News, Analysis and Opinion from Bonesville's Denny O'Brien

Pirate Notebook No. 120
Wednesday, April 9, 2003

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

With East Carolina's first spring practice under new coach John Thompson quickly approaching an end, the race for the starting quarterback position continues to sizzle.

Sensing the urgency, returning starter Paul Troth and Desmond Robinson have elevated their performance, though first-year offensive coordinator Rick Stockstill says that neither has distanced himself from the other.

Plenty of time remains before the Pirates' Labor Day opener at Cincinnati, and Stockstill even hinted that he could wait as late as gameday before determining a starter.

"I know that (naming a starter) is what everybody wants to talk about," Stockstill said. "I tell them it's a day-to-day thing. You may be the starter today, but if you don't perform, you're not going to be the starter tomorrow. The next guy will.

"They understand that. We can come out in spring and say this guy is the quarterback, but that doesn't mean he's going to start that first game against Cincinnati. I'm not in a hurry to name a quarterback. I've got an idea how they're doing and how they're progressing, but I want them to work this summer in two-a-days and continue to compete every day to earn the starting position or keep the starting position."

Stockstill, who came to East Carolina after spending the past 14 seasons at Clemson, was the last addition to the Pirates staff just a couple of weeks prior to spring camp.

What little time he had to prepare was spent monitoring off-season workouts and compiling the new playbook, not watching last year's film. The former Florida State quarterback said he didn't want to form any pre-conceived opinions about any of the Pirates' signal callers, so the VCR remained unplugged.

Now that he's had more than three weeks to work closely with them, Stockstill admits he's surprised that, despite their difference in size, Troth and Robinson have similar skill sets.

"Dez is not as fast as I thought he was going to be," Stockstill said. "They're very, very similar.

"Dez is a better athlete than what Paul is, but I think we can do the same thing with both kids in there at quarterback. I think Dez has a good pocket awareness and presence. He struggles sometimes because of his height when the pocket closes... he can't see as well as Paul can.

"I've been very impressed with both of them and I think we can win with both quarterbacks. It's not a situation where if Paul is in the game we're going to do that or if Dez is in the game we're going to do that."

Both quarterbacks have gotten a chance to make statements in Saturday scrimmages.

So far, Troth, who took an overwhelming majority of the snaps last season, boasts better numbers, having completed 31-of-55 (56.4%) passes for 377 yards, six touchdowns and just one interception. Robinson has completed just 37 percent of his passes for 174 yards, but Stockstill has great confidence that the Pirates can be successful with the Rock Hill, SC, native under center.

Regardless of whose number gets called on September 1, Stockstill says he won't play musical quarterbacks, a trend that became fashionable in the 90s, starting with Steve Spurrier at Florida.

"I think it's unfair to the quarterback and I think it's a little unfair to the rest of your team," Stockstill said. "You put a little undue pressure on a kid if he's looking over his shoulder and can't go out there and play.

"Mistakes are going to happen. If they go out there worrying that if, 'I make this play, throw an interception, or miss this guy, I'm going to get pulled', I think they play a little cautious and I don't want our kids to do that."

That hasn't been an issue this spring, despite the fact that East Carolina is digesting a new offensive philosophy that places a heavy emphasis on power running and is complimented by a vertical passing game. Much of that could be due to the complexity of the Pirates' previous experience in a complex scheme which was also very multiple in its approach.

Both Troth and Robinson have made a nice transition to the new regime, says Stockstill, who noted that the Pirates have performed well within various nuances of the new system.

"We've had a lot of success this spring out of the two-back, tight end set," Stockstill said. "We've had a lot of success out of the one-back, tight end, three wide receivers. We've had a lot of success out of the four-wide, one-back set.

"I want to be very multiple in our formations. We've probably put out there over 50 different formations. Right now, I can't say that we're going to be in this one over the other one."

He's also not ready to name a starting quarterback. If he is, he's certainly not telling.

Ask Stockstill to name a player who has stuck out in spring camp and you will get little hesitation.

Fullback Vonta Leach continues to impress the Pirates offensive coordinator — as does the rest of the East Carolina backfield, for that matter.

"Vonta has got a really bright future ahead of him," Stockstill said. "He's a great blocker, he's a physical runner with the ball in his hands, and he can catch the ball well.

"That's the other thing about Marvin and Art. They both catch the ball so well out of the backfield that they give you a lot of different options that we can utilize. I've been very impressed with all three of those running backs. Jerry McManus has done a great job with them over the years."

Dominique Hatcher, who has spent the last three seasons searching for his niche within the Pirates program, may have found a home at running back. Hatcher lead all rushers Saturday with 134 yards on 23 carries, including a 48-yard scamper on the second play from scrimmage.

Junior college transfer Kevin Fain was highly recruited, and at 5'11" 215-pounds, could provide depth at both running back positions. How much he plays will depend highly on how quickly he absorbs the offense.

"It's going to be tough on him learning the new system," Stockstill said. "You don't really count on those guys until they get here and you see how fast they pick things up."

Due to a lack of personnel, the Pirates have missed the presence of a true tight end over the past two seasons. According to Stockstill, ECU hasn't been the only program dealing with that issue.

"East Carolina is no different than any other program in the country," Stockstill said. "It's hard to find tight ends. We had one at Clemson, but then we went three or four years there where we were trying to make somebody a tight end. It's a tough position to find."

The Pirates were lucky enough to land three talented ones on the recruiting trail — Josh Coffman, Marc Jones, and Manny Levell — and the coaching staff has also made several roster adjustments designed to shore up the tight end position.

With the quarterback position well-stocked, Kort Shankweiler has moved over from quarterback. James Myrick made a transition from the offensive line and Stockstill is also hopeful that Tutu Moye can return from a leg injury.

"We'll be fine at tight end," Stockstill said. "We're not going to scare people in the passing game with our tight end, but I think we can utilize him and he can be a big factor in our running game for us."