The Bulldog Way
Bowie State University Bulldogs Head Coach Damon Wilson Has A Simple Plan For His Program: Focus On Home And Build From There
By Ian Harmon and Raoul Dennis
The Bowie State University Bulldogs did more than win in their perfect season this year. They dominated their opponents.
And they are now back-to-back Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Champions.
Led by the CIAA Offensive Player of the Year Quarterback Ja’rome Johnson, and Defensive Player of the Year Defensive Back Demetri Morsell, Bowie defeated Fayetteville State University 23-7 in the CIAA Football Championship Nov 16.
To win with such consistency over two years, when opponents have stepped up their game in an attempt to match yours, is a testament to the quality of the program at BSU. Even though the Bulldogs lost Quarterback Amir Hall at the end of last year, Johnson stepped into the position and the Bulldogs continued to bite down on other teams, not missing a beat---another testament to the soundness of the BSU football program.
“It’s a process. You have to understand the process, there are no shortcuts in life and you have to do the necessary things to have success,” says Bulldogs Head Coach Damon Wilson. “You need people around you that have like minds and continue to be motivated, continue to push you and be challenged. Guys push one another to bring out the best in each other. That’s what you want to build a successful program.”
Wilson shared five keys to the success of the program at BSU.
1. Getting talent from close to home
Wilson believes in finding talent at home. “Our motto is to win the recruiting war in our backyard. Ninety-eight percent of our players come from the Maryland and Virginia area. We understand what type players they are and what kind of academic support they need.” Coach Wilson said. “They understand what’s expected and then it’s about going out and having fun playing football and letting them have the opportunity to succeed.”
2. Matriculation of the student athlete and graduating though senior year
Wilson says it’s not enough to simply recruit great high school talent. It does no good to get a talented freshman ball player if they drop out of school by sophomore or junior year. It’s important to continue to guide them through the challenges of being a student-athlete so that they mature to becoming a leader on the field by junior and senior year.
3. Great Teachers: Our coaches are great teachers at developing talent.
“They know how to explain our plan, playbook, strategy and schemes to the players to get the best from them,” Wilson says. “They are also from the area. They live here, too.” Wilson also hires the coaching staff and says it’s important that coaches relate to the players they teach.
The scoreboard of the Bulldogs’ match-up against Chowan Oct. 21 reflects a typical BSU win this season. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS // PR. GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
4. Players who want to get better
“You want good student athletes who are also coachable,” the veteran coach says. He reaches out to players who want to get better at the game and be part of a team. Wilson says talent means nothing if ego or other obstacles get in the way.
5. Focus on winning the day. Go 1 and 0 on that particular day
Wilson, who also played at Bowie State University as an All-Conference Tight End in 1998, understands the need to focus and stay completely in the moment. It’s important to block out the past and to not get caught up in worrying about the next game. “We always say ‘go 1 and 0 today.’”
Winning Takes Time
CIAA championships didn’t start falling into BSU trophy cases when university alum came back to the campus in 2009. But Wilson planned to get there even then.
“That was my goal when I took the job 10 years ago,” he says. “I wanted to go out there and do this. I have been building toward this for over 10 years. It’s been a work in progress.”
Even before coming on as head coach, Wilson served as assistant coach with the Bulldogs (1999-2003) gathering experience on the sidelines to supplement what he already understood about the game and the BSU football on the gridiron as a player.
“To have success in your home area, at your alma mater, is great. You’re representing not just the university, but the state of Maryland,” he says.
The 2019 CIAA Coach of the Year says he gets an extra sense of fulfillment from winning at BSU.
And these players have succeeded. Not just on the field but in the classroom.
When asked if the work ethic on the field translates to the classroom, Wilson says it’s the other way around.
“It’s the opposite. When a student does well in classroom, he’ll do well on football field. A 3.0 student will excel doing the things they love to do and when we are recruiting we look for guys doing well academically and want to see that translate to football,” the coach says.
Goal to go: This run led to another touchdown that cemented the Bulldogs’ dominant performance and perfect season. PHOTO: RAOUL DENNIS //PRINCE GEORGE’S SUITE MAGAZINE & MEDIA
How The Team Dreams
A few of the Bulldogs players discuss how they drive to success—lesson they are likely to keep.
William Flowers
By doing all the little things correctly, we are in the position that we are in, not just the little things on the field but in the classroom, also off the field and representing the university well.
Dante Waugh
The reason why our team has been successful is because we hold each other accountable on and off the field. We know that it’s going to take everyone to push towards the goal we set in the beginning of the season. So if one of us messes up on or off the field, we can’t achieve that goal. But this year we haven’t had that problem because everyone holds their brother accountable.
Oluwaleke Ajenifuja
The success of our season has come from a focus on coming together as a unit to accomplish our goals. In the beginning of the season, we established what our goals were and every week we’ve made goals that would help put us exactly where we wanted to be. The bond we’ve built by working towards our goals and holding each other accountable has led us to where we are now.
Justice Davis
I would say that determination helps us achieve our goals on and off the field. It helped us win games and off the field it helped us keep up our grades to reach our goal of a team 3.0 GPA.
The future is bright for the Bulldogs as they stare down a destiny that could include perfect playoff run and another championship next year because the Bulldogs have cemented a solid football program. The program has led to consistent, dominating performances, achieving numbers of broken records and winning seasons since 2015.
