DENNY O'BRIEN: Senior leaders embracing their role

Pirate Notebook No. 276
Monday, August 7, 2006

By Denny O'Brien

GREENVILLE — Kasey Ross noticed something different when he entered the Cliff Moore Practice Facility on Friday.

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It wasn't the new Nike gear that covered Ross and his East Carolina teammates, though he admitted that the flashy threads were a significant upgrade from years past.

And while the mercury soared to record heights, the heat and humidity were nothing new for the senior cornerback who spent most of his prep playing days in the sultry Sunshine State.

There was, however, a fresh new perspective that overwhelmed the charismatic Ross. Because for the first time in his East Carolina career, he actually looked forward to the month of preparation and perspiration that comprises fall camp.

"I'm excited because you look at it and it's like... this is it," Ross said. "This is my last chance. Every day could be your last snap.

"That's something that you keep bringing up. Not as a negative factor, but more as motivation. Ever since I've been here, I've been a vocal player, but this year is different because there is no senior over me."

For Ross, leadership seems to be part of his natural football makeup. He's played the game since age five, and was a quarterback at Gainesville (FL) High School where he earned second-team All-State honors as a senior.

Ross also embraces that team-first mentality that is necessary for commanding the huddle, and his path to success at ECU is a living example. He sacrificed his first two years as an undersized reserve safety before undergoing a metamorphosis that transformed him into one of Conference USA's best cover corners last season.

"I never really was a safety," Ross said. "I'm a team guy, and I was told (in 2004) that I would be helping the team if I would move to safety.

"They brought in Zach Baker, who was a great safety, so I didn't mind playing behind him. I knew all along that I was a corner. I never really was a safety, that was just something that I was told that I was helping the team out."

Where Ross' route to stardom at ECU hasn't been the most conventional, left tackle Eric Graham has experienced a more natural, yet somewhat underappreciated progression. After playing in six games as a redshirt freshman in 2003, the Richlands senior seized a starting spot in 2004 and hasn't released it since.

He enters his senior campaign as the anchor of an inexperienced offensive front, and Pirates coach Skip Holtz is leaning heavily on Graham's leadership to help galvanize that unit. It's an assignment that Graham willingly accepts as he seeks to help erase the question marks that many have placed on his trench mates.

"Ever since the end of last season, the coaches knew that I would take on a leadership role," Graham said. "It was kind of like I was expected to do it. It was destined for me to take on that role."

Likewise for James Pinkney, the senior quarterback whose leadership throughout his career has been more by example than by verbal motivation. Quiet by nature, confrontation doesn't come naturally to Pinkney, which at times was a source of frustration for Holtz last season.

"I think all of a sudden you get to that senior year and you realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel," Holtz said. "You start to see that this is your last go 'round for it. All of a sudden it becomes an importance factor for you.

"James has really jumped into this thing and become a very vocal leader, which has not been his strength. You start to hear him more and more. You started to hear him a little bit more in the spring. From what I understand, during the summer he was a great leader... In order for us to be successful, he's got to be a vocal leader, and he's really taken that seriously upon himself."

That seems to be the theme among most of this senior class. So does the goal that each member has embraced since the Pirates concluded 2005 with consecutive wins over Marshall and UAB.

After struggling to compete during their first two seasons, the Pirate seniors now understand what it takes to win. And with that much now in tow, the senior class has its sights on a much bigger prize.

"I'm putting a lot of emphasis on winning our conference," Ross said. "Because if we win our conference, the bowl game will take care of itself.

"You can say to yourself, let's get our six wins so that we can go to a bowl. But we don't want to just settle for that. We want to win our conference."