No. 6 – Mississippi Valley State head coach Karl Morgan
Through the first two years of the Morgan regime the Delta Devils have gone an FCS worst 1-20, including a winless campaign in 2010.
However, 2011 featured a glimmer of hope and possibly good things to come for Mississippi Valley State even though the team suffered through another losing season.
While the 12-9 win over Texas Southern last October snapped a dubious streak, what was more impressive was after losing their previous 14 games by 10 or more points, four of the last seven games to close out the regular season were decided by seven points or less. Three of those games featured narrow defeats at the hands of Southern, Jackson State and eventual SWAC champion Grambling State.
Morgan, who since taking over for Mississippi Valley great Willie Totten, has consistently talked about changing the culture, molding his team into a legitimate contender in the SWAC Eastern Division.
“We got closer last year and actually won a game,” Morgan said during SWAC Media Days. “We’ve got 24 seniors back and they’re starting to believe good things can happen.”
With renovations to Rice-Totten stadium underway and significant financial investments to football operations taking place, Morgan and his program appears to be in a better position than they were just a few short years ago.
No longer do they want to be regarded as the doormat of the SWAC.
Even though the 2012 schedule seems to be another grind for MVSU, Morgan and his staff is hoping the momentum gained from the progress made 12 months earlier will translate into more confidence and more wins.
Morgan and this program — more than any other in the country — can’t afford to stay stagnant or take a step back.
