Damon Wilson hit the ground running as Morgan State football coach last summer, and even with the program in flux, the Bears still won 4 games in 2022, the most since their MEAC championship season of 2014.
Now that things have settled down on Cold Spring Lane, Wilson is ready for the Bears to hit the field for 2023, starting this Saturday at No. 18 Richmond.
“We’re playing a top 20 team in the country. It’s a great opportunity for us,” Wilson said. “We have a tough nonconference schedule and then roll right into a tough (MEAC) conference schedule. If you want the recognition, you have to beat those teams.”
To beat Richmond and anyone else on their schedule, Wilson stresses that clean football will give the Bears the best chance to win.
“You want to be penalty-free. You don’t want to have any self-inflicted wounds in your first game. You want to give yourself a chance to win the game,” he says.
Wilson, who had a successful run of CIAA championships and NCAA Division II playoff appearances at Bowie State, has had the benefit of a full off-season with his team, an advantage he believes will make them a stronger team.
“We got started pretty late last year, but now that we’ve had a full offseason, I know what they can do, so now it’s our job as coaches to put them in positions to be successful,” he said. “We’ve had a year to lay down that foundation, and the guys have done a good job buying into it. Our team GPA was around 3.0, which is a step in the right direction. I think when you win off the field, it leads to wins on the field.”
Wilson and his staff’s plan is one of pride and accountability, one he believes will lead to more tremendous success.
“We had to change the mindset. The guys in the program hadn’t seen success, and there’s only one way to be successful – that’s through hard work and commitment,” he said. “Let’s just focus on being the best Morgan State team you can be. When you put on that Morgan uniform, make it mean something to you. Represent it the right way and with a good heart, and often good things happen for you when you have the right intentions.”
