By
Al Myatt
©2013 Bonesville.net
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Wednesday was the 55th birthday of East Carolina football
coach Ruffin McNeill and it was pretty much business as usual.
McNeill is feeling pretty youthful with the Pirates off
to a 4-1 start.
"What keeps me young is being around the kids," he said
amid preparations for a 3:30 p.m. game Saturday at Tulane, which will
match a pair of teams with 2-0 Conference USA records.
"They keep you young and keep you spry," said the ECU
coach of his players. "If I ever stop doing that, I'm sure I'll feel
old, but they don't allow you. You better be on edge with them. It's all
good."
McNeill is 2-0 on his birthday as a Pirate. As a freshman
in 1976, ECU thrashed Southern Illinois, 49-14.
In his first year as head coach in 2010, the Pirates
were 44-43 winners at Southern
Miss on Oct. 9.
"People have been very nice and brought things I can't
eat right now," McNeill said. "I wish I could. The cake. The brownies.
I'm very thankful and blessed to be in a place that I love and be able
to do a job that I love."
His staff got the birthday goodies.
Comparing to Texas Tech
McNeill was on staff at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2010. The
Red Raiders never had a losing record during that span and finished in
the Top 25 in five of his last six seasons there.
ECU offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley was among the
staff members McNeill brought with him from Lubbock, TX.
One college football ratings system, the Colley Matrix,
has the Pirates presently ranked at No. 29.
"You see some traits," McNeill said when asked to compare
the two programs. "I don't think we're quite there yet. We've got some
things that are really, really similar, but I think if we continue the
progress, we could maybe be equal or surpass what they did because of
what we've done from the ground up, offensively, scheme-wise, and with
Rick (Smith, defensive coordinator), defensive-wise, and with Kirk
(Doll, special teams coordinator).
"All three of those sides are operating at a frenzied
pace. We're trying to get where all three sides are feeding off of one
another simultaneously.
"We did that quite a bit that year."
McNeill was referring to the 2008 season at Texas Tech,
which produced an 11-2 record and included a 39-33 win over then-No. 1
Texas on Nov. 1.
Blue Raiders were physical
Middle Tennessee State was a physical football team, a
factor that was apparent during
a 24-17 ECU win in
Murfreesboro, TN, last Saturday.
"We knew that going into the game," said the Pirates
coach. "We had a chance to watch them when we were watching UNC because
they played them early in the year. When you're watching UNC, you can't
help but notice the team they're playing against.
"I watch all three sides of the ball. I was able to watch
their defense versus UNC, their offense versus UNC and their special
teams versus UNC. I had a chance to watch them the week before in
preparing for the UNC game.
"After the UNC game, my mind went right to the next one
because I knew Rick (Stockstill, MTSU head coach) has been there. He's
been there eight years. He has his own kids in place.
"He's been very successful and he's got a great staff. I
knew we'd be facing a really good football team and we did."
McNeill's exit from the field at MTSU was different than
when he walked out of Kenan Stadium following
a 55-31 win in Chapel Hill.
McNeill was a humble winner over the Tar Heels. He fist
pumped, yelled and was high fiving fans on the way to the locker room
after subduing the Blue Raiders.
"Because it showed growth in our program," he said of his
reaction to the latter triumph. "I was very proud of that. Big,
emotional win. Tough week. The kids were getting pats on the back
because (UNC) was a big win for us. You know, 38 years (since ECU's last
win in Chapel Hill). We understood that time frame. Playing a tough
team, a really well-coached team, a conference division game on the road
in a tough environment and we were able to come through in a situation
where, earlier, we may or may not have been able to come through.
"What was pleasing to me was the team being able to fight
through things in those situations. ... With me, it's always about the
kids. I was pleased to see them and the coaches be able to do that."
'C.J.' and Ruff have history
Second-year Tulane coach Curtis Johnson and McNeill have
known each other for some time. Johnson was on staff at Miami when the
Hurricanes won the national championship in 2001 and also won a Super
Bowl as a member of the New Orleans Saints staff to cap the 2009 season.
"C.J. has always been a very good recruiter as well as
being a good coach and he's a better person," McNeill said. "You can
find some really good players in Louisiana. That was my area for a lot
of years and C.J. recruited that area, too, when he was at Miami. He
lived there when he was with the Saints so he understands those kids. He
is getting some really good kids in there."
Nick Montana, the son of the legendary former San
Francisco 49er quarterback, Joe Montana, is the Green Wave quarterback.
Nick Montana started his career at Washington, transferred to a junior
college and is a redshirt junior for Tulane. He has completed 102 of 183
passes for 1,116 yards with 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Wave
back Orleans Darkwa has run 85 times for 347 yards with six scores.
"He's getting some really good talent in there and he's
doing a great job of coaching 'em up," McNeill said. "You can tell Nick
Montana has been trained by one of the best in the game. ... He
understands the game and has a great savvy about him. He can make the
throws. He can scramble and extend plays. He's a really good football
player."
ECU quarterback Shane Carden is also the son of a former
professional athlete. His dad, Jay, was a minor league baseball pitcher.
The younger Carden has connected on 157 of 214 passes for 1,537 yards
with 12 TDs and four picks.
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest was Duane
Price:
The
Steve Logan Show airs on FM 103.7 and FM
94.1 each Monday from 6-8 p.m. Replay last
night's show:
Coach
Ruffin McNeill discussed the Pirates' win
over Middle Tennessee State and previewed
the Tulane game:
