Howard University coach Larry Scott spoke about this weekend’s Battle of the Real HU against Hampton University during the MEAC weekly video teleconference.
Scott shared his thoughts on how he is preparing Howard for the battle against its historic archrival and what the rivalry means to both schools.
Howard’s offense heads into the weekend with confidence after scoring 65 points in their win over Morehouse College. Scott discussed the progression of quarterback Quinton Williams and how he has impacted the offense.
“He kind of understands the progression and how it builds and so he can stay poised, stay patient, let the game come to him and see the big picture,” Scott said on the weekly MEAC Coaches Call. “Therefore, you see in the production and his numbers go up and being very efficient with the ball and taking care of the football. We went through two games and had no turnovers on offense and that’s something that we want to continue to build on if we can take care of the ball.”
With the success of the Howard University offense, Scott explains that the focus is not putting up 60 points but on winning the game regardless of the amount of points scored.
“Honestly, we’re just trying to handle our business right now and scoring every time that we get an opportunity to. That’s one of the things we talk about on offense. Every possession go out with a mindset that we expect to score. Not that we’re, if good things happen or we do this, we do that, no, we go out with the intentions of scoring every time we have the football. So, if that means it’s a game where we score 65 points, great. It’s a game where we score 17 and we win the game, great. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most, is to have one more point than the opponent and find ways to win the game,” Scott said. “ But if we’re capable of being that explosive and putting up that many points, then why not go be who we are week in and week out,”
The matchups on both sides for each school are a focus for Howard. Scott said that his concern with Hampton are the matchups they will face.
“We’re trying to figure out the personnel. Just getting through that, figuring out the personnel; seeing what the best matchups are gonna be; the advantageous matchups are gonna be for us as we put together our plan on both sides of the ball offensively and defensively,” Scott said.
One of the biggest matchups for Howard will be defending Hampton’s offense with quarterback Chris Zellous and running backs Elijah Burris and Darran Butts.
“We’re gonna have to line up and be able to stop that and be able to contain the run and make them one-dimensional,” Scott told Ty Miller about his thoughts on Hampton’s running game with Burris and Butts.
“A guy that can run around and use his legs even in the passing game and scramble around get first downs. It could be quarterback design runs and those type of things. He’s definitely another guy besides the two backs and the host of talent they have on the perimeter,” Scott said of Zellous. “At the end of the day, it puts a lot of stress on your design and your scheme of what you gotta do to make sure you’re in position to contain this offense.”
Howard and Hampton’s talented teams will make this a highly anticipated game by students, alumni and fans who love the Battle of the Real HU. Scott closes out his teleconference with his thoughts on the historic rivalry going into the weekend.
“It’s something that kind of brings a force of our culture together in a very competitive, fun way that gives away bragging rights for the year, but at the end of the day, it’s important because for us it’s another game on the schedule. Our goal is to set out to go out and win every game and win every opportunity we get to go out to play and compete. We wanna win,”
Howard University and Hampton University will meet in the 98th Battle of the Real HU at Audi Stadium in Washington D.C.