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Good timing for spring ball

By Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

Spring officially arrived with the vernal equinox at 12:57 p.m. (EDT) on Thursday. That means when the East Carolina football team begins spring practice at 3:45 p.m. today, the Pirates will be technically correct in the terminology for their offseason workouts.

Many programs start spring ball when it's actually winter. That has happened in Greenville, too.

That's an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, like jumbo shrimp.

Winter workouts are a whole different thing at ECU. That's when strength and conditioning coach Jeff Connors administers a physical transformation of the Pirate roster.

The coaching staff will be working with a returning group from last year's 10-3 team that has gotten bigger, faster and stronger.

"J.C. is the best at that," ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said Thursday. "Offseason workouts were great. Jeff challenged them to match the numbers of last year's team and they had great numbers.

"For example, we had 57 kids who were 300-plus (pounds) in the bench press last year. We had 58 this year. Some other things were like that. Power clean was 27 to 27.

"We've got 16 kids who were 4.5 seconds or better (40 yards). Last year, we had 15. We had 16 kids who were 4.6. Last year we had 13.

"The strength gains went up. The kids did some outstanding things.

"Jeff is so organized. He did a great job and the kids did a great job of attacking it."

Quarterback depth looking better

There was no one on the ECU roster other than Shane Carden who had taken a college football snap at quarterback at the end of the 2013 season. The situation developed after Cody Keith had to be shelved due to an elbow ailment.

The quarterback depth situation is looking much better since the Pirates signed left-handed passer Blake Kemp from Mesa (AZ) Community College. Kemp passed for 2,961 yards and 27 touchdowns for an 8-3 team in 2013. He also rushed for 128 yards and three scores.

ECU had a pair of quarterbacks decommit from the class that was announced Feb. 5. Kemp signed in early March.

"I recruit them to come but I don't beg them," McNeill said. "It always turns out, waiting on the right one. Ta (Vintavious) Cooper (had his second 1,000-plus yard rushing season in 2013) is a perfect example. Terrell Green, who has watched us play, he's going to be a really good one, a 6-5 receiver who is in this class out of South Carolina. Then the quarterback, finding him. Lincoln (Riley, offensive coordinator) did a great job. We weren't in a rush. If we hadn't found the right one, we wouldn't have found one.

"(Kemp) comes from a great home. His dad is a firefighter out in Arizona so it's a hardworking family home. He came from a winning high school out there as well (Hamilton High School, Chandler, AZ). He went to junior college to get into a passing type offense. The blessing is that the offense he was in is the same one that we run. He understands the nomenclature, concepts and schemes that Lincoln runs with our offense here."

Kurt Benkert is already in the program. ECU managed to avoid removing his redshirt during his true freshman season in 2013.

"Cody is still recovering from his elbow surgery but we've got a good group there," McNeill said.

Terrell Stanley out of hospital

Also in recovery mode is defensive lineman Terrell Stanley who was critically injured in a Feb. 12 auto accident when his vehicle skidded on a patch of ice.

Stanley was upgraded to good condition on Feb. 17 and has since been released from Vidant Medical Center.

"We'll miss his leadership," McNeill said of Stanley's absence from spring drills.

Stanley, who was in on 46 tackles last season with seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss, is working on catching up on academics from the duration he was hospitalized.

Raiders limit Richmond

Akeem Richmond ended ECU's improbable run to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament title last season with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for a 77-74 win at Weber State.

Richmond never really got started in the Pirates' first-round home game this season. Visiting Wright State limited him to six points on 2-for-8 shooting as the Raiders advanced, 73-59.

"He's a one-dimensional guy," said ECU coach Jeff Lebo. "That's the thing with Akeem is his ability to shoot the basketball. He doesn't really put it down on the floor great.

"They did a great job. They had a terrific defender (Matt Vest) on him. He's an all-conference (Horizon League) player. He's got athleticism, the ability to move and he's smart.

"It was difficult for Akeem to get anything going, even off of screens. In transition, they were smart, not leaving him."

The situation was similar to a 77-68 loss at Texas-El Paso in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament. The Miners limited Richmond to a team-high 14 points. That was four points below Richmond's team-leading 18.0 average.

"They were just glued to me," Richmond said of Wright State's effort. "When I was coming off screens, they were just switching and they were face guarding me the whole time."

Akeem's perspective

Richmond made 155 shots from behind the arc as a senior, seven shy of the NCAA Division I record. He expressed his appreciation after his final game as a Pirate.

"I just want to thank God for allowing me to be in this position," Richmond said. "I want to thank Coach Lebo for giving me the opportunity. I also want to thank the media and all the fans, and everyone who supported us this year. We really appreciate that."

Anyone who watched Richmond play will remember his ability to take over games with his incredible shooting.

He became a more complete player during his ECU career. Lebo had to limit his minutes his junior year until injuries in the rotation opened up some playing time. He did a better job defensively and of moving without the ball on offense as a senior.

E-mail Al Myatt

PAGE UPDATED 03/27/14 02:40 AM.

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