|
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
Pirates live Dye's dream |
Pat Dye went undefeated
(6-0-1) his last seven games
at East Carolina. The tie
(24-24) came at North
Carolina on Oct. 27, 1979.
ECU always had to play
in-state ACC teams on the
road in those days. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
|
|
|
FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
15 Questions
for Warren Harvey |
Warren
Harvey (5-11, 225)
is in his third
season as the East
Carolina kickoff
specialist and
placekicker. Harvey
is an ECU legacy as
his father, Charlie
Harvey, played
soccer as a Pirate
and also was the
program's head coach
in 1987. ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
Pictured: ECU
kicking specialist
Warren Harvey is
climbing his way up
the career record
charts in points
scored and PATs
made. The senior
from Greenville, who
once converted 86
PATs in a row, has
posted 11
multi-field goal
games. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
|
|
|
FOOTBALL |
Been there, done that |
Shortly
after East Carolina's upset
win over Virginia Tech in
Blacksburg two Saturdays
ago, someone with the school
told me he wished the
football team would "act
like they had been there
before."
...
More from Brian Bailey... |
|
MULTIMEDIA |
Audio: The
Brian Bailey Show |
The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest was ECU
offensive line coach
Brandon Jones
(right):
Replay
show... |
|
|
|
|
Work pays off as Pirates party |
GREENVILLE — North Carolina's
second trick play for a
touchdown, a 29-yard pass from
holder Tommy Hibbard to a wide
open Eric Albright from field
goal formation, momentarily
subdued the excitement at rowdy
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on
Saturday. The score came with
12:15 left in the first half and
gave the Tar Heels their last
lead at 20-14. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
Pix: Heels can't hang with
Pirates... |
|
ECU receiver
Jimmy
Williams is
on the move
during the
Pirates'
70-41 rout
of North
Carolina on
Saturday.
Photo by W.A.
Myatt. ...
W.A. Myatt's
gallery of
game day
images... |
|
|
Audio: Ruff & Players
Post-game... |
ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the press after the
Pirates defeated North
Carolina on Saturday in
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
(recorded by W.A. Myatt;
file photo):
Select audio clip... |
|
|
|
|
By
Brett Friedlander
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
Ruffin McNeill is a humble man clearly uncomfortable when
talking about his feelings, especially as they pertain to his East
Carolina football team. So it should come as no surprise that even after
the most emotional victory of his five-year tenure with the Pirates,
McNeill tried his best to downplay the significance of
Saturday’s 70-41 dismantling of rival North
Carolina.
His actions, however, spoke far louder than his words.
Instead of sprinting off the field immediately following
his postgame radio interview as most coaches would have done, the former
ECU defensive back made the moment last as long as possible.
He feigned an imaginary golf swing, then took turns
pointing toward his chest and the festive crowd celebrating in the
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium stands during a triumphant stroll down the near
sideline. As he reached the mouth of the tunnel leading into his team’s
locker room, he stopped, looked up toward the Murphy Center balcony and
with a tear in his eyes, cupped his hands in the shape of a heart in the
direction of his wife Erlene and a large contingent of family members.
Make no mistake about it. While there are still more
important games to play and an American Athletic Conference championship
to pursue, Saturday’s victory was more than just another win for
McNeill.
And not just because the blowout of epic proportions
marked the first time ever that ECU has won back-to-back games against
the dreaded Tar Heels.
For a college football lifer who didn’t get his first
head coaching opportunity until his 50th birthday – at possibly the only
school in the country that would give him a shot at such a late stage in
the game – Saturday’s win was nothing short of sweet validation.
Validation for himself, for former athletic director
Terry Holland for hiring him and for current AD Jeff Compher for
rewarding him with a contract extension before the start of last season.
The impact of the victory was so far-reaching that it helped McNeill
earn mention as one of the nation’s three most underrated coaches in an
ESPN poll.
As McNeill’s players noted in their postgame interview
session Saturday, the recognition was long overdue.
“He deserves everything good that comes his way. We love
that man,” linebacker Zeek Bigger said.
“Coach Ruff deserves everything positive he can get,”
quarterback Shane Carden added. “He’s a great coach. He’s led us through
some tough times and keeps us humble in the good times like this.”
A week earlier, following the Pirates’ upset of Virginia
Tech in Blacksburg, Carden referred to McNeill as a father figure. It’s
much the same kind of relationship McNeill had with his own ECU coach,
Pat Dye – a man who coincidentally was on hand Saturday to witness and
share his former player’s finest hour.
“When I came to East Carolina at 17 years old, it was
because of Coach Dye and how he treated everyone here,” McNeill said.
“Everyone was somebody, no matter who you were, where you were from and
whether you were rich or poor. He taught us the value of family, hard
work and the team concept. Coach Dye has had such an influence on my
life, to see us win (Saturday) was an honor for me.”
Dye was the Pirates’ coach from 1974-79
during a time in which they took their first
significant steps toward becoming a major Division I program.
Like his mentor, McNeill is also in charge during a time of transition.
But unlike Dye and others that have followed him –
including two-time Conference USA champion Skip Holtz – ECU’s current
coach does not figure to be upwardly mobile and in a hurry to leave. As
a proud graduate who professes his love for the university every chance
he gets, there’s a reasonable expectation that McNeill plans to stick
around long enough to see the job through as the newest member of the
American Athletic Conference.
If ever there was a right man for a job at just the right
time, he’s it.
Don’t let the 'I’m just a country bumpkin from Robeson
County’ persona fool you, as it does so many of the opposing coaches he
goes up against. McNeill is as sharp as they come. It shows in every
facet of the program – from the assistants he’s hired to the schemes
they’ve devised to the talent they’ve recruited to the attention that’s
paid to even the smallest of details.
Even more important than the Xs and Os is his genuine
passion for his alma mater and the vision that someday soon, ECU will be
looked upon as an equal to Power Five rivals such as South Carolina,
Virginia Tech and UNC. It’s a vision Pirate fans have had since those
first few years as a Division I program under Pat Dye.
But now, after the emotional victories of the past two
weeks, it’s closer than ever to finally being realized. Even if McNeill
is too humble to come right out and say it.