Coach addressing 'Ruff' times

By Brian Bailey
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Even though they had very little experience, both James Summers and Blake Kemp seemed to be having fun after being thrust into the experience of playing the quarterback position at East Carolina.

Lately that has not been the case, and you can see it in both players’ body language. Right now neither is having any fun as the Pirates are mired in a two-game losing streak.

Pirate coach Ruffin McNeill also sees it. He thinks both are pressing.

“Those two guys came into the season not expecting to play,” said McNeill at his weekly news conference on Monday. [Select press conference audio clip in a new window...] “James (Summers) was going to be our Justin (Hardy) with the ball and we’ll see what he can do. Blake (Kemp) was going to be our backup or the third team guy, but they both hung in there and they both played.

"That position, in this offense, is critical. We make no excuses, but that position does have to make plays for us.”

Lately those plays have been few and far between.

Coach Ruff indicated that Summers got most of the reps in practice last week and all indications are that Summers will be the Pirate quarterback moving forward.

McNeill’s normal noon presser was delayed a couple of hours as the coach dealt with a personal issue. Coach Ruff’s long-time friend, former Oklahoma Athletic Director Donnie Duncan, is undergoing double chemo treatments in his battle with cancer. Monday’s noon slot was the only time he could catch up with his friend, in between the treatments, so understandably, the press conference was pushed back at the last moment.

McNeill spoke in-depth about the program and the adversity he has seen in this sixth season has head coach.

“I was talking to Donnie (Duncan) and he said, ‘Just be yourself. It’s 90 percent how you handle it and 10 percent is what happens,’” said McNeill. “Donnie calls it command influence. They’ll watch you and they’ll go as you go. Because they (the players) care so much about the team, and us, you... see them pressing a little bit, but we just need to let them know that it’s okay to make a mistake. You don’t want to make too many of them, but don’t handcuff yourself. Keep making plays each day and I approach each day like I have been.”

The Pirates still have plenty to play for, but they have to win two of their last three for bowl eligibility.

Pirate baseball wraps up fall

East Carolina baseball coach Cliff Godwin wrapped up his team’s fall campaign this past weekend with the Purple-Gold World Series.

The Gold team dominated the first two games in the series, winning 16-3 in game one and taking game two 11-1. Game three ended in a 4-4 tie before the rain hit and the game was stopped.

Because of the shortened game, ECU officials announced that the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship ring ceremony will be held this Saturday, Nov. 7 during the break between the first and second quarters of the ECU-South Florida football game.

Year two for Cliff Godwin seems to be off to a great start.

“We are way more talented than we were last year,” said Godwin. “We are deeper and the older guys know what to expect. They know what to expect from me and they know what to expect from their tough American Athletic Conference. It is good and bad. The good is we have the older guys who are experienced; we just have to get the younger guys caught up with them.”

The Pirates open the regular season on February 19th against Longwood. That next weekend sends ECU to Charlottesville for a three-game series with perennial Atlantic Coast Conference power Virginia.

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