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FOOTBALL |
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Tide transfer punting for
Pirates |
Worth Gregory spent a year
in the storied football
program at Alabama before
bringing his punting ability
to East Carolina. When Trent
Tignor completed his
eligibility in 2013 with a
42.8-yard average for two
seasons, Gregory gave the
Pirates someone ready to
continue providing an edge ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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15 Questions
for Devaris Brunson |
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Devaris Brunson
(6-1,230) heads into
his sophomore year
with the Pirates
after a true
freshman campaign in
which he helped the
team in several
different roles. The
South Carolina
native played all
four years of high
school football on
the varsity level
for Lake City High
School. He was rated
a four-star prospect
by Scout.com ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Devaris
Brunson basked in
the glow of victory
after East
Carolina's win over
Ohio in last
December's Beef 'O'
Brady's Bowl in
Tampa, FL. The blue
chip recruit
experienced action
on offense, defense
and special teams in
11 contests as a
true freshman. (W.A.
Myatt file photo) |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The
Brian Bailey Show |
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  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
East Carolina head
football coach
Ruffin McNeill
(right):
Replay
show... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Mom knew best for Strozier |
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 Justin
Strozier grew up around a
father with experience as a
college football player. But
it was actually a mother's
influence that started
Strozier on the road to
gridiron success in spite of
his own protests. ...
More from Sammy Batten... |
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FOOTBALL |
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New first teamers in
secondary |
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 East Carolina has more starting experience in the
secondary on its coaching staff than on the 2014 roster. Coach Ruffin
McNeill was a
multi-year starter
in the defensive
backfield for the
Pirates before
graduating in 1980
and new defensive
staff assistant Kyle
Chase was a starter
at strong safety as
well during his
career from 2003 to
2006. ...
Story & pictures... |
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Pictured: Wide
receiver Justin
Hardy, an
All-America
candidate, refines
his pass-catching
skills after
practice on Tuesday
by catching tennis
balls launched from
a machine. The
Pirates worked out
as a team before
ECU's annual media
day activities. (Photo by W.A.
Myatt.) |
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By Brett Friedlander
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
There�s no telling what Steve Spurrier actually meant by
the comment. The Ol� Ball Coach is, after all, a master of both the
verbal head game and the not-so-subtle dig.
So when Spurrier was quoted as saying that
he�d rather his South Carolina Gamecocks
schedule games against East Carolina than a bottom-feeder
from one of college football�s power conferences � specifically the Big
Ten � it�s anyone�s guess as to whether he was praising the Pirates or
putting down a rival league.
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill, as he does with most things in
life, chose to take the positive interpretation.
�I�ve always gotten along great with Coach Spurrier,�
McNeill said. �I respect what he says because of what he�s done on the
field. And Coach Spurrier has done it on the field. He stirs it up with
what he says and I appreciate the compliment.�
McNeill�s comment may have been his way of practicing a
little psychology of his own in advance of the Pirates� upcoming date
with the Gamecocks in Columbia on Sept. 6. But there�s also a valid
reason for his optimism.
When you�re ECU and you�re constantly fighting to earn
the respect of anyone outside a 90-mile radius of Greenville, you know
that compliments aren�t always easy to come by � regardless of how well
your teams perform on the field.
But that may be about to change.
With their entry into the American Athletic Conference,
the Pirates have finally hit on an association that will give them the
exposure they have always lacked while providing both the financial and
competitive resources necessary to earn the national respect they have
always craved.
Within its first 12 months of existence, the AAC has
already claimed a BCS bowl victory with Central Florida�s win against
Baylor in the Fiesta, to go along with UConn�s national championships in
both the men�s and women�s basketball.
No, the league formerly known as the Big East isn�t one
of the five power conferences that were recently granted autonomy over
their own affairs. And no matter how hard it tries, there�s a good
chance it will never be granted that kind of stature. But that won�t
stop if from trying.
Like ECU, the AAC has set exceedingly high expectations
for itself and isn�t about back down from anyone that tries to tell it
what it can or can�t accomplish.
That�s an attitude that makes it the perfect fit for the
feisty Pirates.
�First of all, they bring a great football program,� AAC
commissioner Mike Aresco said during a visit to Greenville this summer.
�They bring a university that is widely respected. They bring a sports
department that is extremely well-run. They will bring energy,
enthusiasm and the kind of fan interest you want. I think they�re going
to bring a great deal to our conference, that�s what�s exciting about
this.�
What�s exciting to athletic director Jeff Compher and
everyone else associated with ECU is that in contrast to all those other
conferences that rejected ECU in the past � most notably the ACC �
Aresco said it doesn�t matter that the school is located off the beaten
path in a market that barely registers on the ratings charts.
With rival schools located in media hotbeds such as
Dallas, Houston, Cincinnati and Memphis, along with the national
spotlight that follows UConn, the Pirates will have plenty of
opportunities to get noticed as long as they hold up their end of the
bargain when the cameras are rolling.
�I don�t think (market size) is as important as
developing competitiveness and making your mark nationally,� Aresco
said. �We�re a little different from other conferences. We need to
perform on the field and on the court to gain the attention we deserve.�
It�s a similar situation to the one the Big East faced
when it first came onto the scene in the early 1980s.
�What you�re going to see is programs coming in that will
raise their level and raise their profile,� Aresco said. �To this day
Frank Beamer says there�s no way Virginia Tech could have done what it
did without membership in the Big East. Think about where they were and
how they built a program. It�s not easy to do, but you can do it. A
program like (ECU) is already in place, especially in football. It just
needs to be discovered.�
In that respect, McNeill and his team couldn�t have
picked a better time to introduce themselves to the world outside of
Eastern North Carolina. Coming off a 10-win season with most of their
top playmakers returning, led by the record-setting duo of quarterback
Shane Carden and receiver Justin Hardy, this year�s Pirates have a much
better chance of making a positive first impression than if they were a
team in rebuilding mode.
�It�s about time we get this national exposure for ECU,�
Carden said. �I don�t think a lot of people really understand the
stature football has at this school. I�m glad we�re finally getting this
opportunity to showcase who we are and what we can do.�
Now all they have to do is take advantage of the
opportunity by winning some of those big games that everyone will be
watching.
The more that happens, the less room for interpretation
there will be in the compliments they get.
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
briefly with the press after
Thursday's practice session.
(Recorded by Brian Bailey;
archive photo by W.A.
Myatt.) ...
