A potentially disastrous trip to Hawaii could prove to be a sign of life for the Delaware State football team.

After a week of travel issues that saw them arrive in Honolulu later than expected, the Hornets confused the Rainbow Warriors for more than a half before falling 35-14 on Saturday night/Sunday morning. Despite the loss, DelState has some reasons to be confident that 2024 could be a better season than 2023.

The maturation of Marqui Adams

Adams, a redshirt sophomore quarterback from Philadelphia, has settled into the starting position in Lee Hull’s high-powered offense. Last year’s tendencies to rush throws or force them into impossibly tight time frames were absent against Hawaii.

Adams completed 17 of 28 passes for 156 yards, but did most of his damage with his legs, rushing for 44 yards and scoring DSU’s first touchdown just before halftime. If Adams can play that well against an FBS defense, it bodes well for the Hornets once they begin FCS/MEAC play.

Defensive improvements

The Hornets’ run defense was third-to-last in the entire FCS in 2023, allowing over 2,700 rushing yards and 6 yards per carry. The Rainbow Warriors managed 128 yards and two scores on the ground, but didn’t completely overwhelm Delaware State in that area of ​​the game.

Veteran defenders Charles Brown Jr., Maurio Goings and Darren Cook took last year’s poor performance personally and, along with their younger teammates and newcomers, prevented Hawaii from going crazy on the floor.

A few more options in the offensive

One of Delaware State’s sore spots in recent years has been injuries to players at specialty positions. With a mostly healthy roster (expected running back Marquis Gillis was unavailable for action due to a violation of team rules), the Hornets have some players who can make an impact. Replacing Gillis was graduate student Jaden Sutton, who led the Hornets with 56 rushing yards and a difficult 9-yard touchdown run that tied the game at 14-14 early in the third quarter.

In the passing game, eight different receivers caught passes from Adams, including three catches out of the backfield by Sutton and a 42-yard pass to tight end Ryan Lee. If the Hornets’ receivers and running backs can stay healthy, their depth will be a major asset in keeping this team in contention this season.

You don’t have to fly across the country this year

Due to a “mistake” by the bus company, the Hornets were unable to enjoy Hawaii as much as they would have liked, but some videos on the team’s social media accounts showed that they used the experience to grow together as a team.

That will come in handy as they’re on the road next week, but instead of 10,000 miles round trip, it’s only about 675 miles to play Sacred Heart of the Northeast Conference.

There’s no guarantee the Hornets will have their first winning season in 12 years, but there’s hope they can hope for more than one win after 35 minutes of play in an FBS program in 2024.