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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates rigging for difficult seas |
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 The 2015 East Carolina football
schedule is quite a conversation
piece. There's a rematch with
Florida from the Birmingham Bowl in
the Swamp on Sept. 12. The trip to
Navy for the Midshipmen's first ever
American Athletic Conference contest
ensues Sept. 19. ...
More from
Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates pad up and pop |
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 East
Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill
says camp is flying by. I�m not sure
if the players agree, but the
calendar continues to peel off the
dates as we get closer to the season
opener. ...
More
from Brian Bailey... |
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FOOTBALL: ECU MEDIA
DAY |
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Pirates have
questions to answer |
GREENVILLE �
The pertinent
questions were asked at East
Carolina's football media day on
Saturday. The Pirate coaches
essentially said we'll have to
get back to you.
The quarterback situation in the absence of Shane Carden
and the potential impact of Minnesota/Rutgers transfer Philip Nelson as
well as the competition for placekicker are among the issues ECU is
dealing with as the 2015 season approaches. Nelson walked on with the
Pirates and his status for this season is to be determined.
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Story & pictures from Al Myatt...
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Pictured: ECU Coach
Ruffin McNeill
expressed his
excitement that the
program is into
preseason camp while
addressing reporters
on media day. (Photo
by Al Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL: AAC MEDIA
DAY |
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Keeping pace with the Power 5 |
NEWPORT, RI �
For American
Athletic Conference commissioner
Mike Aresco, one element of full
cost tuition for
student-athletes is keeping pace
with the Power Five conferences
� the ACC, the Big Ten, the Big
12, The Pac-12 and the SEC.
Aresco led off the AAC football media day Tuesday at the
Hyatt Regency with wide-ranging remarks and touched on the provisions
for payments to athletes that will begin this academic year.
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More
from Al Myatt... |
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Pictured: ECU coach Ruffin
McNeill responds to a
question during the media
Q&A session at the AAC media
day on Tuesday in Newport,
RI. (Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL: AAC MEDIA
DAY |
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Monday Fun Day for AAC |
NEWPORT, RI �
The Big East kept
the name for its contingent of
basketball-geared athletic
programs but the American
Athletic Conference retained
some impressive traditions for
its football kickoff.
Those events over the last three years for the AAC
include a round of golf for athletic directors, coaches and media
members at Newport National Golf Club, a well-maintained challenge
complete with occasional sea breezes.
...
More
from Al Myatt... |
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Pictured: East
Carolina athletic
director Jeff
Compher enjoyed
playing golf at
Newport National on
Monday as part of
the AAC's football
kickoff. (Photo by
Al Myatt) |
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By
Brian Bailey
�2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
The East Carolina offense hit the snooze button one time too many on
Saturday morning.
The Pirate defense dominated the first scrimmage of the 2015 fall
campaign. The defense accounted for 13 tackles for losses and was in
complete control all morning.
The quarterbacks were the most disappointing, going just 13-35 with
three interceptions. Kurt Benkert, who I thought would be named the
starter this week, was just 3-15 for 13 yards and an interception.
It's not uncommon for the defense to be ahead of the offense the first
couple of weeks of August. Dig deeper, and the situation isn't nearly as
dire as it may appear.
Several players told me afterwards that they were surprised that the
offense faired so poorly in the scrimmage. That same offense apparently
dominated the defense earlier in the week and had plenty of confidence
going into Saturday.
"I'm disappointed," said Benkert after the scrimmage. "I just don't
think we did a good job of playing 11-man football. We'll get back after
it and correct the mistakes."
"It was certainly average, maybe below average," said first year
offensive coordinator Dave Nichol. "We certainly have some work to do
but I think we'll be okay."
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill knows it's always a double-edge sword. If the
defense looks good, it's at the expense of the offense.
�The defense is usually ahead when you go into your first scrimmage,�
McNeill added. �Today wasn�t any different. The offense is older and is
starting to come around and I think this week you will see them catch
up. We started to see a glimpse of that this week and things are coming
back for them as a unit.
"In scrimmages like today,
where it�s not a series of plays like in a game, you will see a defense
having a lot of three-and-outs and then get off the field. I was proud
of the way they played, especially getting three turnovers which helps
our offense tremendously.
"Offensively, we just have
to keep getting after it by playing each play, but they�ll catch up and
it�s going to be fun to watch.�
The highlight of the scrimmage was Chris Hairston's 73-yard touchdown
run on his only carry.
"I hope to have some more like that this year," said Hairston. "I owe it
all to the guys up front though. They gave me a lane and I just ran
through it."
Coach Ruff was quick to get Hairston, and many of his starters, off the
field and on the sideline.
"I saw Chris (Hairston) break one early," said McNeill. "And then I got
him out of the game. I�ve seen him run for about five years, so I know
what he can do. I did the same thing with Zeek (Bigger), Isaiah (Jones)
and some other guys.�
All scrimmages are closed but I did get to see the last half hour or so.
Former South Central star Shawn Furlow had a nice run while I was there,
but even in the short time I watched I could tell the offense was off a
bit. Furlow had 52 yards on six carries.
Is there concern about the Pirate offense? Sure there is. You don't lose
players like Shane Carden and Justin Hardy and just re-load.
Still, this offense will get better as camp continues. Playing against
the Pirate defense on a daily basis will pay dividends down the road.
There is no need to panic. Look for the Pirate offense to rebound in a
big way this week.
BB
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU athletic
director Jeff
Compher (right):
The
Brian Bailey Show airs on Pirate
Radio 1250 on Mondays from 6:30-7:30
p.m. Brian's guests this week were
ECU assistant head football coach
Donnie Kirkpatrick (left), ECU
QB
Kurt Benkert (right) and Eastern
Carolina 4A/3A high school coaches:
