QB with pedigree gives class
a boost
Shawn Stankavage brings
family's legacy of athletic excellence to ECU
By
Sammy Batten
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Needing a quarterback to round out
its Recruiting Class of 2014, East Carolina turned to a player with
impeccable lineage.
The Pirates landed a critical verbal
commitment last weekend from Shawn Stankavage, who has starred the last
two years at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Raleigh. Stankavage decided
to join the Pirates after a whirlwind courtship that kicked into high
gear with a scholarship offer about two weeks ago and his acceptance
during an official visit to Greenville last weekend.
The 6-foot-3, 188-pounder chose ECU
over an offer from Wyoming and recent interest from Brigham Young,
Vanderbilt and Wake Forest, according to Cardinal Gibbons coach Steven
Wright.
Securing the pledge from Stankavage
became a priority after the Pirates lost a previously committed
quarterback prospect,
John Wolford
from Jacksonville, FL. Wolford, who broke many of Tim Tebow's
Jacksonville-area passing records, was considered a major recruiting
coup when he committed to ECU in September. But the opportunity to
compete for a starting job next fall at Wake Forest convinced Wolford to
switch his commitment last month to the Demon Deacons.
"East Carolina had been involved
recruiting Shawn on the periphery since the end of his junior season,''
Wright said. "We've talked to them a lot over the past year. Shawn was
in their top three (quarterbacks). When the kid they had targeted out of
Florida, who was at the top of their list, ended up committing somewhere
else, they were quickly back on Shawn. It wasn't too long after that
they extended an offer.''
Despite the circumstances surrounding
his recruitment, Stankavage is much more than just a backup choice for
the Pirates.
He's a quarterback with a natural
feel for the position and who has the ability to escape trouble with his
feet and make big plays with his arm. Those skills are evident in the
statistics he's posted the last two seasons as the varsity starter at
Cardinal Gibbons.
Stankavage completed 169 of 219
passes for 1,920 yards and 28 touchdowns as a junior, while also rushing
114 times for 616 more yards and nine scores. He significantly increased
all those totals in his final season, completing 247 of 408 passes for
3,564 yards and 34 scores, and rushing 169 times for 1,058 yards and 13
touchdowns.
"I think [to] stay current with the
times, he really does have a little Johnny Manziel in him,'' Wright
said. "He's a guy who is able to create when things break down. But he's
also able to sit in the pocket, make a throw downfield or check down
into something short. He brings tremendous playmaking ability.''
It's no surprise that Stankavage has
exceptional athletic talents since he has the genes of both an Olympian
and an NFL player.
His mother is former University of
North Carolina All-American swimmer Sue Walsh. Walsh is a 10-time NCAA
champion and was a member of the 1980 United States Olympic team. She
was elected to the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 and now serves as
the Director of the Legacy Program for UNC's athletic booster club.
Stankavage's father is Scott
Stankavage, who was a quarterback at North Carolina from 1980-83. The
elder Stankavage spent two full seasons as the Tar Heels starter,
leading them to 16 victories and two bowl games during that span. Scott
still ranks 11th on UNC's career list in passing yards (3,363), is sixth
in touchdown passes (30) and is 10th in completions (272). After leaving
Chapel Hill, Scott Stankavage spent three seasons as a backup in the NFL
with the Miami Dolpins and Denver Broncos.
Wright was immediately aware of the
family tradition when Stankavage joined the Cardinal Gibbons junior
varsity as a freshman.
"Stankavage is a fairly unusual name
around here, so we were aware of his athletic lineage,'' Wright said.
"We were excited to get him. We knew he had potential early on. I think
what stood out to me was just his natural feel for the position. There
were things we had to work on mechanically, especially his footwork and
getting to know our system. But he had that ability right from the start
to recognize and make quick decisions to get the ball to the right guy
at the right time.''
Stankavage started every game for the
junior varsity as a freshman, then was expected to compete for the
starting varsity job as a sophomore. But during the summer before his
sophomore year, Stankavage suffered a stress fracture that kept him on
the sidelines for the entire 2011 season.
He bounced back to claim the starting
job as a junior and hasn't looked back since.
"It was fun to see that blossom
throughout his career and really take off his senior year,'' Wright
said. "We told him early on in our offense we were going to ask him to
be a point guard who would distribute the ball to our playmakers. He's
really done a tremendous job with that while also becoming a creative
playmaker himself.''
Stankavage displayed that "Manziel-like''
creativity in a state 3-AA playoff loss against Southern Durham this
season. Under pressure from an intense rush by Southern Durham,
Stankavage lost the football, but somehow managed to scoop it up and
throw a touchdown pass to teammate Dante DiMaggio to put Cardinal
Gibbons ahead. Although Cardinal Gibbons ended up losing the game,
videos of the play made the rounds on YouTube.
Wright pointed to another performance
this season that provided a good example of Stankavage's skills.
"We managed to put up 28 points
against an undefeated Orange (High) team in one half,'' Wright said. "On
one play, Shawn escaped the pocket and essentially tossed a little
shuttle pass to a back to pick up a first down. Two plays later he
sticks a post route to a wide out for a 60-yard touchdown pass.
"He brings that kind of diversity and
skill and ability that's just rare in my experience at the high school
level. I think East Carolina is getting themselves an outstanding
prospect.''
Wright believes Stankavage will be a
perfect fit for ECU's Air Raid offense.
"We do a lot of the things that they
do here,'' he said. "We spend a lot of time in the shotgun with four
wide outs and one back. I think it's a system that fits his abilities
extremely well.''
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01/28/2014 03:54 AM |