Senior nights are designed to honor those players whose college careers are coming to an end and to thank them for their contributions to the program over the past four years.
That’s only partially what happened at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday.
Because while the night clearly belonged to Trevon Brown, Garrett McGhin, Nate Harvey and the other loyal soldiers that have given their all to the Pirates with little to show for it, East Carolina’s 55-21 thumping of Connecticut was as much about the promise of the future as it was celebrating the accomplishments of the past.
The occasion wouldn’t have been nearly as memorable or happy without the contributions of numerous young players whose careers are just getting started.
Rookie Holton Ahlers continued to live up to the hype that preceded him to ECU by throwing for four touchdowns and rushing for 130 yards, the third-highest total for a Pirates quarterback since 1990.
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Redshirt freshman Trace Christian, who had carried the ball only 14 times all year before Saturday, added 102 yards and a score on the ground while undersized slot receiver Tyler Snead caught a team-leading six passes for 62 yards and three touchdowns in just his third college game.
And they were only the tip of the iceberg.
Other first-year players that had a hand in the victory included converted linebacker Xavier Smith, who earned praise from coach Scottie Montgomery for his blocking as a tight end as well as his three catches for 60 yards; receiver Blake Proehl (3 catches, 37 yards), center Peyton Winston and safety Damel Hickman, who had one of the Pirates’ two interceptions against the Huskies.
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“We’ve got a lot of young guys,” Montgomery said after the game. “We’ve recruited well over the last few years. You’re starting to see some of those guys come on.”
Though it’s only one game against an opponent that, like ECU, had yet to notch an American Athletic Conference victory, it would be hard not to get at least a little excited about the promise those talented newcomers bring to the program.
They have the potential to become the foundation upon which the Pirates can finally start to rebuild.
The big question is, who’s going to be in charge of the next phase of the process?
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That won’t likely be known for another couple of weeks, or until the rescheduled season finale against N.C. State in Raleigh on Dec. 1 is played.
Chancellor Cecil Staton said as much before the UConn game by issuing a statement indicating that “an assessment of the program will be made at the conclusion of the season,” adding that “it would be inappropriate to address (the future) during a time when our student-athletes and coaches deserve everyone’s unequivocal support.”
While not everyone heeded Staton’s advice when it comes to support, as Saturday night’s disappointing crowd of 27,324 suggests, the players came through with their most complete effort since the North Carolina win way back on Sept. 8.
In many ways, it was a result you could see coming like a slow-developing gadget play.
After the offense’s strong performance in a close loss to Memphis and the improvement shown by the defense a week later in an even closer loss at Tulane, it figured to be only a matter of time before the two units got their act together in the same game and produced a victory.
In doing so Saturday, ECU’s players both old and young provided Staton, special advisor Dave Hart and anyone else that might be in the decision-making loop a legitimate reason to bring Montgomery back for another season in 2019.
Tangible progress is being made.
But let’s not get carried away with one emotional win against the one AAC team in worse shape than the Pirates over the past three years. A better read on whether ECU is getting close to turning the corner and heading in the right direction — or is even in the same neighborhood as that intersection — will come this week on the road against bowl-bound Cincinnati.
Win or lose, the decision on Montgomery’s future will ultimately come down to a subjective assessment of how far the program has come this season and if he’s the right man to continue that progress into the future.
Whoever the coach ends up being in 2019, Saturday’s Senior Night win suggests he’ll at least have a solid foundation of talented, experienced youngsters upon which to build.
And that’s a good place to start. Or just maybe, continue what has already been started.
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