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CHERUBINI CHIMES IN
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One-on-One with the
Pirates
Thursday,
August 26, 2010
By Ron Cherubini |
Cory Dowless
By
Ron Cherubini
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Since his Conference USA
All-Freshman campaign
in 2006, Cory Dowless has been a mainstay on the offensive line at East
Carolina. He
is physical, strong, and applies a technician-like approach to blocking that has made him
one of the best offensive linemen in the league. His durability
(28-straight starts) should garner more than a few looks from the NFL. A
preseason All-C-USA selection, the powerful guard has drawn rave reviews from
his new coaches and will part of what should shake out to be one of the
better lines in the league.
Cory was kind enough to sit down for a chat with
Bonesville to share his insights on the upcoming season.
Q: Difference between this
staff and last staff?
A: It has always been a
family thing here at ECU, but when coach Ruff came here, he really drives
that point home. You know, he was a Pirate and he wants us all to feel that
same way… for it to be Pirate football. On the field, one thing the coaches
are stressing is everything must be done at full speed, you know, always run
hard to the whistle. So we are out here at practice and everything is full
speed and our best effort.
 Q:
How difficult has the transition been from a run-first oriented team to a
pass-first scheme?
A: It really has not been too
difficult. You know, we got a lot of good work in here in the spring and
during the summer. We had everyone here and we all picked it up pretty
quick. It’s not a concern.
Q: How good can this offensive
line be? How concerned are the veterans about the center position and how
are those guys coming along?
A: Right now we have a couple
of centers fighting for that spot and we have us three older guys here to
help the younger guys out. We push them to come out and work harder each day
which is part of our role here and help this offense.
Q: Who on the offense do you
expect to be a star/stud this year that wasn’t a star last year?
A: You can run across the
board on this… you know there is a lot of talk about the guys we lost from
last year, but there are plenty of guys here who have a lot of talent but
have not started, but they have been in the mix in practice and have game
reps, too. So, I can’t really point to just one guy because we have several
who could break out this season. We’ve got Will (Towery) and Daulton (Faulds)
who are battling out hard every day right now and Grant Harner and Steven
Baker are both really talented guys who are doing a great job. Any of those
guys could be great.
Q: What has changed for you
this season? What is expected of you this season that was not expected last
season?
A: Expectations, you know, it
really never changes. We go into each season ready to work.
As far as season expectations go,
it’s the same standard always: win a championship, get to a bowl game. It
doesn’t matter what players you have, or what the circumstances are, those
goals never change.
Q: You make your living taking
care of the quarterback, any thoughts you can share on the quarterback
competition right now?
A: You know, it is good to
see so many guys out here with talent at that position. They are battling
for this spot. I know that from the offensive line standpoint, we know that
whoever wins that battle and is out there, if we can give him time, he will
make plays.
 Q:
Who on our defensive front would you say has the potential to be the next C.J.
Wilson, Linval Joseph, or Jay Ross?
A: Across the board, in each
position, there is a lot of talent there. It is just a case where these
guys need to get
in the reps, keep working hard. There are several of them that could be the
next one of those guys.
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08/30/2010 12:59 AM |
