HU's schedule has been tough, but the Pirates can use it to improve

COURTESY HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS

HAMPTON, Virginia — Last week, Hampton University opened its season against Old Dominion, a Football Bowl Subdivision team, on the road. This week, the Pirates will go against William and Mary, which is ranked 13th in two FCS polls.

Sure, there are easier routes to take in the first two weeks of September. Although this one practically guarantees an 0-2 start, HU coach Connell Maynor, who inherited both games, sees some benefits.

"If you play two cupcakes, you get easy victories, (but) you don't learn a lot about yourself because you weren't tested," Maynor said. "We want to be tested. We want to see what we're good at, what we need to improve on, and go from there.

"If not, it's just like a regular scrimmage, ones against twos. You don't really get a lot from ones against twos. We like playing good competition, playoff teams, so we can see where we stack up."

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