The Hoyas entered their bye week with an abysmal record of 0-7. It need not be stated that the term “defeated” weighs heavily upon the players and coaches. Just last year, the Detroit Lions become the laughingstock of the National Football League by becoming the only team in the history of the NFL to go winless through a 16 game season.
Meanwhile, last year’s Hoya squad avoided a similar fate only by squeezing out a five-point victory against Howard and a one-point victory versus Marist. That’s six points. One touchdown. Without the extra point.
This year’s team had scored a combined total of 31 points in its first four games. Why is that important? The same number has been posted on the scoreboard at Multi-Sport Field at the end of two games this season—obviously, it was displayed under “Away.”
Head coach Kevin Kelly decided that both the players and the coaches needed a break from football. He gave them a few days off in the beginning of the bye week and kept practices relatively light for a couple days afterwards. Upon returning to practice last Wednesday, the team went back to basics. They used their extra time to focus on just improving themselves, leaving preparation for the upcoming game against Old Dominion for the following week.
“We started from ground zero,” Kelly said. “We worked on a lot of fundamentals, and we did some quality control work in terms of looking at our offense and defense and special teams, and we looked at the things we did well and we looked at the things we did poorly and how we can improve on those things.”
With a record like Georgetown’s, close to fourteen days without an opportunity to improve can take a heavy toll on a player’s mentality. It is a great testament to the strong-willed leadership and direction of this Hoya team that they continued to persevere and work hard during their week off in order to get better.
One of the primary sources of this initiative comes from senior all-purpose player Robert Lane. Sporting jersey number 35 in honor of Georgetown football standout Joe Eacobacci, who died in the World Trade Center terrorist attacks on September 11, Lane is an exceptional leader and outstanding performer in multiple positions on both sides of the ball.
“It’s really motivating for the players to see the type of passion that number 35 always has on the field,” Lane said. “I’m in those shoes now motivating the players to play at the level that we have to play at every single game. Personally it’s the greatest reward I’ve ever gotten.”
The rest of the Hoyas just hope to see their hard work finally rewarded on the field. Georgetown plays Saturday at Old Dominion at 6 p.m.
