ECU looks to break jinx against Mountaineers
By JIM BUTTA, jbutta@newsandsentinel.comGREENVILLE, N.C.-The good news for fans of the East Carolina Pirates is that their favorite football team will get to tangle with the Mountaineers during the second week of the season.
The bad news is that the Conference USA member will take on the gold and blue after playing host to Virginia Tech in week one.
Not exactly the kind of schedule head coach Skip Holtz envisioned when he took over the Pirate football program.
What follows is a position-by-position breakdown of WVU's second opponent of the 2008 season:
Quarterback: Not only do the Pirates return starting signal-caller Pat Pinkney from their 8-5 team of a year ago, but they also will have the services of his top two rivals for the position back-Rob Kass and Brett Clay.
Pinkney, who rushed for 306 yards and one touchdown, also completed 121-of-200 attempts for 1,358 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Kass -who played in 10 of the Pirates' 13 games - was good on 96-of-175 for 1,164 yards and nine more scores.
Wide Receivers: More good news for the purple and gold as junior Jamar Bryant returns after leading the Pirates with 48 catches for 704 yards and six touchdowns.
Also back is sophomore Dwayne Harris (26-246, 2 TDs)..
Depth appears to be the biggest problem at this position, however, and taking on a WVU defense which was among the nation's leaders in stopping the run places even more importance on a strong passing attack.
Running back: This is where the robot would come in saying, "Danger, Will Robinson, Danger'.
Gone is standout runner Chris Johnson and his 1,423 yards and 17 touchdowns. In his place is a rushing attack led by Pinkney, 210-pound senior Dominique Lindsay (66-205, 5 TDs) and Harris (20-197, 1 TD).
Sophomore Jonathan Williams (6-1, 196) could get some touches in 2008 after carrying the football 22 times for 150 yards and one score as a freshman.
Tight end: Back to the good news as senior Davon Drew (6-4, 254) returns after starting all 13 games a year ago, collecting 19 catches for 196 yards and a pair of six-pointers.
Offensive line: Gone are guard Matt Butler and tackle Josh Coffman, but the front five will have more than enough talent with the return of senior tackle Stanley Bryant (6-5, 282).
Also back will be juniors Stephen Heis (6-5, 285) and Doug Palmer (6-3, 300) at guard and tackle, respectively. The remaining starters should come from Terence Campbell (6-5, 320, Jr.), Dory Dowless (6-5, 287, So.), Fred Hicks (6-0, 304, Sr.) and D.J. Scott (6-6, 324, So.).
Defensive line: More good news for ECU fans as the front four return intact.
Senior Zack Slate (6-5, 221) -who finished seventh on the team with 49 stops, including 11 for losses-is back at one end with junior C.J. Wilson (6-4, 271) back at the other.
Senior Khalif Mitchell (6-6, 306) and junior Jay Ross (6-3, 306) will again hold down the tackle slots in ECU's multiple attack.
Linebackers: Only Fred Wilson will be missing from this corps when the Mountaineers invade Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 6, but this is a big loss when one considers he was the Pirates' No. 3 tackler a year ago, finishing with 81 stops (26 solos).
Good news is that senior Pierre Bell returns for his final season in Greenville after recording 97 tackles in '07 and will again be joined by senior Quentin Cotton (6-2, 224). Look for the other starter to come from Jeremy Chambliss (6-0, 227, Jr.), Nick Johnson (6-1, 215, Jr.), Dalvon Mack (6-0, 220, Sr.), Lorenzo Osborne (6-3, 202, Jr.) or Melvin Patterson (6-3, 219, So.).
Secondary: Without a doubt the Pirates most experienced and talented unit even with the loss of Travis Williams.
Back for his junior season is leading tackler Van Eskridge (6-0, 200), who finished with 104 total stops in '07 including 55 solos and 6.5 tackles for loss.
Also back is cornerback Jerek Hewett (5-11, 195, Sr.) and strong safety J.J. Milbrook (5-9, 191, Sr.). Look for the remaining starter to come from Leon Best (6-0, 205 Sr.), Dekota Marshall (6-1, 195, So.), Chris Mattocks (6-0, 210, Jr.) or Darryl Reynolds (6-1, 189, So.).
Special teams: If Holtz can find a replacement for Johnson, who led the team with 1,009 yards and one touchdown on 36 kickoff returns, then ECU's special teams could very well be special.
Junior Ben Hartman returns after connecting on all 50 of his PATs and 13-of-22 field goals in 2007. Also back is junior Matt Dodge, who averaged 41.3 yards per punt and served as Hartman's backup.
2008 Outlook: If history is any indicator playing the Mountaineers any time isn't a good thing for the purple and gold-WVU holds a commanding 17-2 edge in the series which began in 1970-but, facing senior Patrick White and WVU's explosive offense seven days after taking on a hard-hitting Virginia Tech squad may very well be more than ECU fans can endure.
Next up: The Buffaloes from the University of Colorado
