Hampton University gets back to basics during spring practice, makes coaching staff additions
After going 4-7 in their first season in the Colonial Athletic Association, Robert Prunty and the Hampton University football team went back to the basics in spring practice this year.
“We needed to get more fundamentally sound and that’s what we had a chance to do,” Prunty said. “We had some things to clean up.”
While on paper it looks like last season didn’t go well, context is key for Hampton’s 2022 campaign. The Pirates had just left the Big South after a three-year stint and walked into a CAA that produced five FCS playoff teams last year.
“We’ve been to two different conferences in less than three years almost,” Prunty said. “And these conferences are steps up — from the Big South to the CAA. So each time we make an adjustment, we’ve been thrown in the fire. If you look at the schedule last year, we played six playoff teams, so it’s a lot when you sit down and look at it. I’ve been so proud of these student-athletes and the way they have taken on the role.”
The majority of the Pirates’ offense is returning in 2023, Prunty said. The ones who did leave were big-time playmakers like wide receiver Jadakis Bonds, who left Hampton with 2,731 receiving yards and 34 touchdowns.
“We lost some receivers, but we feel like we needed to go out and recruit some older receivers, and we knew that,” Prunty said. “But also in the spring, we had a chance for that unit — we bring in Coach Bobby Blizzard, a Hampton High grad — to grow them up a little bit. I would say just we were looking for maturity out of them, and we got that.”
Prunty’s coaching staff will have a fresh look in 2023 — and Blizzard is just one of five new faces.
Blizzard will be tasked with molding the Pirates’ wide receivers going forward. He is coming off a one-year stint with Norfolk State, but also has XFL and Division III coaching experience on top of his NFL playing experience.
On the other side of the ball, new defensive line coach Rod Howard will be tasked with helping rebuild a defensive line that lost all of its starters.
“I thought defensively, (the) focus was more on the D-line because we lost KeShaun Moore, Andy Matthews, along with Kentrelle Grooms and Ohmante Jenkins. Those guys were seniors, and man, they were physical, they played with great technique. But we were very happy by the end of the spring with the way that unit group kind of matured too.”
Howard joins Hampton after six years of coaching the same position at Bluefield University of the NAIA. As a player, Howard registered a start at the D-I, D-II and NAIA levels.
Prunty also said the secondary was a focus coming into spring ball because the position group was “thin.” He added that a “heavy recruiting class” will help that position group.
New defensive backs coach Brandon Payne will be charged with building depth in the secondary. He’ll be paired with secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator Brandon Williams.
Payne played college ball at New Mexico and has coaching experience at junior colleges in California, Prunty said.
Darryl Bullock and Brad Bustle round out the new additions to Prunty’s coaching staff.
Bullock will serve as the offensive line coach and most recently coached at Fayetteville State. He was a member of the 1986 Penn State national championship team and has been coaching since 1990, including a stint at Hampton from 2011 to 2013.
Bustle, the son of longtime college football coach Rickey Bustle, will be the offensive line and tight ends coach. He played for his father at Louisiana-Lafayette and comes to Hampton after serving as a senior offensive analyst for the Ragin’ Cajuns last year.
Prunty still has one spot left to fill on his coaching staff and likely will use it to hire a defensive coach, although he said he’ll take his time to find the right fit.
While Hampton lost key players who produced on the field, those same players will be missed in the locker room as leaders.
At the conclusion of spring practice, Prunty said the team is still waiting on those leaders to emerge. But he’s confident that summer workouts and practices will produce those quickly.
“Somebody’s got to come out and show that ‘Hey, I want to lead this team,’ and not just one person,” Prunty said. “I tell the guys all the time we need to be wolves because wolves really don’t have a leader, they run in packs, they are all leaders, and that’s what we need here. This team is really young, it’s a young team, so we got to have great leadership.”
Michael Sauls | michael.sauls@virginiamedia.com
