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Audio: Brian Bailey
Show |
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  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU director of
football
administration Dale
Steele (left):
Replay
show... |
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FOOTBALL RECRUITING |
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Future looks bright at RB position |
The pass-centric “Air Raid''
offense that Ruffin McNeill
and Lincoln Riley brought to
East Carolina from Texas
Tech back in January 2010
has from the very start
attracted talented recruits
at the quarterback and wide
receiver positions. ...
More from Sammy Batten... |
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Pirates End A Competitive Hex |
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TAMPA — East Carolina football
coach Ruffin McNeill has
acronyms for a variety of
things. He formulated TBA for
Trust, Belief and Accountability
to describe the foundation for
relationships among members of
the program. OPAT for One Play
At (a) Time evolved later as a
reminder for the mindset needed
to respond to immediate
challenges. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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BULL
FIGHTERS:
ECU
quarterback
Shane Carden
works the
zone read
with fellow
senior Breon
Allen on
Saturday at
Raymond
James
Stadium in
Tampa. The
duo
connected on
a 35-yard
pass for the
Pirates'
first
touchdown
late in the
first
quarter and
both were
instrumental
in ECU's
28-17
comeback
victory over
the USF
Bulls. Photo
by Al Myatt.
©Bonesville.net. |
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View more
pictures in
"Inside Game
Day." |
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Audio: Ruff Post-game |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill spoke
with the press after the
Pirates defeated South
Florida on Saturday
(recorded by Al Myatt; file
photo):
Select audio clip... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Kevin's Keys to the Game |
The Pirates
arrived in Tampa to a sunny
87 degrees on Friday.
Somebody forgot to tell
Florida that it was almost
the middle of October. The
weather will still be sunny
and 80-plus at kickoff time
today. Those kind of
conditions bode well for
East Carolina's Air Raid
passing attack.
...
More from Kevin Monroe... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Pirates in jeopardy? |
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Two games after a big win
has occasionally been a
letdown time for the East
Carolina football team. It
happened just a year ago
when the Pirates were
overcome 36-33 in triple
overtime at Tulane, the
second contest after the
elation of a 55-31 win at
North Carolina. There have
been other instances. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Fifteen Questions
for Breon Allen |
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 East
Carolina running back Breon
Allen is listed at 5 feet, 8
inches and 190 pounds. He
once referred to himself as
"Fun Size" and teammates
have made the nickname
stick. The transfer from
Snow (Idaho) College had 62
carries for 321 yards and
five touchdowns in 2013 ...
More from W.A.
Myatt... |
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Pictured: Breon
Allen came to ECU as
a juco All-America
in 2013 and saw
action in 10 games
as a backup to
All-Conference USA
performer Vintavious
Cooper. Allen is
making his own bid
for honors this
season, rushing for
380 yards through
five games,
including a 211-yard
outing against North
Carolina. (ECU Media
Relations photo) |
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By
Brian Bailey
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
Shane Carden is “The Captain.”
Justin Hardy goes by “Deuce.”
Breon Allen is “Fun Size.”
Those nicknames can’t compare with the moniker Terry Williams goes by.
The 6-1, 353-pound Williams is nicknamed “The Swamp Monster.”
"I feel like it's a dominant force in the middle," Williams told me as I
interviewed him for the Pirate Profile segment of the Ruffin McNeill
Show. “That's the main thing to me, to just be a dominant force,
stopping the run and affecting the pass.”
Williams has helped to solidify a unit that really struggled just two
and a half seasons ago. Rick Smith came in as defensive coordinator and
joined forces with the position coaches already in place and things
began to turn around.
All of the coaches will tell you that it all starts up front.
Williams knows he’s just a part of the plan. It’s a tough part, as he
faces double and triple teams on almost every play.
“I know one of the toughest things as a nose guard is getting double-
and triple-teamed almost every play,” said Williams. “You know I'm the
type of guy, I like my other players to make plays, too, so if I can
help them out in making plays, too, then I'm fine with it as long as
we're winning.”
Story continues after the following
picture...
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East
Carolina senior nose guard Terry Williams prepares for
fourth quarter action during the Pirates'
victory over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg in
September. |
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(Photo
by W.A. Myatt) |
Williams and the ECU defense threw a shutout in the second half over the
weekend
against South Florida. The unit gave the offense
enough time to get cranked up. It all equaled out to a fifth Pirate win
of the season.
Williams recognizes this ECU football team is in a great position, if
the team can stay focused on the task at hand.
“Yeah, we know,” said Williams. “I try to tell my teammates every day,
stay humble, you know? Coach Ruff, he tells everybody, to drown out the
noise. You know we're still playing; we're still fighting to get the
conference championship. So, we're just trying to go 1-0 every week.
That's the goal.”
Going 1-0 every week would put this team in a major bowl game for New
Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.
There are still pitfalls at every turn. The Pirates will get every
team’s best as they continue to rise in the national rankings.
Williams just hopes to enjoy the ride. He especially enjoys praise from
the national outlets like ESPN and CBS College Sports.
"It's a blessing, you know,” said Williams. “As a little kid, this is
what I dreamed of. You know, playing college football, being noticed,
and just showing the world what I can do. So, it's a blessing."
Williams hopes the blessings continue. The Pirates will have a few extra
days to take care of the bumps and bruises before hosting that Thursday
night game with Connecticut.
“We are looking forward to it,” said Williams. “Thursday night football
should be a lot of fun!”
And the Huskies better figure out a way to control the “Swamp Monster.”
BB
