Though shocked and disappointed by the departure of Steve
Logan as East Carolina’s head football coach, none of the players pledged to
the recruiting Class of 2003 are ready to rule out a future with the
Pirates.
All eight high school seniors who had given verbal
commitments to Logan’s coaching staff say they still want to be recruited by
ECU’s new head coach, whoever that turns out to be. Either the player or his
high school head coach confirmed those intentions since Logan’s resignation
on Saturday.
“This decision doesn’t really make me change my decision,’’
Clinton High School receiver Brian Howard said. “I made a commitment to them
and I’m going to stick to it.’’
Running back Robert Tillman of South Robeson High in
Rowland, Williamston lineman Michael Horner and Lynchburg, Va., offensive
lineman Lewis Watson joined Howard in reaffirming their commitments to ECU
in the wake of Logan’s resignation on Saturday following a 4-8 season.
But fellow prep seniors Deon Adams, a quarterback-wide
receiver from Greensboro Smith, Lexington offensive lineman Virgil Black and
Starmount offensive lineman William “Web’’ Brown will consider other
options, including the Pirates.
“It won’t affect my decision to go there,’’ said Tillman,
whose team was ousted in the Western 2-A Regional finals on Saturday by
Burlington Cummings. “As long as I go to school somewhere, I’m not going to
worry about it. It’s not something I can control.’’
Williamston coach Harold Robinson already has two former
players on the East Carolina roster in senior nose guard Ronald Pou and
freshman wide receiver Kevin Roach. Robinson said the 6-foot-4, 270-pound
Horner is still planning to join Pou and Roach in Greenville.
“I talked to him and he still wants to play for East
Carolina,’’ said Robinson, a former ECU fullback. “It’s close to home and he
likes the university, so he’s still pretty much committed. He hates Coach
Logan is gone because he liked Coach Logan. But he realizes these things
happen.’’
The 6-5, 295-pound Watson is a late bloomer who was
considered a real steal for the Pirates because he had limited football
experience but great potential. He was unable to play for the Heritage
varsity as a junior because of a torn growth plate, then blossomed as a
senior to become one of the state’s top offensive linemen.
Logan’s coaching staff was the first to offer a scholarship
and Watson rewarded that loyalty with a commitment.
“They stuck with me,’’ Watson said. “So I’m going to think
seriously about sticking with them. But first I want to finish this season,
then I’ll think about my options. Right now, though, I’m still with them.’’
Heritage was scheduled to play in the state title game on
Friday.
Watson was recommended to the ECU staff by Heritage coach
Chris Jones, who formerly was the head man at Bath High School. While at
Bath, Jones coached red-shirt freshman offensive lineman Trey Magee of the
Pirates.
Parker’s desire to play quarterback in college is keeping
him close to the ECU program. The 6-2, 210-pounder has been offered a
scholarship to play defensive back by North Carolina, but he isn’t ready to
defect from the Pirates’ class until he can discuss his situation with the
new coaching staff.
“I want to play quarterback, and until they tell me I can’t
do that at East Carolina, then that’s where I’m going,’’ Parker said. “I’ll
wait and see what happens with the new coaches.’’
The 6-4, 300-pound Black is the only ECU recruit who is
already planning to make official visits to other schools.
Lexington coach Bill Hunt said Black will visit N.C. State
in January, and may also make a trip to Florida. He was scheduled to make an
official visit to East Carolina in January also, and hopes that trip won’t
be cancelled by the new staff.
“East Carolina is not out of the picture, but he’s going to
look around,’’ Hunt said. “He had just gotten a phone call from one of the
assistants the day before (Logan resigned) about him coming down for an
official visit. But that’s in limbo now because we don’t even know if any of
the assistants will be there or not.’’
Hunt said Black is essentially starting over in the
recruiting process.
“He chose East Carolina because he had met all the assistant
coaches and Coach Logan, and he liked them all,’’ Hunt said. “Now those
people may or may not be around next year, so he’s going to keep his options
open. He’ll take it from scratch again and see what else is out there for
him.’
Adams, who may well be the best athlete in the ECU class so
far, had already expressed an interest in visiting other schools even after
committing to the Pirates. He may now take a closer look at Virginia and
Wake Forest, two schools that had been recruiting him prior to his ECU
verbal.
