CHRONICLING ECU & C-USA SPORTS
-----
|
View
from the 'ville
Tuesday,
July 25, 2006
By Al Myatt |
 |
Holtz: Pirates now have
something to prove
©2006 Bonesville.net
They don't give any trophies based on the
Conference USA
preseason football coaches poll, which
was released on Monday.
East Carolina was picked sixth (and last) in
the East Division, the slot coincidently from which Central Florida launched
the rebirth of Coach George O'Leary and spring-boarded to the division title
in 2005.
The C-USA coaches voted the Golden Knights and
Tulsa as favorites to return to the league's championship game.
Pirates coach Skip Holtz knows that the
preseason poll and some change will get you a cup of coffee.
"That's why they play the season," said the
second-year ECU coach. "Everybody looks at the talent level and what you
have coming back. We don't have magic wands. We can't go 'poof' and say what
will happen.
"That's why you play the season. It lets you
see how hard you've worked since last season in spring practice, in summer
conditioning and how hard you've worked in fall camp — how focused and how
committed you are.
"That's where people see us. That's why you
play the season. Let's go see if we can prove somebody wrong."
The C-USA coaches may not have factored a
double dose of Jamar into their placement of the Pirates. Wide receiver
Jamar Bryant and safety Jamar Flournoy have become eligible to join and
rejoin the ECU program.
Bryant originally signed with Georgia out of
Coach Ed Emory's successful Richmond County program but the former Raiders
quarterback actually attended Hargrave Military out of high school. The
6-foot-2, 205-pounder has since enrolled at ECU and is academically
eligible, according to Holtz. He projects as a receiver despite a versatile
prep career.
"He's in the second session of summer school
right now," Holtz said. "I've never been on the field with him but I know
he's talented and was highly recruited. I'm as anxious to get on the field
with him as everybody who is talking about him is excited."
Flournoy (6-0, 209) had 75 tackles from his
linebacker spot in 2004, which was the third highest total on that 2-9 team
coached by John Thompson. A junior college transfer, Flournoy was moved to
strong safety by Holtz's staff the following spring. He was dismissed from
the team a year ago for breaking team policy. Holtz said he has met criteria
to return to the ECU program.
"There were academic requirements regarding
his return and we also put athletic and social things on him in order for
him to return," Holtz said. "He's done everything we asked.
"They (Bryant and Flournoy) are two very
talented players."
His C-USA colleagues may have slotted the
Pirates last in their division but Holtz is wary of any kind of preseason
prediction, especially one that involves forecasting a specific number of
wins.
"I'm very cautious about putting a number on
the season," he said. "Number one, you don't want to put a number too low.
The players might react like 'They don't think we're capable of doing better
than that.'
"Secondly, you don't want to put a number too
high. If you say eight and you get four losses then everybody feels
disappointed or pressured about the goal. So I don't
put restrictions on it."
Holtz said the standard has changed from his
first season in Greenville. The Pirates face four non-conference teams in
2006 which all registered bowl wins in 2005.
"We worked hard last year to be competitive,"
he said. "Now we're playing Big East (West Virginia) and ACC teams (Virginia
and N.C. State). We can be a much better team, but I don't know if it will
show in wins and losses.
"It's hard to evaluate. The bar we're trying
to climb over keeps getting higher.
"I don't know how good we can be. I just want
us to be as good as we can be. We'll take it one day at a time and work hard
and see how good we are. We'll look back at the end. We were three plays
from being 8-3 last year, but the reality is we were not."
The Pirates won their last two games in 2005
against Marshall and UAB to finish 5-6.
"A lot of the teams we play are more talented
but that doesn't mean we're going to lose," Holtz said. "Numbers (of wins
and losses) are great for magazines and fans but it's a scary proposition to
start making predictions."
A game at Navy on Sept. 2 starts the 2006
season. Holtz said the Midshipmen's option attack will require a disciplined
response by the Pirate defense.
"Any time you play an option offense, they
make you become accountable on defense," Holtz said. "You have to play
assignment football.
"You try to play defense with emotion and
passion and urgency — like your hair's on fire — but when you play an option
team you have to be assignment oriented. Paul Johnson (Navy coach) has done
a great job with that offense at Georgia Southern and now Navy.
"What they force you to do is become very
simplistic. Once he (Johnson) gets a bead on what you're doing, he's so
familiar with that offense — he does a great job of attacking what you're
doing. It's a heck of a challenge."
Holtz and staff are in the midst of their late
July hideaway, making plans, preparations and brainstorming for the 2006
season. The coaches were recruiting and working camps before taking
vacations earlier this month.
Holtz and family spent some time with his
parents in Orlando and with his wife Jennifer's folks, who live south of
Tampa. The Holtz children stayed with Jennifer's parents while the ECU coach
and wife took off for the Bahamas. They were there for their 14th wedding
anniversary on July 11th.
"It was good to re-introduce myself to my wife
and spend some time with the kids," Holtz said. "In this business, there's
so little down time and we're getting ready to go 24/7. The next breather
will be at Christmas and we'll be recruiting then if we go to a bowl game,
so it was good to get recharged."
Send an e-mail message to Al Myatt.
Dig into Al Myatt's Bonesville
archives.
02/23/2007 12:30:31 AM
----- |
