Delaware
DeSean Jackson, Hornets relish chance to be better as MEAC football begins
DelState coach DeSean Jackson discusses start of MEAC schedule
Hornets visit North Carolina Central Oct. 25
Delaware State has already shown considerable improvement on the football field under new coach DeSean Jackson, the former NFL standout.
Starting this week, the true measure of the Hornets’ progress can be charted.
DSU (4-3) plays the first of its five Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference games that will close the season.
And it’s a tough one, as Oct. 25 foe North Carolina Central won 27 games the last three years. The Eagles are 4-2 this season and have won five straight over DSU, including 52-10 last year.
But this is not the same DSU team, as Jackson’s hiring and his hustle have allowed the Hornets to build a deeper, better roster of players who’ve benefitted from the coaching staff’s direction.
“When we do things good, we gotta do them better,” Jackson said. “When we do things great, we gotta do them greater.”
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at O’Kelly-Riddick Stadium in Durham, North Carolina, where the Eagles will be celebrating homecoming.
“Delaware State has improved,” said NCCU coach Trey Oliver. “That makes the whole conference better . . . And I think that they’re a very well-coached football team. He’s done a great job putting a staff together and I’ve been impressed with them.”
These are six ways the Hornets can compete for their first MEAC title since 2007 when they begin league play.
Keep pounding the football
Delaware State is by far the leading rushing team nationally in FCS, averaging 327 yards per game, more than 60 yards ahead of anyone.
Two of the Hornets’ four wins have come against Division II schools, including the record-smashing romp over Southern Connecticut State Oct. 11. But they’ve run the football well against everybody, including getting 200 yards against FBS Delaware, which has only allowed more than that once in six games.
“This is probably the most efficient running team I’ve seen in my coaching career,” Oliver said. “They’re averaging over seven yards a carry. That’s almost a first down every time they run the ball.”
Milford High grad Marquis Gillis is 11th nationally with 105.9 yards per game and James Jones is 18th with 91.3. Jayden Jenkins (8.4 yards per carry) and Kobe Boykin (9.1) give the Hornets other potential breakaway threats, and Kaiden Bennett is the leading rusher among MEAC quarterbacks.
This is a hard offense to stop, and has benefitted from stellar play up front that should actually improve as players return from injuries.
But Jackson feels the run game can be better.
“We feel like we’re leaving stuff on the table,” said Jackson, adding that missed reads are among areas where DSU could improve.
Improve the passing game
DSU has the fewest pass completions in the league and just a 56.5 completion percentage.
Certainly, the run game’s effectiveness means less need for the passing game.
But because opposing defenses have to bear down so much to thwart that vaunted running attack, it should create opportunities that the Hornets and proven quarterback Bennett need to take better advantage of.
Defend the pass better
DSU has allowed a MEAC high 277.6 passing yards per game. While the Hornets also have by far the most passes against, the 66.3 completion percentage of opposing quarterbacks is way too high.
That’s not just a back-end issue. The Hornets have just 12 sacks on the year, so better pressure on the quarterback would translate to better coverage deep.
MEAC STANDINGS: Conference play set to start
Keep doing this
DSU has been better defensively in the red zone than any MEAC team, limiting foes to 16 touchdowns and three field goals on 28 trips inside the 20. That has included the Hornets getting four takeaways.
Playing that well all over the field would be beneficial.
Cut down on penalties
Jackson recognized and mentioned early that his team sometimes lacks discipline and it carries over onto the field.
Sure enough, DelState has committed more penalties (72) than any FCS school except Merrimack but its 678 yards penalized are the most nationally.
“We’ve stressed that all year,” he said. “I think in the beginning of the year we dealt with it a little more. We’ve cleaned it up a lot.”
Embrace the opportunity
Delaware State has never played in the Celebration Bowl, which has matched the champions of the MEAC and SWAC – the two Division I leagues made up of Historically Black Colleges and Universities – since 2015.
The game has become a cultural phenomenon and cherished competitive target, with crowds of roughly 40,000 packing Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Hornets have been greatly motivated by the lack of preseason appreciation they received, though being picked last in the MEAC wasn’t a surprise after back-to-back winless league seasons.
DSU is better than it’s been and the league appears potentially balanced enough for the Hornets to dream big.
Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
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Ciro Poppiti has transformed himself into Founding Father Caesar Rodney.
Poppiti is a lawyer, National Guardsman, actor and the elected register of wills in Delaware’s New Castle County — the same office Rodney once held in his county.
On June 12 and 13, Poppiti will ride horseback from Delaware to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, retracing Rodney’s historic 1776 journey that helped secure support for American independence.
Rodney raced through a storm after learning at midnight that he needed to break a tie in Delaware’s delegation on the vote for independence from England.
“You’ve got to get to Philadelphia by three o’clock, four o’clock the next day,” Poppiti said while portraying Rodney. “The gavel is coming in otherwise everything you have done is now destroyed.”
Rodney famously wore a green scarf to hide a cancerous formation on his face.
While Rodney rode horse trails from Dover to Philadelphia, Poppiti’s route will follow modern roads, including Route 13 through Claymont and Delaware County before heading up Passyunk Avenue to Independence Hall.
Poppiti said the ride is taking place in June because the actual anniversary in early July will coincide with World Cup events in Philadelphia.
Well-trained Amish horses and a buggy will accompany the ride to help make the trip safer on busy modern roads.
Rodney remains a controversial figure for some because his family owned slaves on their Kent County farm.
During protests following George Floyd’s death in 2020, Rodney’s statue was removed from Rodney Square in Wilmington. The statue is now displayed in Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.
“We have critics, critics who want to damn Caesar Rodney because he had slaves and they should,” Poppiti said. “We embrace those who are critical of Rodney because those who are critical of him are helping us and they’re fulfilling our mission. Our mission is to tell the whole story warts and all and to expose the fact that it was all people of all colors that helped make the greatest upset in world history happen.”
More information about the reenactment ride, including related events such as a gala and concert, is available at 250ride.org.
This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.
“I grow old gracefully,” said Susan Young Browne, who just received permission to keep driving until 115 years old.
That’s a testament to Browne enduring aptitude (and attitude) for life; having recently celebrated her 108th Birthday at the Modern Maturity Center in Dover, Delaware.
Browne was in Delaware in 1918 during Segregation where she worked on a farm with her family sans water or electricity. She would eventually attend Delaware State College for Colored Students, today known as Delaware State University, and graduate in 1945, going on to teach in a one-room school house.
Married twice, she enjoys the company of a clan of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
Nowadays, she can be found three times a work at the Modern Maturity Center where she enjoys group exercise classes; staying active is a key to that graceful aging she mentioned.
“When I get up in the morning, I have an exercise routine that I’ve been doing for the last 20 years,” she said. “When I retired and I walked around that classroom for 30 years, I am not going to sit down.”
SPRITELY ELDERS:
130 people attended her birthday party, including the Delaware Governor Matt Meyer, where she was gifted a parking spot right in front of the building reserved for those 100 years or older.
That’s important, because as Ms. Browne told those assembled to celebrate her life, the state had just reissued her driver’s license until 2033.
WATCH the story below from CBS News…
SHARE Ms. Susan Brown With Your Friends Who Need a Little Inspiration…
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