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Pirate Notebook No. 38
Monday, December 31, 2001

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

When Leonard Henry paced off the field following East Carolina's 64-61 double-over time loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl, it was the slowest his six-foot-one, 200-pound frame had traveled all day... perhaps all season.

Carrying his offensive player-of-the-game trophy in one hand, and a sweat-drenched towel in the other, the Clinton senior took that lonely stroll toward the Pirates' locker room, marking the final time he would make such a journey.

His 29-carry, 195-yard, three-touchdown performance should have been enough to propel the Pirates past the Thundering Herd. But instead of celebrating a fitting end to a fantastic career, Henry's feelings were dominated by frustration, something which he and his teammates became overly familiar with during what had been projected as a promising season.

"It's tough — beyond tough," Henry said about the loss to Marshall. "Those guys in the locker room right now — the senior class is just shocked.

"We know the hard work that we put into not just this season, but the four years that we've been here, and to come up on the short end as we have this past season... it hurts."

The hard work certainly showed in Henry's case. Termed a "banger" by head coach Steve Logan, Henry added a new dimension to his game this year, evidenced by his break-away speed that netted a number of explosion plays through the season.

For that, Henry credits new strength and conditioning coach Jim Whitten, whose workout regimens helped dip the star rusher's 40-yard dash time under 4.5 seconds. In doing so, Henry sacrificed not one iota of the muscular frame that had a propensity for punishing would-be tacklers.

The end result was a more complete running back, one who would topple the Conference USA single-season rushing mark this season, gaining 1,432 yards on 184 carries. Henry crossed the goal line 18 times during the regular season, 16 of which were on the ground.

Henry also showed his ability as a receiver, hauling in 26 passes for 210 yards, proving his worth as an every-down back.

For his efforts, Henry was named a semi-finalist for the Doak Walker award, while earning first-team All-C-USA honors and third-team All-America accolades from both The Sporting News and Football News.

But don't expect all those post-season accolades to go to his head. Never the chest-thumping, me-first type, Henry is ever mindful to mention those who opened the truck-sized holes through which he often weaved.

"From day one, the offensive line set out to just go hard and work hard on every play," said Henry, who became the second leading rusher in ECU history this season. "When I look in that hole and see those guys out there diving on the ground, busting their buts for me, then I know I've got to hit the hole even harder to make those guys look good.

"Those guys get all the credit. They went out and laid it on the line for me, so I had to lay it on the line for them."

Counting the GMAC Bowl, Henry eclipsed the century mark eight times during the season. Twice, he bested the 200-yard mark.

Henry's 130-plus yards per game ranked sixth-best nationally. His 7.78-yards per carry was second only to BYU's Luke Staley.

Regardless, Henry has no regrets about his college career. Recruited by several big-name schools, Henry wouldn't change a thing about his college choice, had he to do it over again.

"My career has been great here at ECU," Henry said. "I couldn't ask for anything more.

"The coaching staff has given me the opportunity to go out and make a play. That's what coach Logan always talks about."

Henry will get plenty of chances to make plays next year, too. That's what has the NFL scouts talking.

The past 12 months have been a mixture of triumph and disappointment for East Carolina. The Pirates sparkled on the diamond, yet frustrated on the gridiron. It was one of the most interesting years in ECU's athletics history. Here are the ten most memorable stories of 2001:

10. Deacs Spoil Pirates' Opener: The Pirates, thought by many a top-25 team, were brought down to earth by first-year head coach Jim Grobe's Wake Forest club. Led by a 162-yard rushing performance by Tarence Williams, the Deacs out-gained the Pirates 451-294 in a 21-19 shocker.

9. CAA Rookie of the Year Mikulas Begins '01 on Suspension: Gabriel Mikulas had the best freshman season since Lester Lyons singed the Minges Coliseum nets in the early 90s, but the NCAA would levy two different suspensions to start the Argentine's sophomore campaign. The first was an eight-game punishment for playing in games in which other players were paid. That would be followed by a five-game suspension for playing in non-sanctioned games.

8. ECU Begins Inaugural C-USA Season for All Sports: The Fall of 2001 could mark the most important in ECU's athletic history, as it became a C-USA member for all sports. It would be a more memorable time had the Pirates not already been members in football, which has long been the school's bread and butter sport.

7. Louisville Downs ECU to Claim C-USA Title: The Pirates and Cardinals took center stage in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium to duke it out on national TV for the C-USA title. The Cardinals fell behind by two touchdowns early, but would settle in behind the left arm of C-USA offensive player-of-the-year Dave Ragone, to win the game and the C-USA crown, 39-34.

6. The L-Train's Wild Ride: Henry had one of the more memorable seasons of any Pirate in recent history. His 1,432 rushing yards during the regular season is the second best single-season effort in ECU history, trailing only Scott Harley's 1,745-yard performance in '96. Harley had a decided advantage in number of carries, though, toting the ball 307 times, compared to Henry's 184.

Following a 20-year cease fire to the ECU-UNC football rivalry, the Pirates and Heels met on a gray, damp October day in Chapel Hill. Carolina entered the game on a semi-roll, having defeated Florida State and N.C. State in succession, while East Carolina limped into the contest off a 44-30 defeat at Syracuse.

Turnovers, missed opportunities, and untimely penalties would prove the Achilles' heel for the Pirates, who bowed 24-21 in a down-to-the-wire finish. The Pirates held an early, double-digit lead, as they so often did throughout the 2001season, but couldn't hold off an emerging Carolina passing attack.

The tide began to turn with the Pirates primed to add to their 10-0 lead. But instead of upping the advantage to three scores, quarterback David Garrard's pass to a wide-open Arnie Powell skipped off the helmet of an ECU lineman, and into the hands of Tar Heel safety Dexter Reid.

It would be all down hill from there for the Pirates, who had two touchdowns called back by penalties.

"We had some unfortunate stuff happen to us," Logan said following the game. "If we have any more touchdowns called back this year, I don't know what I'm going to do. I think that was number five on the year. I've never seen anything like it, but that was the call."

After falling behind 21-13, the Pirates were poised to close the gap when sophomore Art Brown fielded a kickoff and sprinted 81 yards toward the goal line. But instead of pulling the Pirates closer, Brown was stripped from behind, and the ball rolled through the end zone for a touchback.

"He was in my blind spot," Brown said following the game. "I really couldn't see him — he just made a great play. They were kicking away from Marvin Townes the whole night, because he's a great returner. I just stepped up and caught the ball and did what my coaches taught me to do.

"That (the fumble) was unfortunate. The guy made a great play on it and knocked the ball out. Touchback."

Touchback would soon follow with another ill-fated word for the Pirates. Ballgame.

East Carolina's second trip to Mobile in three years ended much like the first one — with a loss. The Pirates held a seemingly comfortable 38-8 advantage, but couldn't dodge a furious second-half stampede by the Herd, falling 64-61 in double overtime.

The four-and-a-half-hour tilt was deemed an "Instant Classic" by ESPN, which will air the highest-scoring bowl game in history periodically on the network's classic channel.

Fueled by a 576-yard, four-touchdown performance by the flame-throwing Byron Leftwich and two touchdowns off Garrard interceptions, Marshall chipped away at ECU's lead, finally knotting the score at 51 with just seconds remaining.

After holding the Pirates to a Kevin Miller field goal in the second overtime, Leftwich connected with Josh Davis from eight yards out to apply the finishing touches to the Pirates' disappointing season.

"It's the strangest football team I have ever, ever been around in my life," Logan said about his team's inability to hold sizable leads. "We tried everything in the world to try to correct that characteristic, but couldn't do it."

Despite a 195-yard rushing performance by Henry, East Carolina was unable control the clock down the stretch, thus giving the Herd ample time to mount the comeback.

"It's tough — beyond tough," Henry said following the game. "Those guys in the locker room right now — the senior class is just shocked."

When John Bunting accepted the head coaching job at North Carolina, it came as no surprise that ECU defensive assistant James Webster followed his old college buddy to Chapel Hill. Webster had always longed to coach at his alma mater, and what better way to do so than to use that good 'ole boy system.

Oklahoma State assistant Dave Huxtable was one year removed from his second stint in Greenville when Bunting came calling. Following the advice of Webster, Carolina's new head coach lured Huxtable back to the Tar Heel state to coach the linebackers and special teams for the Heels.

The shot heard 'round the East came when strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors announced he would follow suit and move to Chapel Hill. After spending ten years in Greenville, few expected Connors to shun the purple and gold for baby blue.

Connors departure was not exactly applauded by the Pirate faithful, many of whom used Internet message boards and radio call-in shows to lash out against ECU's former strength and conditioning visionary. That campaign seemed to cause a knee-jerk reaction from Connors, who used the media as his venue to counter-attack.

Connors' vacant position was eventually filled by Jim Whitten, who held the same position at Charlotte. Whitten brought with him a Virginia Tech pedigree. He once served as a team captain for Hokies' head coach Frank Beamer and later served as a key member of Tech's S&C staff.

Henry, whose remarkable 2001 season toppled records and tweaked the interest of NFL scouts, credited much of his success to the efforts of Whitten in the off-season.

Though this story, perhaps, will be one with a happy ending, it will be forever remembered as a dirty divorce of what seemed to be a match made in heaven.

East Carolina ran through its CAA schedule almost unscathed, finishing the regular season at 19-2 in the conference, 44-11 overall, which was good enough to garner the number seven seed in the NCAA tournament. It marked the third-consecutive year that the Pirates were named a number one seed for a regional.

Instead of packing up and heading to Louisiana like it did the past two seasons, East Carolina was rewarded by hosting the regional in Wilson, at historic Fleming Stadium. Pirate fans responded by scooping up more than 3,000 tickets for the event.

Paced by the pitching of bookend aces Jason Mandryk and Sam Narron, along with the powerful bats of Chad Tracy and Joseph Hastings, the Pirates swept through the Wilson regional, defeating Maryland-Baltimore County, South Florida, and Winthrop in succession.

East Carolina was rewarded again when it was named host of the Super-Regional, this time at Kinston's Grainger Stadium. The opponent was a resilient Tennessee Volunteer club, which boasted one of the nation's top players in short stop Chris Burke.

The Vols posted two-consecutive come-from-behind victories to earn a spot in Omaha, ending an otherwise banner year for the Pirates, who finished the season at 47-13.

East Carolina finished the season ranked 11th, which is the highest ranking in school history. Head coach Keith LeClair was rewarded for his efforts with a five-year contract extension.

On Wednesday, August 15, Keith LeClair ended all speculation when he announced that he was undergoing medical tests for what doctors believed could be Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), better known as Lou Gherig's Disease. LeClair underwent medical tests due to neuromuscular difficulties he had been experiencing in his left arm since March.

Although doctors have yet to diagnose the illness as ALS, tests, along with LeClair's family history with the disease, lead them to believe that it is what has afflicted the Pirates' fifth-year head baseball coach.

LeClair's announcement came on the heels of the Pirates' best season as an NCAA Divison-I program, one that saw the Pirates fall just two outs shy of advancing to the College Word Series in Omaha. The Pirates led Tennessee twice heading into the ninth inning but couldn't hold off a resilient Volunteer club in the two-game sweep.

LeClair also earned ABCA East Region coach of the year honors, as the Pirates finished the year a school-best fourth in the RPI ratings.

Since arriving in Greenville, LeClair has directed the ECU baseball program to new heights, including three consecutive NCAA tournament number-one seeds. Over those three seasons, the Pirates averaged 46 wins per season, a statistic that has fueled a campaign to build a new baseball facility for East Carolina.

Despite the illness, LeClair hasn't been sidetracked from the objectives he set when he took over the ECU program — winning a national championship and erecting a new stadium.

"It is my hope that this will not distract from our program's goals of getting to Omaha and winning a College World Series, and the continued efforts to build a new baseball facility," LeClair said in August.

There will be plenty of space to hang signage of ECU's future CWS appearances at that new stadium, a facility that will undoubtedly be known as "The House that Keith Built."