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One-on-One
Thursday, May 10, 2012
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By Ron Cherubini
Staff Features
Writer |
Pirates in
search of something truly special
One-on-One with ECU special teams and running backs coach Kirk Doll
By
Ron Cherubini
©2012 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
When Mike
Leach was hired at Washington State and took three East Carolina coaches
with him, ECU skipper Ruffin McNeill made not only a purposeful hire in
bringing former Pirate and long-toothed coach Kirk Doll back to
Greenville, but also may very well have brought in a missing ingredient
to the program.
Specifically, ECU's new Special Teams Coordinator brings an old school
approach to special teams, one in which it is not only a privilege to
earn a spot on a special teams unit, but also where special teams are
transformed from a transitional phase of the game to a vital role. It's
a concept designed around the principle that each time a unit goes out
on the field, a critical aspect of the offense or defense accompanies
the unit.
“We have
some players who are beginning to understand that special teams are the
first play of the defense when you kick the football off or when you
punt, and it is the first play of offense when you return a punt or a
kickoff... and so it is a really, really important play each time out,”
said Doll, who also coaches running backs. “So we are going to keep
pounding on that with these young men.”
Doll
indicated that, like the offensive and defensive starting spots, the
best players are vying for key slots on special teams units and that
injection of talent and competition is also spurring on the younger
guys, who see it as chance to prove their worth in their respective
positions on the O or D.
“I think
each special team that you are on, there is a certain culture and
developing that culture is very important,” said Doll. “It is an
opportunity for a player to show that they are a good player and that
they can use all of their talents to help the team in a vital aspect of
the game.”
As
offensive coordinator
Lincoln Riley stated recently
in regards to the running backs, Doll’s approach to fostering
competitiveness has revved up each of the backs on this team, taking
them to new levels of play. Similarly, on special teams, Doll coach has
engendered a competitive culture for the coveted slots on the various
special teams, which is expected to lead to positive change in that
aspect of the game.
With that
comes some adjustments to the basic scheme employed at ECU which was put
in place in the spring. Doll said that the game-planning will evolve as
the key specialists lock in on the depth chart. But for now, the veteran
coach is just thankful that his boss, Coach Ruff, gave him ample time in
the spring – more than he has ever had – to put the foundation in place.
Article continues below
the following picture
Kirk Doll answered the call
from his alma mater this spring and returned as a key coach.
(ECU Media Relations photo)
Though
many questions will be answered in the fall, Doll was kind enough to
talk through the Pirates' progress in the crucial special teams aspect
of the program. And, in doing so, he indicated the lead candidates for
at least some of the positions coming out of the spring.
A few
questions and answers from East Carolina's special teams coach:
Bonesville (BV): Looking at last season, special teams were not what we
would say was a highlight. Can you talk a little about your thoughts
going into camp – based on what you saw on film and gathered from
meeting the coaches and players – and what you saw in camp? How are you
feeling having completed camp?
Kirk
Doll (KD): Basically, I know things were not where they were
supposed. Honestly, I like going in and (evaluating) everything myself.
I had the chance to evaluate the kickers and the players in the spring.
There is a lot of interest and effort by the coaches, because they know
it is going to help us, all of us, perform better and be more productive
– offensively and defensively. Their interest carries over to the
players, so what we are doing right now is evaluating the best players
available for each of the teams, but not push it to a saturation point
where a guy is a starter and playing on every special team. That is not
going to happen. But, we are going to have the best guys – whoever they
are – are going to be out there. The specialists play such a vital role
so as we look at these guys, it is really exciting. You look at the
development of a guy like Warren Harvey – he had a great spring and we
are really happy to have him here. You look at Charlie Coggins, the long
snapper. He is a young man with a lot of talent and we have other
specialists here that are good, like Trent Tignor who does a good job on
the hold and is also competing with Phil McNaughton for the punting job.
There is not a clear cut leader there right now, but they each have
qualities that we like, and if we have to situate our schemes
accordingly for them to be the most productive, we’ll do that.
BV: Let
me dig a little deeper into the coverage teams. Last year the field goal
unit wasn’t bad and the punting was not horrible. What are you looking
for in coverage skills at ECU now that you are here?
KD:
Special teams, kickoff coverage… you normally use defensive players
because they have to be able to tackle. But sometimes like when I was at
LSU, two of our best kickoff guys were offensive players. Michael
Clayton was a wide receiver and Jacob Hester was a running back who came
on later (in his career). A lot of times you can have the best scheme in
the world and if you have a coverage set to cover to the left and your
guy kicks the ball to the right, well, he has stressed your coverage
unit. Now, that is no excuse for the other team to go and score every
time that happens, but at the same time you are trying to integrate the
scheme and the execution. So, what I am saying here is that the
specialists themselves are what make a special teams unit special.
BV: You
were with these kids for the spring camp. Did you feel you needed to
come out of camp with a depth chart set for the specialist positions?
KD:
Yes… yes. We have a starting point and we talk about things a lot in
terms of who is going where and being used how and why. Coach Ruffin
McNeill was just awesome. He gave me much more time (to work with the
specialists) than anywhere I have ever been to work for spring practice.
He was very accommodating. Not that things were bad (last year) but we
did see things in our scheme and so we were able to get our base plan in
and will work on game planning as we get closer to the game with
Appalachian State.
BV:
Given that time with the players, are you seeing that we have the
players to make these schemes fly or are you seeing things that lead you
to believe that we may not have certain players to be highly effective
in a given special teams unit?
KD:
Our philosophy is that we are a vehicle for the offense and defense and
as such we don’t want to be a junk car — we want to be a race car. We
want to set the table, so to speak, in terms of field position for the
offense and the defense as well. So, this thought process has to be
continually talked about with our players. We talk about, say, the
ratios of when we kick off and our opponents start on the 20 compared to
the 35 and how much the chances of the opponent scoring go up – which is
significant. Conversely, it is easier to call a play when you are
1st-and-10 on your 35 than it is on your 15. So, that is what I am
working on in the spring. These young men are not only trying to learn
their offensive or defensive responsibilities but learn the special
teams. So I am really happy with the opportunity that Coach gave me to
work with these guys and I think they see how important it is to know
what we are doing and compete accordingly for those jobs.
BV: You
isolated a few positions – place kicker with Warren Harvey, deep snapper
with Charlie Coggins and holder with Trent Tignor and also noted that
the punting job is still very much undetermined. Do you feel like the
three young men you named are top of the depth chart coming out of
spring in those positions?
KD:
Well, yeah, right now that is what I see going into fall. You never know
what is going to happen though. We have some young guys coming in at
different positions and if they can be more productive, then they are
going to get their chance, too.
BV: In
terms of Warren Harvey is also vying for kick-off duties?
KD:
Yes, yes he is. You know, he has really hit the weight room with Coach
(Jeff) Connors which has helped him in terms of leg strength. Plus, they
have the new rule of kickoffs at the 35 yard line so a lot of guys are
not stressing their leg strength now. We have a couple guys that could
potentially win that kickoff job. Right now, though, Warren is that guy
who is doing well.
BV:
Turning to punting, looking at the stats in the spring – not
understanding all of the kicking situations that Trent and Phil were put
in during practices – do you feel like between these two guys, we have
the tools to punt well in 2012? From an average perspective and also
from a situational perspective... inside the 20, etc.?
KD:
Yes, I do. They were put in a couple situations where we were kicking
the ball – some would call it pooch kicking – trying to get it inside
the 15, 10 yard line, and I want to say at least two, maybe three of
those four punts (spring game) were that way. A lot of time statistics
are misleading in punting. The biggest thing those two are working on,
obviously, is consistency. You know, Phil has great leg strength and he
has been trying to learn this (position) for a couple of years now and I
think he has made really good strides with it. Trent has been working
hard as well. Now, Trent is a long-lever guy, which is the kind of guys
you want. Again, it is consistency, but we have two very hard workers so
I expect there will be some back and forth this summer.
BV:
Looking back over your career at situations like this with a couple (of)
high potential guys, do you feel confident that one of them will develop
that kind of consistency by the time the Appalachian State game rolls
around?
KD:
Well, I wish I could predict it. I would like to think so because of
their work ethic. You never know what is going to happen when it comes
to young people. For example, the field goal kicker I had at San Jose
State last year ended up being the second-leading field kicker in the
country and the year before that he was on the field maybe only three of
four snaps. He was a Swedish guy who was older, but it took a little
longer for the light switch to come on. Those things you just never
know. Another time I had a kicker that I thought was great and he ended
up having a mediocre season. I have seen both ends of it. It is a
different type position and psyche. The best thing is we have a group of
great young men and great students who are dedicated and work hard to do
a great job for the team.
BV:
What are the return specialists looking like right now?
KD:
Return wise we have some good youngsters back there. I am kind of
excited about seeing them some more in the two-a-day practices (in the
fall) and we have some other guys coming in that have some talent as
well. The great thing about it is that there is a lot of competition and
the more competition you have the higher level each of those young men
will reach. That is kind of where we are right now.
E-mail
Ron Cherubini
PAGE UPDATED
05/10/12 06:50 PM.
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