athletic defensive line. It will be anchored first team all-MEAC senior defensive end Micah Littlejohn and tackle Marcus Dixon and end Kendall Langford, a pair of 6-6, 275-pound sophomores also named to the all-MEAC team. Corner backs Mike West and Calvin Bannister are bulwarks in the secondary, which is bound to be tested after giving up several big plays in the Pirates postseason loss and in light of the difficulty opponents are likely to have running the ball.
On offense, the Pirates boast one of the top tandems of running backs in IAA in Alonzo Coleman and Ardell Daniels. Each rushed for more than 1,000 yards last season but were held to a combined 85 rushing yards in the playoff game. Coleman is the MEAC preseason offensive player of the year.
The Pirates also have proven players on special teams. Punter Cameron Muro and placekicker Andrew Paterini are first team preseason all-conference as is Marquay McDaniels, who plays wide receiver and was among the nation's leaders in punt returns last year.
But Taylor says the Pirates' offensive productivity will be determined by how efficient their passing game is. Senior quarterback Princeton Shepherd, another preseason All-MEAC pick, is the triggerman. McDaniel, Dereck Faulkner and Onrea Jones are his prime targets.
"If you run the ball all the time, they're just going to put a lot of people in the box and try to shut you down,'' he says. "It's going to be important to stretch the coverage, keep people out of the box and allow us to throw the ball as well as catch it.''
© 2005 Azeez Communications, Inc.