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Audio: Ruff Presser |
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
addressed members of
the media on Monday
in his weekly press
conference. (Audio
courtesy of Pirate
Radio 1250; archive
photo):
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clip... |
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Coach Ruff post-game
audio |
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ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
spoke with reporters
on Saturday after the
Pirates defeated
Virginia Tech
(recorded by Al Myatt):
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FOOTBALL |
Slippery showdown looms |
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The forecast for
Saturday could definitely impact
East Carolina's 3:30 p.m. home
football game with Virginia Tech.
Rain could be heavy at times,
according to the outlook. ...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
It's time to lighten the load |
The
East Carolina football program takes great pride in its
philosophy of playing anyone, anytime, anyplace. As well it
should. That aggressive approach to scheduling has helped the
Pirates claim plenty of high-profile victims over the years ...
More from Brett Friedlander... |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
I have seen that movie before.
Ronnie Bass had just come in at quarterback in "Remember the Titans."
Bass told the line to let a lineman through. Bass fired a pass and
flipped the lineman over in one move.
In the movie, the Titans' assistant coach came over to the head coach,
played by Denzel Washington, and told the coach, ‘We’ve got ourselves a
football player.’
East Carolina offensive coordinator Dave Nichol may have repeated that
scene with ECU head coach Ruffin McNeill on Saturday.
James Summers flipped a Virginia Tech defensive player in a similar
fashion in the Pirates win. Summers sprinted to the end zone for a
touchdown in one of the key plays of
the upset victory over the Hokies.
The Pirates ‘have themselves a football player.’
Summers was just what ECU needed to kick-start the running game in a
downpour at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Summers galloped through the Hokies
defense like a true mudder in leading the Pirates to the triumph. He
rushed for 169 yards, coming close to breaking Leader Green’s all-time
mark for rushing yards in a single game by a quarterback. Green,
operating out of Pat Dye's wishbone offense, ran for 178 yards in 1979
against Richmond.
But don’t forget the job Blake Kemp did in getting the Pirates back in
the game.
Summers didn’t forget, crediting ECU’s starter for rallying the Pirates
after a terrible start.
“Blake got us back in the game,” said Summers. “If he doesn’t do what he
did then I might not have gotten my chance. This was a team effort.”
Kemp had a fumble on his first play. He followed that up with what
looked like two interceptions. The second pick was actually ruled a
fumble, but the damage was done as the Pirates trailed 14-0 in the
game’s first minutes.
Kemp regrouped nicely and led his team on two scoring drives to even
things up. That set the stage for Summers.
“I just want to do whatever I can to help this team win,” said Kemp. “He
(Summers) did a great job. He’s a great player.”
The only quarterback controversy that I see was when Cody Keith decided
to leave the team. The Pirates could have used the added insurance.
Injuries cost Keith any chance to pressure Kemp or Summers in the
quarterback race.
Coach Ruff was non-committal in naming a starter for this week’s
American Athletic Conference game at Southern Methodist.
“We will keep integrating both in practice and games, “said McNeill at
his weekly news conference. “You’re talking about two guys who had no
idea they would be playing quarterback right now and both have stepped
in.”
The coach was alluding to the knee injury suffered by
designated starter Kurt Benkert days before the season opener, forcing a
reshuffling of the depth chart and a reevaluation of the possibilities
at the quarterback position.
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Summers came to East Carolina with a reputation as an outstanding
athlete. That athleticism certainly showed in the win over Virginia
Tech.
McNeill warns, though, that you can’t rush Summers.
“You have to be patient with James," he said. "Everyone was trying to
rush that. You don’t rush that. You want kids to have as much success as
possible. He was ready, but Dave Nichol did a great job of prepping him
in practice.”
Now the Pirates take newfound momentum to Dallas this weekend for the
matchup with SMU. The Ponies were upset at home last week by FCS member
James Madison. Still, Coach Ruff says this Mustangs team will be ready
on Saturday.
“They have a lot to lose,” said McNeill. “They played non-conference
games and look at who they played. Chad (Morris) is a good football
coach and that’s the only way I look at it and I watch the ball film.
They’ve got a good team, a good quarterback and athletic skill
positions. The offensive line has great pad level. They stretch you
vertically. Chad runs an up-tempo offensive."
The Mustangs opened their 2015 slate against Baylor,
North Texas and Texas Christian.
McNeill
put this Saturday's game in perspective.
"They’re playing at home,"
he said. "We play SMU. It’s not about them, it’s about us. We don’t
control them, we control us. We must have great prep this week.”
For the first time since week one ECU will be favored. McNeill said last
week that there was a lot of football to be played.
The Pirates sure played some football despite the rain this past
Saturday.
They made it five in a row against the ACC.
Here’s hoping there is a similar winning streak to come in the AAC.
BB