HAMPTON, Va. — Remember what it was like for your first day of school making the jump from middle to high school or high school to college? Everything looks a little bigger and things moving faster. The Hampton Pirates football team is getting a taste of that this upcoming season as new members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
It will be HU's second conference move in the last four years as they departed from the Big South. Everyone appears to be taking the move in stride. "Oh we're going to be great", says wide receiver Jadakis Bonds. "We've been putting in the work not only on the field, but off it. Just coming together as a unit."
The Pirates come off a 5-6 season of a year ago with a younger squad and for right now, no answers yet at quarterback. Head Coach, Robert Prunty will have to choose between three signal callers in University Of Houston transfer, Sofian Massoud, Malcolm Mays from Kilgore Junior College and Chris Zellous the lone holdover at the position for the Pirates.
According to Prunty none of them has FCS experience, but like anything as they embark on their first season in a new conference, they keep moving forward. "Football is football", says Prunty who's been at Hampton University the past four seasons. "I don't care if you're playing from Pop Warner to little league to high school, jv. It's blocking and tackling. It's football."
The Pirates open the season at home September 3rd at 6pm against rival Howard in the "Battle Of The Real HU".