View from the East Thursday, September 19, 2013 By Al Myatt

Loss becomes learning experience

By Al Myatt
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill has had time to examine Saturday's 15-10 home loss to Virginia Tech.

"I thought it was a game we can learn from as a staff and as a team," McNeill said. "We've accepted things that need to be corrected."

The game tape has been analyzed and the Pirates are doing some scrimmaging in practice this week with an open date coming up on Saturday.

"I was very pleased with how we approached the game as a team," McNeill said Wednesday. "We went into the game with expectations of winning the football game. We felt great about our game plan on all three sides of the ball."

The Hokies are synonymous with strong special teams play.

"I thought special teams play became an advantage for us against one of the best special teams programs in the country," McNeill said. "We did a good job of covering, a good job of returning and I was really proud of that."

Virginia Tech missed two field goals and an extra point.

"The field goal misses, they were forced field goal misses," said the Pirates coach. "When you watch the film, we forced pressure on the kicker. I was very pleased with that part."

The Hokies managed just 53 yards rushing in 34 attempts, an average of 1.6 yards per carry. Virginia Tech ran for 153 yards on 33 rushes, an average of 4.6 yards, in a 35-10 loss to No.1 Alabama in the season opener at the Georgia Dome on Aug. 31.

"Defensively, we did a really good job up front of controlling the run game," McNeill said. "I was very proud of our defensive line, our front seven and our safeties. When they were needed, they did a great job. They converted some third downs on us. The third and mediums more than anything is what we've got to correct from that. I thought the defense held up well after turnovers. They did a good job of going on the field and giving us some momentum with stops. I was proud of that by that group.

"All three sides played hard. You watch the film. There's effort and then there's strain. These kids, we strained the entire game on every snap. I was proud of that."

Defensive coordinator Bud Foster is another component of success for the Hokies.

"That was a top 10 defense we played the other day," McNeill said. "They did a good job, especially in man coverage, but we learned a lot about some things we've got to be able to do. We started correcting those this week. I thought the kids competed well. They made some plays. They did some good things up front."

ECU quarterback Shane Carden was sacked seven times by the Hokies. He completed 19 of 31 passes for 158 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions.

"I thought Shane got a little frustrated, but he'll bounce back and have a great game," McNeill said. "He learned a lot from that game, too. He's still one of the best quarterbacks I've been around."

The Pirates matched first unit offense and first unit defense during practice on Tuesday. The program has put the disappointment of the nonconference loss behind them. Its focus has shifted to executing better and eliminating mistakes that were costly against the Hokies.

"I was very pleased with our resiliency, being able to bounce back and being ready to practice," McNeill said. "We had a great day yesterday (Tuesday)."

ECU will practice today. The players will have Friday and Saturday off but coaches will be traveling to recruit. Some of the coaches took off Wednesday night to see some prospective players. The Pirates will convene on Sunday evening to start a normal game week of preparation for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff at North Carolina on Sept. 28.

"We have been sprinkling in some UNC offense, defense and special team schemes, exposing the team to that this week, too," McNeill said.

Linebackers working way back

Brandon Williams was in on a team-high 12 tackles against the Hokies with a tackle for loss and half a sack as he filled in for injured linebacker Kyle Tudor. Zeek Bigger was involved in nine tackles with a stop for a loss in place of dinged linebacker Jeremy Grove.

"We miss their experience and leadership on the field," McNeill said.

The ECU coach said Tudor (shoulder) is a little bit ahead of Grove (chest) as far as projected time to return. Tudor may be ready for the North Carolina game.

"Jeremy is a little bit further out, but not far," McNeill said.

Sack situation

The seven sacks sustained by the Pirates against Virginia Tech are a factor that needs to improve for the game in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels registered seven sacks in a 27-6 win in Kenan Stadium last year.

McNeill said three areas must get better.

"It's great snap to the quarterback exchange," he said. "We've got to make sure that happens. We've got to play fast and run better routes. We've got to create space between the receiver and defensive back. We've got to protect Shane with the front five and when a running back is included to make sure we give him time. Shane needs to trust, even if it's a small window, to go ahead and put it out there. Shane's good at taking care of the ball."

McNeill said two of Carden's interceptions were tipped balls and the third resulted when a receiver didn't run the called route. Carden threw the ball where the receiver was supposed to be and a Hokie was there instead.

"It's such a timing offense and you expect guys to be at certain spots," McNeill said. "Receivers have to be on the exact same page all the time. Against great athletes, one step too deep or one step too slow can cause a tough play for you. ... (Virginia Tech) had some draft choices on the back end (secondary)."

Hawkins 'day to day'

Cornerback Josh Hawkins left the Virginia Tech game in the third quarter via rescue squad and is being monitored daily as he returns from a concussion.

"It's a touchy situation," McNeill said. "You've got to be careful with it. ... He still has some symptoms we have to be careful of right now."

Hawkins will be allowed to incrementally increase his activity level depending on his response to tests.

Basketball practice facility open

Coach Jeff Lebo said the basketball office has moved to the new practice facility, although there are still some finishing touches such as televisions and marker boards to be installed.

"It's going to be nice," Lebo said of the $17 million structure on the north side of Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. "The players are excited. There's a lot of people coming through looking at it. We've just got to finish it off."

The Pirates, coming off a 23-12 season that included the CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship, will start the season Nov. 8 at home against North Carolina Wesleyan.

"The new rule is that you can start practice 40 days before your first contest and you can practice up to 30 of those days," Lebo said.

The Pirates coach plans to start practice in late September.

Pairings were announced this week for the Preseason NIT. ECU will play Norfolk State at Duke on Nov. 18. That winner will play the winner between the second-seeded Blue Devils and UNC-Asheville on Nov. 19. The two losers will meet in a consolation contest. The Pirates are seeded seventh.

Lebo will be working a lot of new players into the program and some of the returning players will have expanded roles as the Pirates adjust to the loss of forward Maurice Kemp and point guard Miguel Paul.

Kemp, incidentally, is playing in Budapest. Paul is waiting for a pro gig.

Fall baseball

Fall baseball practice will run from Oct. 9, the day after fall break, to Nov. 10.

"Barring we don't get a ton of rain," said ECU coach Billy Godwin.

The Purple-Gold World Series is set for Nov. 7, 8 and 10.

ECU will bid for C-USA baseball tournament

The first game of the 2014 season will be Feb. 14 at home against James Madison.

The Pirates will visit Virginia the second weekend of the season. The third weekend, ECU will host Pitt, Ohio State and Western Kentucky for the Keith LeClair event.

Conference-USA play will start the fourth weekend. ECU will open with Marshall.

"That's something different, something new," Godwin said. "We've got 30 league games this year (as opposed to 24 previously). At the conference meeting in Dallas, the old coaches were in the minority. We've got six new teams coming in our league that play baseball."

C-USA play used to start after five nonconference weekends.

The Pirates will still match up with N.C. State, North Carolina, UNC-Wilmington and UNC-Greensboro, all home and home, in nonconference games. ECU will play Campbell in Greenville.

The Pirates are making a bid for the C-USA Tournament in their final year in the league.

"We're interested in hosting but that will be up to the athletic directors," Godwin said. "We should know in about a month. It will be at a conference member site. It will not be at a neutral site. Rice, Tulane and Southern Miss in their own right have great venues, great facilities."

E-mail Al Myatt

PAGE UPDATED 09/20/13 12:20 AM.