Superman to the Rescue

By Brian Bailey
©2015 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.

All James Summers needed was a red cape.

Superman came to the rescue again this week for East Carolina. Summers came off the bench to lead the Pirates to 42 unanswered points in a resounding 49-23 win over Southern Methodist in American Athletic Conference play on Saturday.

While the win certainly wasn’t a shocker, the way it came about was definitely surprising.

SMU pulled off a couple of trick plays in dominating play early. Summers came off the bench and all of a sudden all was right in the Pirate world.

Summers was so good that the defense started playing better once he got into the game. One social media post this weekend went as far as to show a map of the east coast, proclaiming that James Summers was the reason that Hurricane Joaquin headed east, staying away from the North Carolina coast.

“He’s a great team guy,” said Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill at his weekly news conference. “You’re talking about a guy who had to learn the position over again because he was thinking wide receiver. You just have to be patient with them and give guys a chance for success.”

That patience is showing quick dividends. For the second straight week, Summers was the best athlete on the field. He may have come to East Carolina as a wide receiver but he’s certainly the immediate answer at quarterback.

Coach Ruff says the Pirates will continue to utilize both quarterbacks. Blake Kemp provides a different skill set and a different look for defenses.

Summers may prove to be a better bearded sixth man than James Harden in Oklahoma City. Maybe it’s the beard. Maybe it’s just great athletic talent that the Pirates are fortunate to have.

It’s hard to believe that Summers wasn’t expected to have any part of the quarterback position six or seven weeks ago. Now he is very much the key to the season. Still, both Summers and Kemp will see action under center.

“We plan on keeping it a two-quarterback system,” said McNeill. “We judge who starts on what gives us the best advantage.”

“Their talents complement each other and it makes teams prepare for both," added McNeill. "James is getting more comfortable with the package and the system. He’s really a neat kid on the sideline. I’m proud of his progress, but we’ll use both. I think it gives us the best opportunity as a team.”

One thing McNeill and his staff will have to monitor is the early part of each game. ECU has overcome 14- and 16-point first half deficits in the last two weeks. Those double digit comebacks don’t come every day. Ruff and the staff realize that even Summers may not be able to rescue the Pirates from another early deficit like that.

Coach Ruff likes the relationship his quarterbacks have with each other. Both have been very complementary of the other. McNeill shared an experience from the SMU game.

“You see them exchange mental notes,” said McNeill. “For example, SMU has been a big zone coverage team, and they may see the safety cheat or give way in man coverage. They exchange what they see and what they’ve done differently to make sure we get into the right audible and right play. They do it for one another.”

The plan is for them to continue to do it for one another.

The great quarterback experiment hits the road for a second straight week, destination BYU. So far, so good.

BB

E-mail Brian Bailey.