Skip Holtz's unexpected
departure last week to take over the program at South Florida could have
wrecked a recruiting class that has been literally years in the making.
But it hasn't. Not yet, at
least.
As East Carolina athletic
director Terry Holland indicated last Friday, it seems like most of the
prospects who had given verbal commitments to Holtz plan to stick with
the Pirates as they search for a new head coach.
“We have 22 commitments
and most of those are going to hold,'' Holland told reporters Friday.
“The ones we lose, we might have lost anyway.''
We're only aware of 19
committed players, and Bonesville.net had verified by Sunday evening
through the players themselves or their high school coaches that at
least 13 remain part of the Pirates class. We're still trying to contact
the five others to determine their status.
Seven members of the
recruiting class were already enrolled at ECU by the time Holtz made his
exit, so it would have been difficult for them to change their minds.
The group already on campus includes junior college transfers Dominique
Davis (quarterback), Bradley Jacobs (safety) and Diavalo Simpson
(offensive line) along with Hargrave Military Academy alum Alex Owah
(running back), Jeremy Groves (linebacker) from Ijamsville, MD, and
Maurice Falls (linebacker) of Belmont.
The seventh recruit is a
mystery junior college transfer who school officials haven't officially
announced as part of the class.
Offensive lineman Taylor
Hudson from Mauldin, SC, defensive back Detric Allen from Norwood,
linebacker Jacob Geary of Hillsborough, defensive back Damon Magazu from
Charlotte, Asheville tight end Trevor Sawyer and quarterback Desi Brown
of Webster Groves, MO, (formerly of Norwood), are the six prep players
we have confirmed are still committed.
Hudson is still anxious to
learn who ECU will hire to replace Holtz.
“I've been committed to
Coach Holtz for almost a year, so it was a shock when he decided to
leave,'' Hudson said. “But I'm still a Pirate for now. I'll just wait
and see what happens with the new coach.''
Allen and Brown, who were
teammates at South Stanly High before Brown's military family was
transferred to Missouri, took their official visits to Greenville
together earlier this month. South Stanly head coach Luke Little said
both were still solid with the Pirates.
Geary's coach at Cedar
Ridge is his father, Lou Geary. The elder Geary said his son was one of
13 ECU recruits who attended the Pirates team banquet on Jan. 9 in
Greenville.
“We had breakfast at Coach
Holtz's house,'' Lou Geary said. “It was great. He's such a genuine
person. We were flabbergasted to hear he was leaving, but we wish him
the best.
“We met all the recruits
and I don't see any of them going anywhere else.''
Magazu's coach at
Providence High, Randy Long, said his player is committed, but anxiously
awaiting the naming of a new coach.
“I talked to him briefly
and right now he's committed to ECU,'' Long said. “But I think you've
got to wait and see how things unfold and see what direction they go.
Right now he's just going to play it by ear.''
Asheville coach Danny
Wilkins said Sawyer hopes the Pirates promote an assistant coach to the
head position.
“He's hoping they'll hire
from within,'' Wilkins said. “From what I understand, at least one or
two of them (assistants) are going to try to interview for it (head
coach job).
“But as far as Trevor is
concerned, he's going to be a Pirate. He likes the school. I think he's
pretty solid.''
One committed player who
has stated he has a backup plan is Bennettsville, SC, defensive end Lee
Pegues. Pegues said he is still committed to ECU, but is looking at
scheduling an official visit to Illinois on Jan. 22.
So that leaves offensive
linemen Drew Gentry and Mack Helms from Tallahassee, FL, defensive
tackle Crishon Rose of Forestville, MD, Valdosta, GA, defensive back
Dontavis Sapp and linebacker Terry Williams from Loganville, GA, as
players we still have to contact for a status update. We'll keep
checking on those players for an answer this week.
Tyrone Johnson, a
defensive back from Fayetteville's Westover High, was one of the first
players to commit to the Class of 2010 back in May 2009. But former
Westover coach Milton Butts said ECU took back Johnson's scholarship
offer just before Christmas due to issues with his transcript.