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East Carolina inside receivers coach and
recruiting coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick gets
animated with his pass catchers during halftime
of the Pirates'
come-from-behind victory at Southern Miss in
2012. [Photo by Al Myatt. ©Bonesville.net.] |
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By
W.A.
Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
East Carolina inside receivers
coach and recruiting coordinator Donnie Kirkpatrick is the lone
holdover from Skip Holtz's staff. Since his playing days at Lenoir-Rhyne,
Kirkpatrick has served on staffs at Appalachian State, South
Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Louisville, Tennessee-Chattanooga and
Western Carolina. He was head coach at Chattanooga from 2000 to
2002.
Kirkpatrick also has great
interest in the Pirates baseball program since his son Davis became
a freshman pitcher for ECU this year after an outstanding football
and baseball career at D.H. Conley High School.
Coach Kirkpatrick took time to
talk with Bonesville Tuesday afternoon.
Q: Favorite restaurant in Greenville?
A: aTavola!
Q: Favorite TV show?
A: White Collar.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you face with
the recruiting process?
A: That we aren't listed as a BCS member.
Q: How much has joining the American Athletic
conference been an asset in attracting recruits?
A: It's been quite a bit of an asset. It
has been perceived as a move forward. I do think the league has been
very well organized and has gotten everybody excited about it. I
think the TV contract, though it may not be financially what we had
hoped for, surely is giving us a lot better exposure. I thought we
definitely saw some signs of it helping us this year in recruiting.
Q: What is the weirdest thing that's happened
to you on the recruiting trail?
A: I was down in Georgia on a home visit
one night and we heard a knock on the door. We were getting after it
pretty intensely (talking to the recruit) and the neighbors had
brought a dead beaver — it was a pretty country type setting, and
they literally brought a beaver in there. It was still bleeding from
it's mouth. I had my best clothes on, shoes, tie, coat, the whole
bit — and the dad was so excited about the beaver, he wanted me to
rub it and pet it. I was scared to death and freaked out at the same
time, but I had to reach in there and pet that beaver, because we
needed to get that kid.
Q: What allows [receiver] Justin Hardy to be
so great?
A: I think it's just because of his work
ethic. He practices like he's never won a game, but at the same time
he plays the game with a tremendous amount of confidence. He is also
extremely coachable in the fact that he wants you to tell him things
and tell him how to get better.
Q: You have a solid group of receivers coming
back. How excited are you to continue to develop their skills and
see what they can accomplish this fall?
A: We're all pretty jacked up about it.
We're obviously coming off a great season. I think winning that last
game surely puts you in a great mindset for the offseason. We have
so many kids returning, I think everyone is just really optimistic.
We've got a big challenge in stepping up in the league. I can sense
that the kids are working a little harder in the offseason to meet
that challenge. One of the most rewarding things as a coach is to
see kids grow and improve, and Isaiah Jones, as a freshman, had a
good year, but he has so much more room to grow. Jimmy Williams, who
played a slight bit before he got injured, I can see where he's
going to grow leaps and bounds. Bryce Williams is right on the verge
of taking that next step, too. When you have your guys that are
already succeeding like Justin (Hardy), they're always fun to watch
— I even think there's still one more level in him.
Q: What coach have you learned the most from
in your career?
A: That'd be my dad. He was a high school
football coach for 35 years and he was a phenomenal role model.
That's why I went into coaching, without a doubt. I've always wanted
to be just like my dad. I've been very fortunate to work with some
really good guys. Mack Brown was a tremendous influence on me when I
was a young graduate assistant for him in his first head coaching
job at Appalachian State. My dad would definitely be number one,
though.
Q: What is your favorite thing about coaching?
A: The greatest joy comes from when kids
call you back and tell you that you did something right, or that
they appreciated what you did for them. If you're in the job for
fame or money, you're probably going to be greatly disappointed.
There's a few people that catch lighting in a bottle, but that
brings an empty happiness in itself. True happiness comes from being
with kids and working with them and then when they appreciate that
effort. Sometimes that appreciation is immediate, sometimes it comes
later when they're older and they can see that what we were doing
was often for the betterment of them. It's a great profession. I
could never imagine doing anything else. The thing I love about the
college aspect is that the job changes throughout the season. You
have the season, when it's pretty much just football, and then you
have the recruiting part of it, getting out to meet new people and
trying to improve your football team. And you get to compete for
that talent — we all still love to compete. They say you shouldn't
do it unless you can't live without it, and I definitely can't live
without it.
Q: How exciting is it for you to be able to
walk out of your office and be a hop, skip and a jump away from your
son Davis's home games?
A: I've been very, very blessed in that he
decided to stay local. I have been able to see the two games he has
pitched in and I've seen all the home games. I tried to stay out of
that (recruiting process) and let him make that decision, what was
best for him. It is a pretty awesome deal that he stayed here. He
grew up a Pirate and I don't think in the end, he could imagine
putting on anything but the purple and gold.
Q: What were you feeling after Davis
earned his first collegiate win against Campbell?
A: Maybe a little bit of relief. I'm
usually pretty laid back — I obviously have an extreme amount of
confidence in him and I just want him to have a good experience. The
first one, though, I will have to say I was a little nervous, but
obviously I was extremely proud.
Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
A: I love the beach. That's probably my
passion right there. When I'm at the beach, I can kind of relax.
That's the only time I can truly turn it off, when I'm out there on
the sand looking at the water. I also really enjoy golf.
Q: If you could instill just one value in
every player you coached, what would it be?
A: I think it would be to have a great work
ethic and to be an honest person. It's hard to only say one. I'd
probably end up saying two every time.
Q: You've put in quite a bit of time at East
Carolina. What has been your favorite memory with the Pirates?
A: There's almost too many to narrow it
down, again. I think the greatest memory would probably be when we
won the (Conference USA) championship here at home against Houston
(38-32 in 2009). There were just so many great emotions about that
game. We
won the conference championship the year before — that was
awesome, too — but to win it here, in our stadium, with our home
fans, made that day a little bit more special. I think it was harder
to repeat than it was to win it the first time. Van Eskridge made
the interception to seal the game for us (against Houston). He was
really my first recruit when I got here that first year, so to see
that first year recruit pay off and make the key play was big. Since
we got here, it was our goal to win championships, and to win that
one at home, that's my greatest memory.
Q: What do you most enjoy about East Carolina?
A: I think I enjoy the people. I think
they're what makes it different. The buildings are nice and
everything like that, but it's definitely the people that separate
East Carolina from all the other places I've been.
