The Delaware State football team has not had a winning record since 2012, and after a 4-2 start turned into a 5-6 finish last season, changes were made within the program.
That started at the top with Lee Hull replacing Rod Milstead as Hornets head coach. Hull is no stranger to the MEAC as he served as Howard’s offensive coordinator last season and, as head coach at Morgan State, led the Bears to the FCS playoffs in 2014. He sees similarities between that Morgan State team and this Delaware State team as he begins his first season in Dover.
“They’re tired of losing. They want someone to come in and lead them,” Hull explains. “When you walk into the first meeting and everyone’s sitting up straight, all eyes are on you, and the players want to win, it’s a great feeling.”
Hull’s immediate goals are improvement as a football team, and they’ll have their first chance this weekend when CIAA contender Bowie State visits Alumni Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.
“You don’t know where you’re at until you play your first game,” he said. “Success for us is being more disciplined, being fundamentally sound, and people seeing our program going in the right direction. It’s about how we play and perform each and every week.”
Coming into the game, Hull was pleased with the competitive nature of his team in fall camp and scrimmages.
“What I like about our team is they’re hungry, and they compete,” he says. “We’ve had spirited practices, and that’s what I look at. Our scrimmages were pretty even, a lot of give and take.”
And the coach also knows how tough Bowie State will be, regardless of their Division II status.
“When I coached at Morgan State, those guys led us 3-0 at halftime,” Hull recalled with a chuckle. “We won the game, but we had to understand if we don’t come to play, we’re going to be in a dogfight. We’re expecting that because Bowie’s a good team that’s won their conference and made the playoffs.”
