It was a hectic spring football season for new Mississippi Valley State coach Karl Morgan and his staff.
Morgan was hired just three weeks prior to National Signing Day and had just finished assembling his coaching staff when spring training started a few weeks ago.
The Delta Devils put a wrap on spring drills Saturday with a scrimmage at Rice-Totten Stadium. It was Morgan's final chance to evaluate his players before a 31/2-month layoff until fall practice.
"I am pleased to see that we've made some strides, but we still have miles to go," Morgan said after watching his offense get a late score to tie the scrimmage at 17.
But just because Valley is putting up its pads for a while doesn't mean Morgan will get a break. He will likely work even harder as he tackles three main goals for the offseason: develop a quality strength and conditioning program, recruit more players and raise money to help offset his program's meager budget.
All three are vital to turning around a losing program, and none of the three will be easy. But you've got to like Morgan's spirit as he tries.
"I knew exactly what I was getting into before I came here, and I wouldn't have come if I didn't think I could get the job done," he said.
The first thing will be to find more players. MVSU had about 44 players dressed out Saturday, with only six subs on the defensive side.
With the late jump in recruiting, Morgan started behind the eight ball and was never able to recover. He has inked eight guys after not signing any players on National Signing Day.
Valley can't make it through a season with less than 20 defensive players. Heck, no team could, especially not one that hasn't finished higher than eighth in the SWAC in total defense or points allowed in the last three seasons.
The Delta Devils need help on defense in the worst way. They need talented, speedy, aggressive guys who can make a difference. But where do you find those guys this time of year?
Most players worthy of a college scholarship have long been scooped up. Morgan is hoping to find some guys who slipped through the cracks in the recruiting process.
Good luck.
Second, money is a big issue for all Southwestern Athletic Conference teams - but especially Valley, the poorest program in the 10-team league.
In the final two years of Willie Totten's eight-year tenure as Valley's head coach, it was well publicized in this paper that MVSU - due to a lack of funding - limits itself to 39 scholarships, whereas the other nine SWAC schools use a full allotment of 63 as allowed by the NCAA for all Division I-AA schools.
Morgan, the former defensive coordinator at North Alabama, was well aware of that when he interviewed for the job. He said during a public forum at Valley he had plans to raise money for the program.
That process has already begun. Morgan says he has already raised nearly $9,000 from donations from people he either played with in the NFL or has coached with in college.
"We want to be as first class as our money will allow," said Morgan.
Last, but not least, is making the players big, stronger and faster.
Under Totten, Valley never seemed to make much progress toward a solid offseason training program. Of course, that's hard to do when you don't have your own training facility. Players have to lift weights in the student health center, and that makes it tough to stay organized.
Morgan seems committed to overcoming these odds because he understands that good teams are built as much in the offseason as they are during the season.
"You can really make strides with an organized strength-and-conditioning program, and that's what we want to have and will have," Morgan said.
It's going to take a lot of work and dedication for Morgan and his staff to overcome these challenges, but it can be done.
Of course, a little help from alumni and fans could go a long way.
n Contact Bill Burrus at bburrus@gwcommonwealth.com.
