Football Recruiting Report Thursday, May 28, 2015 By Sammy Batten

Injury brought ECU, Herrin together

By Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Recruiting Class of 2016 Thumbnail Sketches...

Showing loyalty when others shied away helped the East Carolina football coaching staff land its latest prospect for the recruiting class of 2016.

The Pirates received their third verbal commitment from a rising high school senior late last week from Saluda, SC, offensive lineman Cortez Herrin. Herrin, a 6-foot-4, 320-pounder, chose ECU over scholarship offers from Football Championship Subdivision programs N.C. Central and South Carolina State.

Those schools were joined in pursuit of Herrin last winter by Clemson and South Carolina. But the interest from the Tigers and Gamecocks lessened somewhat when Herrin suffered an ACL tear in his knee five games into Saluda's basketball season. The injury, and the fact that Herrin had only one season of varsity football under his belt at Saluda caused the in-state schools to take a “wait-and-see'' attitude in regards to his recruitment.

East Carolina, however, took a different approach. After having Herrin on campus in April and discussing his injury thoroughly with Saluda head coach Stewart Young, the Pirates extended a scholarship offer on May 7.

It came as no surprise to Young that Herrin accepted the ECU offer.

“Why did he choose East Carolina? It's a real simple answer to be honest,'' Young said. “Before he tore his ACL he was getting recruited heavily by in-state schools, and I'm talking Clemson and South Carolina. But after the injury everybody slowed down on him because of the knee and because we didn't have a lot of film on him since he'd only played his junior year. They all wanted to wait and see him at their (summer) camps.

“East Carolina jumped on him and gave him their word they'd give him a scholarship and would honor it. They knew he'd get healthy. We had some long talks about it and he kept saying he wanted to go to ECU because 'they believe in me.' I said, 'OK, let's make the commitment.' ''

Herrin is already well ahead on his road to recovery, according to Young. He had surgery in January and wasn't to be cleared to work out with no restrictions until August 1. But that date has now been shifted back to July 1.

“He's ahead of schedule,'' Young said. “He's running, cutting, jumping over small hurdles and everything. He's getting back to his form.''

It was that form and size that caught Young's eye when Herrin and older brother Cedric showed up for the start of Saluda's preseason practice in August 2012. The pair had transferred in from another school and made an immediate impact on the Saluda program as defensive linemen.

But after an impressive freshman season, Cortez stepped away from the gridiron as a sophomore in 2013.

“We knew he was something special after his ninth-grade year,'' Young said. “But issues – nothing serious – kept him away from football. It actually ended up being a good thing for him. He came back last year with renewed energy and spirit. He became a team leader for us.''

Young used Herrin exclusively on the defensive line for the first three games of the 2014 season. He played both nose tackle and end alongside his brother, who would later earn a spot in South Carolina's annual North-South All-Star game.

But after determining the Tigers had plenty of depth on the defensive line and were in need of help on the offensive line, Young inserted Herrin into the starting lineup at guard as well.

“We played a small school in South Carolina, McCormick, in our fourth game,'' Young said. “We plugged him in there at guard and he came out of that game with 14 pancake blocks. I said, 'Wow! We're going to keep him on offense.'

“He played on both sides of the ball from then on out. He was in shape to do it. But we used him so much on defense I don't know if he really was at his best. He'll be a whole lot better when he plays one way.''

Young said Herrin doesn't rely on size alone to get the job done.

“He's very athletic,'' he said. “Before the knee injury he could dunk a basketball. He's a big kid who moves like a cat.''

The Pirates are expected to use the “Big Cat'' as an offensive guard, although Young believes he's versatile enough to play multiple positions.

“He's focused squarely on offense in college, but the intriguing thing about it is some of the other schools recruited him to play defense,'' Young said. “But right now East Carolina is looking at him strictly on the offensive line. He has a guard body, but he can move so in our league we use him as a tackle, too.

“With the offense East Carolina runs, I'm not sure where they'll put him. He could be a center with his frame.''

Young said he expects more schools to start engaging Herrin in recruiting talk next fall after getting a look at him during the 2015 season. But he's just as sure Herrin will remain committed to the school that was loyal to him from the start.

“I think his recruiting will blow up after a few games next year,'' Young said. “But I'm convinced he's a man of his word and he'll stick with East Carolina.''

Herrin joins quarterback Reid Herring from Raleigh, NC, and wide receiver Tajh Deans from Bailey, NC, as prep players in ECU's recruiting class. The Pirates also have a commitment from junior college wide receiver Dre Massey, who first signed with ECU out of Mauldin (SC) High School in February 2014. Massey is currently on the team at Holmes (MS) Community College.

E-mail Sammy Batten

PAGE UPDATED 05/30/15 07:52 PM.