Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Howard sees win over S.C. State as step in return to prominence

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Gary Harrell remembers fondly the proud days of Howard University football.

Known as "The Flea," the 5-7 former wide receiver is the school's career leader in receptions (184) and a member of the 1993 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship Bison team led by quarterback Jay "Sky" Walker. Returning to his alma mater this past year as head coach, Harrell inherited a program far removed from those glory days and owners of the longest losing streak in conference play.

Even worse, Harrell saw a talented group that seemed more focused on individual goals and not sharing his same level of passion.

"The biggest problem here when I first got here was that the guys were separated," Harrell said during Tuesday's MEAC teleconference. "They didn't spend a whole lot of time with each other as far as the cafeteria and the dorm. They didn't spend enough time together, so we made sure we brought them together off the field and now you can see it on the field that they really trust each other. Now it's not (linebacker) Keith Pough making plays. He trusts his teammates that they're going to make the plays as well. So that was the biggest thing in changing the culture."



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