Post by Bornthrilla on Aug 14, 2011 9:57:25 GMT -5
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Hampton University hopes new locker room improves team chemistry
Daily Press
HAMPTON -- Something happened this summer that Donovan Rose hadn't seen in more than 20 years at Hampton University.
Football players attending a summer camp were shown the Pirates' locker room.
That may not sound like a big deal, but it was a noteworthy happening for Rose, a 19-year HU assistant who is going into his third season as Hampton's head coach.
"Since I've been here, since 1991, we've never shown a recruit the locker room," Rose said. "Never."
If a recruit asked to see the formerly cramped quarters, with freshmen and walk-ons shepherded to a separate room, Rose said, "I would just change the subject: 'We don't have time,' or, 'Maybe we can come back a little later.' "
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That's no longer the case. Rose presided over a tour of HU's newly refurbished locker room on Saturday, showing off rows of gleaming wood and lush blue-and-silver carpeting. Each player has a spacious cubicle, complete with a bar for hanging jerseys and hooks for helmets and a padded bench with a small locker underneath.
In the center of the main room, a huge HU logo is roped off.
"We don't want people to step on that," Rose said. "If we take (the ropes up), it still has to be sacred."
Rose, a 1979 HU graduate, was part of the Pirates' winning CIAA tradition and was an assistant on Hampton teams that won MEAC titles from 2004-2006. He wants the hard work of past players, and the pride they took in the program, to be evident in the team's gussied-up facility, which took a year to remodel.
"Hampton has created a reputation and a legacy, and the guys that are coming in now, they need to know that this is not just something that came out of the sky," Rose said. "This is well-deserved. So I think the guys appreciate it now. I think they're going to have more pride."
Senior quarterback David Legree, who transferred from Syracuse in 2008, said the new locker room is larger than the one he used with the Orange, and he expects the improvements to have an immediate effect.
"Camaraderie. That's the biggest thing," Legree said. "Being able to have fun in the locker room with your teammates and not having to worry about rushing out because it's small. It just builds that team spirit."
Legree's excitement about the new digs spills over into talk about the 2011 season, which kicks off on Sept. 3 against Alabama A&M at Soldier Field in Chicago. Fueling his optimism is the spread offense of new coordinator Willie Snead, hired to spice up an attack that averaged just 17.5 points in 2010.
"You can go three plays for 90 yards or you can go 12 plays for 90 yards," Legree said. "It's a true system. It's not, 'let's jump in this formation and jump to that one.'
" … I love this system and I love what it does for our offense. It helps the offensive line and it helps the skill players. The ball is in their hands fast. It's out of my hands as fast as possible and in their hands, and we have some playmakers."
One of those is sophomore running back Antwon Chisholm, who rushed for 607 yards and four touchdowns in earning MEAC offensive rookie of the year honors -- despite a knee injury in an Oct. 16 game against Norfolk State that required arthroscopic surgery in February, sidelining him during spring practice.
Chisholm is back in full pads and eager to see what he can do for an encore while playing for Snead, who coached him as a freshman at Glades Central (Fla.) High.
"It's a fast-paced system. They move me around here and there," Chisholm said. "This year, we're loaded at different spots and different positions."
That includes at linebacker, where Virginia Tech transfer Lyndell Gibson joins a unit already featuring Julio Sanchez, who had 98 tackles in 2009 before missing last year with a knee injury, and sophomore Delbert Tyler, who had 62 tackles as a freshman.
Gibson, who started 13 games and made 66 tackles for the Hokies in 2010 before breaking his shoulder in the ACC championship game, left Blacksburg after being found guilty in April of driving under the influence. He said he is happy at Hampton and isn't concerned about facing any added scrutiny there.
"I can't worry about it," said Gibson, who also said his shoulder is fine. "You've got to keep playing football. There's not as many eyes here as there was at Tech. It's not that big, (but Hampton) is a bigger opportunity. I still get to play the game I love to play. I'm still having fun like I always do."
With a shiny new locker room, a new offense and other changes – including new special teams coach Michael Villagrana, hired to address an obvious weakness last season – the Pirates were all about moving forward on Saturday.
"Me as a player, my confidence has been through the roof, and as a team, we're feeling good," Legree said. "There hasn't been a time when we've competed with the defense on a consistent basis since I've been here. (Now) every day is a battle with the defense. They'll win three plays in a row, we'll win three plays in a row, and it's back and forth.
"As an offense, we're definitely trying to put up a lot of points. I feel like we have the opportunity to do it this year, more than any other year."
Hampton University hopes new locker room improves team chemistry
Daily Press
HAMPTON -- Something happened this summer that Donovan Rose hadn't seen in more than 20 years at Hampton University.
Football players attending a summer camp were shown the Pirates' locker room.
That may not sound like a big deal, but it was a noteworthy happening for Rose, a 19-year HU assistant who is going into his third season as Hampton's head coach.
"Since I've been here, since 1991, we've never shown a recruit the locker room," Rose said. "Never."
If a recruit asked to see the formerly cramped quarters, with freshmen and walk-ons shepherded to a separate room, Rose said, "I would just change the subject: 'We don't have time,' or, 'Maybe we can come back a little later.' "
Text DPSPORTS to 71593 for sports alerts. Text BIGSPORTS for breaking sports news. Click here for other text alerts.
That's no longer the case. Rose presided over a tour of HU's newly refurbished locker room on Saturday, showing off rows of gleaming wood and lush blue-and-silver carpeting. Each player has a spacious cubicle, complete with a bar for hanging jerseys and hooks for helmets and a padded bench with a small locker underneath.
In the center of the main room, a huge HU logo is roped off.
"We don't want people to step on that," Rose said. "If we take (the ropes up), it still has to be sacred."
Rose, a 1979 HU graduate, was part of the Pirates' winning CIAA tradition and was an assistant on Hampton teams that won MEAC titles from 2004-2006. He wants the hard work of past players, and the pride they took in the program, to be evident in the team's gussied-up facility, which took a year to remodel.
"Hampton has created a reputation and a legacy, and the guys that are coming in now, they need to know that this is not just something that came out of the sky," Rose said. "This is well-deserved. So I think the guys appreciate it now. I think they're going to have more pride."
Senior quarterback David Legree, who transferred from Syracuse in 2008, said the new locker room is larger than the one he used with the Orange, and he expects the improvements to have an immediate effect.
"Camaraderie. That's the biggest thing," Legree said. "Being able to have fun in the locker room with your teammates and not having to worry about rushing out because it's small. It just builds that team spirit."
Legree's excitement about the new digs spills over into talk about the 2011 season, which kicks off on Sept. 3 against Alabama A&M at Soldier Field in Chicago. Fueling his optimism is the spread offense of new coordinator Willie Snead, hired to spice up an attack that averaged just 17.5 points in 2010.
"You can go three plays for 90 yards or you can go 12 plays for 90 yards," Legree said. "It's a true system. It's not, 'let's jump in this formation and jump to that one.'
" … I love this system and I love what it does for our offense. It helps the offensive line and it helps the skill players. The ball is in their hands fast. It's out of my hands as fast as possible and in their hands, and we have some playmakers."
One of those is sophomore running back Antwon Chisholm, who rushed for 607 yards and four touchdowns in earning MEAC offensive rookie of the year honors -- despite a knee injury in an Oct. 16 game against Norfolk State that required arthroscopic surgery in February, sidelining him during spring practice.
Chisholm is back in full pads and eager to see what he can do for an encore while playing for Snead, who coached him as a freshman at Glades Central (Fla.) High.
"It's a fast-paced system. They move me around here and there," Chisholm said. "This year, we're loaded at different spots and different positions."
That includes at linebacker, where Virginia Tech transfer Lyndell Gibson joins a unit already featuring Julio Sanchez, who had 98 tackles in 2009 before missing last year with a knee injury, and sophomore Delbert Tyler, who had 62 tackles as a freshman.
Gibson, who started 13 games and made 66 tackles for the Hokies in 2010 before breaking his shoulder in the ACC championship game, left Blacksburg after being found guilty in April of driving under the influence. He said he is happy at Hampton and isn't concerned about facing any added scrutiny there.
"I can't worry about it," said Gibson, who also said his shoulder is fine. "You've got to keep playing football. There's not as many eyes here as there was at Tech. It's not that big, (but Hampton) is a bigger opportunity. I still get to play the game I love to play. I'm still having fun like I always do."
With a shiny new locker room, a new offense and other changes – including new special teams coach Michael Villagrana, hired to address an obvious weakness last season – the Pirates were all about moving forward on Saturday.
"Me as a player, my confidence has been through the roof, and as a team, we're feeling good," Legree said. "There hasn't been a time when we've competed with the defense on a consistent basis since I've been here. (Now) every day is a battle with the defense. They'll win three plays in a row, we'll win three plays in a row, and it's back and forth.
"As an offense, we're definitely trying to put up a lot of points. I feel like we have the opportunity to do it this year, more than any other year."
