Arkansas-Pine Bluff Postgame Interview with Coach Hampton and QB Hagens -TSU Game, Nov. 18
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Obviously it was a great game from both sides.
00:04 And obviously it didn't start the way we wanted it,
00:06 but I've been telling the kids all year,
00:07 we just got to stay in the fight and don't break.
00:09 And it was so good just to see so many guys
00:13 to be able to go in and play
00:14 that we really wasn't counting on.
00:16 And just to step up and make the plays when we did.
00:19 You know, we had our offensive coordinator down.
00:21 Coach Wallace did a great job.
00:23 Our O-line coach been calling plays the last couple weeks.
00:26 Man, we haven't scored 35 points all year.
00:29 And so I was happy for him, happy for those guys,
00:32 and happy for the guy that's standing next to me.
00:35 I mean, this kid is a tremendous football player,
00:37 and I've been trying to get him to believe in himself.
00:39 And I've been sharing different stories with him.
00:42 We had a guy by the name of Quinn Flowers
00:43 when I coached at USF.
00:45 And everybody kept saying what he couldn't do.
00:47 And I think when the coaches got out of the way
00:50 and let the kid become a football player,
00:52 then all we did was win the most games
00:54 in the history of the program, which was 11.
00:55 And so this guy right here next to me
00:57 is going to be that same guy.
00:58 He just needs to understand what's inside of him.
01:01 He needs to put the time and effort in,
01:03 and then he can do some special things for our program.
01:07 And I think it's a great momentum
01:08 heading into the recruiting.
01:11 Coach, quite a turnaround at the second half.
01:14 Tell us what you told those guys in the locker room.
01:19 They can tell you. I've stood up there every Sunday,
01:21 every halftime meeting, said the exact same thing.
01:24 Like, I truly believe.
01:25 I'm just crazy enough to believe
01:27 what God has shown me, the vision that He's given me.
01:29 And if we continue to put the work in,
01:31 we continue to persevere, understanding that
01:33 when you've been called for a higher purpose,
01:35 that you got to persevere.
01:37 And then when you put your hands to the plow,
01:39 if you ever look back, you ain't going to get the prize.
01:41 And I've been telling them, just keep fighting, keep fighting.
01:43 And so what you saw tonight is, it's been 10 games
01:46 of just keep fighting, keep listening to coach.
01:48 And he'll tell you, I stand up every Sunday
01:51 with the biggest smile on my face
01:52 because I'm just dumb enough to believe what God has shown me.
01:55 And what I visualize in the vision He's given me
01:58 is we're going to be the gold standard, okay,
02:00 for the city of Pine Bluff.
02:02 We're going to be able to win year in and year out.
02:03 And it's just not going to be a one-time thing.
02:05 And so when everybody just start pulling the rope
02:07 in the same direction, I think what you guys going to see
02:10 is going to be a special product we put on the field.
02:13 And all year long, we never quit in the game.
02:15 We just didn't get the victory.
02:16 So tonight, to score 22 points in the fourth quarter,
02:20 I don't know if it's a better win I ever had in my life.
02:23 And I won two state championships.
02:24 I won a World Bowl.
02:26 I've had a lot of great things.
02:27 But tonight was special.
02:29 Coach, share with us, what does this --
02:35 you know, you've sort of talked about it.
02:37 But to win a game like this, what does it do for your team?
02:41 I think what it does is everything I've been saying
02:44 to them about how hard it is to win
02:47 and understanding when people are telling you
02:49 that you're losing, you're not losing.
02:50 You're learning how to win.
02:51 And so you got to continue to walk around that campus.
02:54 You got to continue to go to class,
02:55 which you held high.
02:58 And a lot of our guys, they were disappointed about game four
03:01 or five when some of their classmates were laughing at them.
03:04 And I said, "Man, you know what?
03:05 That's part of life.
03:06 When you lose and you're doing things
03:08 that's not what you should do,
03:09 people are going to make fun of you."
03:11 I said, "But the thing you can't ever worry about
03:13 is public perception, okay?
03:15 That's one of the four fights we talk about, public perception.
03:18 And the public perception of us, where we're a bad football team,
03:21 where the record says we were.
03:23 But these kids have came out every single day on Tuesday,
03:26 Wednesday, and Thursday, and they put in the work.
03:28 And so it was good to see us get the victory.
03:30 And what it's going to do for us moving forward
03:32 is we got to go out and recruit some players.
03:35 But the players that we got coming back,
03:36 they need to understand what the vision is,
03:38 what the standard is.
03:39 The standard is you can't ever quit.
03:42 The standard is I go to class, I do my work,
03:44 and I come down to the field house.
03:45 I become a great young man in the community.
03:48 And then one day, I'm going to come back
03:50 and give all my money to the university
03:52 to help us build this program even farther.
03:55 I'm Terry, the Wimbledon D.C. High School supporter.
03:58 Mekhi, that's how you pronounce your first name?
04:01 Yes, sir. Okay.
04:03 When this game started, it was like, what's going on?
04:08 And then all of a sudden, Coach just mentioned it.
04:11 You all go in and have fun, and that was a different year.
04:14 What was it saying?
04:16 What's the tone?
04:18 Coach Hampton said the tone that Hamilton gave us in speech
04:20 he told us to keep fighting, stay in the fight, and don't quit.
04:24 So we're always going to listen to our head coach,
04:26 and we believe in him.
04:27 So that's when we went up and got the win for him.
04:30 And on your touchdown run, what did you see?
04:35 Because you kind of held on a little bit long.
04:37 I know Coach was like, wait a minute,
04:39 he's out there too long with the ball in his hand.
04:41 Do something with it. And then you took off.
04:44 What did you see?
04:45 Green grass, he go to Mekhi Higgins and made the play.
04:48 And he scored a touchdown.
04:51 What does this do for your confidence
04:53 as the leader of the Golden Lions?
04:58 Well, it means a lot.
04:59 I'm going to start off restoring the pride.
05:02 It starts tonight.
05:03 And the offseason, we're going to work hard.
05:05 We're going to get better, get stronger, bigger and faster.
05:08 Because tonight I took some licks.
05:11 We got to get -- we're going to keep chopping wood
05:13 and restoring the pride.
05:15 You took some licks.
05:16 You gave some licks after anything.
05:19 No, it was just me being me, being myself, being Mekhi Higgins.
05:23 Coach Hampton trusted me with the ball.
05:25 It's time to make a play. Ain't no excuses.
05:27 Two more questions.
05:28 How did you end up at Arkansas Pine Bluff?
05:30 You're from St. Louis, right?
05:31 Yes, sir. Okay.
05:33 Out of high school, I was a recruit,
05:36 went to Duke Cove, went to Cisco.
05:38 And I came here to Pine Bluff, had to sit out for a season.
05:41 And this season I was hoping better,
05:43 but it's always God's plan.
05:46 So I'm trusting God.
05:48 How did you end up from St. Louis to Cisco, Kasey?
05:52 Long story.
05:55 Things happen. I understand.
05:56 Yes, sir. But that's a big difference.
05:59 That's a long difference.
06:02 How did you end up?
06:04 I want to say some coaches had contacted my high school coaches
06:08 and went and took a visit,
06:11 seen the opportunity and I took it.
06:14 One more for Coach.
06:16 Coach, an overall impression of your season
06:21 and what's next for the Brooklyn Lions?
06:23 Well, the season was just what God had in store for us.
06:26 And we talked about restoring the pride when I took the job.
06:30 And obviously, I say this to everybody,
06:33 a lot of people wanted the job.
06:35 I needed the job because I had been here.
06:38 I knew what we could become.
06:40 And so tonight it's a great step in the right direction.
06:44 And I tell everybody this,
06:46 all players need is somebody to believe in them.
06:49 And so this young man, like we started him early in the year,
06:52 he got banged up, we pulled him, we put another quarterback in,
06:55 started him for a couple games, we pulled him,
06:58 we started another quarterback, and just back and forth.
07:01 And I've done that and had some success.
07:03 But I'll say this to Makai, standing right here.
07:07 They wanted to pull him after the first quarter.
07:09 And I said, "I'm not pulling him."
07:11 I said, "He's my quarterback, okay?"
07:14 And I believed in the young man.
07:15 Like, he can do things the other guys can't do.
07:18 And you got to ride with a guy that you believe in.
07:20 And all our quarterbacks are good,
07:21 but this young man is special.
07:23 And I want him to understand when you're special,
07:26 it requires a little more work, okay?
07:28 You have to set the standard.
07:30 You got to be the one out front pushing.
07:31 You got to be the one in class.
07:33 You got to be the one bringing other guys along.
07:35 So that's why I wanted --
07:36 whatever the score was going to be,
07:38 he was going to finish that game as the last one
07:40 with that ball in his hand.
07:42 So I'm glad that he made the last play.
07:44 And we're ready for all season to restore the pride.
07:47 Coach, you won this game in Houston, Texas,
07:52 in Texas Southern's backyard.
07:53 What does that mean to come in here and win this here?
07:56 Well, obviously, any time you're on the road,
07:58 we talk about packing your defense.
08:00 You talk about packing your offense.
08:02 You talk about packing your team.
08:03 It's just like -- it almost felt like a scrimmage
08:05 because there wasn't a lot of people there.
08:07 But, I mean, our kids never quit.
08:09 And, man, everybody tell you, if you've ever been around me,
08:13 I got the same expressions all the time.
08:15 I'm just dumb enough to believe what guys told me.
08:17 And so I don't change, and I won't change.
08:19 And so he already told me what it's going to be.
08:21 All I got to do is run on and see what it's going to be.
08:25 Congratulations. Appreciate it.