Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of East Carolina

News & Features from ECU, the AAC and Beyond

  • Home
  • News & Features
  • Recruiting
  • Photos
  • Audio
  • Roundup
  • Comments
  • Legacy Archives

• ECU 2022 Football Schedule
• ECU 2022-23 Hoops Schedule
• ECU 2023 Baseball Schedule

— Recruiting Thumbnails —
Football: 2023 • Hoops: 2023-24

VIEW FROM THE EAST
Pirates begin bowl prep

December 6, 2022 By Al Myatt Leave a Comment

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Mike Houston was enthusiastic about what he saw at East Carolina’s first practice in preparation for the Birmingham Bowl on Monday. The Pirates (7-5) face Coastal Carolina (9-3) on Dec. 27, at 6:45 p.m. (ESPN).

Houston gave the team last week off after ending the regular season with a 49-46 win at Temple on Nov. 26.

“Great to get back out on the field,” said the ECU coach. “Kids are really, really positive and energetic and recharged and the fresh legs were obvious today. It is good to be able to recharge, refocus last week and kind of get our legs back up underneath us.

“Excited about bowl season. Excited to be back. Bowl eligible second year in a row and excited about the Birmingham Bowl facing a very challenging opponent. Able to take a good look at beginning to see who Coastal is today. A 9-win team. And really, I’m sure that they’re sitting there thinking if they’re healthy there, it is probably even a better season than that.

“They’re going to have … time to heal up and recharge. So, we expect to see a very, very challenging opponent in the Birmingham Bowl. Just excited to get down there and compete. The players showed that excitement today with their attitudes and efforts. Just a good positive start to postseason practice.”

Reps for younger players

Houston and staff will be able to use the extra practices before the bowl to give younger players additional reps.

“Just the beginning of the week especially, we’re just focusing a lot on us,” Houston said. “We’re doing some stuff with them, but a lot of the younger guys are getting coached. We spent a lot of practice today with just individual fundamental periods.

Mike Houston (Bonesville file photo by Al Myatt)

“And then during the skelly and team and one-on-ones and O-line versus D-line, everybody got reps and so that was good. It’s always good to work with those guys because some of those linemen haven’t been getting a whole lot of fundamental time throughout the year. So, it’s really good to get that today. And we’re going to do that throughout the beginning and bulk of the week, so it’s good opportunity to evaluate where guys are going into the spring.”

Busy time

In addition to getting ready for the bowl game, the early signing period is coming up Dec. 21.

“I’ll see no sleep,” Houston said. “Probably not going to see my family very much. Spent a lot of time in a lot of different ways with recruiting because signing day being the 21st this year, you have a lot longer with the recruiting stuff.

“It’s balance. And so, any day that we’re not practicing, the coaches, we’re not sitting around. We’ll be out recruiting, seeing our committed kids, following up on anybody else that we’re trying to close out the deal with here before signing day. But it’s good. It’s a good time of the year because your players, and you’re only as good as your players, and so it’s the recruiting piece. It’s the most vital piece.”

Practice schedule, early Christmas

ECU players will have an early Christmas.

“We’ll practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week and then come back and go Sunday, Monday, Wednesday morning next week,” Houston said. “Then we’re going to give the players some time to go home, see their families because with Christmas and the bowl game falling where it does, we want to give the players a chance to go home, see their families, celebrate Christmas together as a family and then they’ll come back. We’ll practice I think three or four days here and then fly to Birmingham and finish bowl prep down there.”

2021 experience

Even though ECU’s matchup with Boston College in the Military Bowl last year was called off due to COVID issues with BC, it was a learning experience for the Pirates.

“I thought we were really ready to play and felt really good about just our crispness and freshness going into that bowl game last year,” Houston said. “And so, I think there’s a lot of positive things we can take from the second half of the bowl schedule. We gave them a little bit more time last week than what we gave them last year. And I think just based on today, that’s a positive because I thought they looked really, really fresh today.

“We didn’t go real long today just because I don’t want to jump full throttle back into it. So, we’ll kind of ease into this week and that’s maybe a little bit better approach this year than what it was last year. And the big focus is just by the time we get ready to load the plane for Birmingham that we’re ready to go, ready to play.”

Center situation

Avery Jones played 852 snaps at center for ECU this season before entering the transfer portal.

“Fortunately, we have really good depth on the front and so we’ve got a couple of quality guys that did a phenomenal job today and so that’s going to be the focus is just the guys that are excited to be competing in the bowl game. They’ll be ready to go.”

Monitoring the portal

The transfer portal officially opened Monday.

“Number one, our focus is on our players here and just doing a great job with them on a daily basis,” Houston said. “And then recruiting, I mean recruiting is year round. The coaches aren’t the ones that created this, so it’s just something you got to deal with.”

Coaching change at Coastal

Jamey Chadwell has left Coastal to become coach at Liberty. Defensive coordinator Chad Staggs will be the interim coach. N.C. State offensive coordinator Tim Beck reportedly has been hired to replace Chadwell.

Houston sees minimal implications from the coaching transition.

I don’t think it’ll impact it greatly,” said the Pirates coach. “We know that staff very well. I know Coach Staggs very well. He’ll do a great job as the interim. I would expect that the play callers that called everything all throughout the season will be the play callers in the bowl game. It’s a veteran team and so they’ve been there together, so we expect to see the Coastal that everybody’s seen all season.”

Bowl opportunity

ECU has earned bowl berths in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2014.

“Nine years since ECU won a bowl game,” Houston said. “Before that I think it was ’07 was the last bowl win before 2013.

“So, in the last 15 years, there’s been two bowl wins. There’s a lot of motivation. We’re playing the first bowl game since ’14. There’s a lot of motivation to go down there and get the win.”

New venue

ECU lost the 2014 Birmingham Bowl, 28-20, to Florida at Legion Field.

Protective Stadium is the new home of the Birmingham Bowl.

“We’ve got several people on staff that were there (in 2014), but it is not the same arena,” Houston said. “We’re playing in a brand new stadium. A lot has changed since East Carolina was in Birmingham.

“A lot’s changed downtown, so it’s a different trip than what East Carolina went on eight years ago. I’ve spent a good bit of time in Birmingham since then. It’s just a lot different this time around.”

Xavier exits

Senior linebacker Xavier Smith has opted out of ECU’s bowl game. He had 245 career tackles, including 47 this season.

“Xavier had a great career here,” Houston said. “Wish him the very best. I hate that he’s not with us, but again, I just want to keep our focus on the guys that are going down to Birmingham playing the bowl game.”


ECU 2022 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
ECU FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS OF 2023
ECU FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS OF 2022
PIRATES BEGIN BOWL PREP
PIRATES HEADING TO BIRMINGHAM BOWL
SPORTS OBJECTIVE: BOWLING IN BIRMINGHAM
FELTON LEADS PIRATES PAST CAMPBELL
PIRATES AWAIT BOWL INVITATION

Related

Tweet
Share
Share
Pin

Filed Under: Basketball, Football, News & Features

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent News & Features

ECU Recruiting News
Towering lineman Neolian still honing skills

Basketball News
Pirates top SMU, 77-72

VIEW FROM THE EAST: NORTH TEXAS
The new American

Basketball News
ECU rally falls short

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

Basketball News
Porter leads Shockers past Pirates

VIEW FROM THE EAST: FAU
The new American

Basketball News
Pirates rally past Tulsa to snap losing streak

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

VIEW FROM THE EAST: CHARLOTTE
The new American

More News & Features

ECU Schedules

  • ECU 2021 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2020-21 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2021 Baseball Schedule

ECU Recruiting

  • Football Recruiting Class of 2021
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2020
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2019
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2018
  • Football Recruiting Class of 2017
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2021-22
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2020-21
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2019-20
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2018-19
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2017-18
  • Hoops Recruiting Class of 2016-17

Past Football Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2014 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2013 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2012 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2011 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2010 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2009 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2008 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2007 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2006 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2005 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2004 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2003 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2002 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2001 Football Schedule
  • ECU 2000 Football Schedule
  • Historical Schedules

Past Basketball Schedules

  • ECU 2019-20 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2018-19 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2017-18 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2016-17 Basketball Schedule
  • ECU 2000-2015 Basketball Archives

Past Baseball Schedules

  • ECU 2020 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2019 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2018 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2017 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2016 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2015 Baseball Schedule
  • ECU 2001-2014 Baseball Archives

Recruiting Class Profiles

ECU Recruiting News
Towering lineman Neolian still honing skills

ECU Recruiting News
More help is on the way to ECU secondary

ECU Recruiting News
Portal delivers blue chipper RaRa Dillworth

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review (UPDATED)
Pirates tap transfer portal for more talent

AAC Early Signing Review
New members dive into AAC recruiting wars

Class of 2023 Early Signing Review
First wave of recruits just the beginning

ECU Recruiting News
Brown finds way to ECU through portal

ECU Recruiting News
Transfer safety McDaniel destined for ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates land coveted Spartanburg quarterback

ECU Recruiting News
Swift ECU recruit ‘in a class of his own’

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates win out for Georgia prep linebacker

ECU Recruiting News
Linebacker with pedigree charts path to ECU

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates find a gem in Palmetto State receiver

ECU Recruiting News
Official visit swayed North Mecklenburg star

ECU Recruiting News
Physical Georgia receiver poses tough matchup

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates project lineman Durant as center

ECU Recruiting News
ECU spotted potential in Conley lineman

ECU Recruiting News
ECU lands fleet-footed Georgia defensive back

ECU Recruiting News
‘Football town’ helps draw Short to Pirates

ECU Recruiting News
ECU targets edge rushers

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates aim high for interior line talent

ECU Recruiting News
Well stocked Pirates enter fray for O-linemen

ECU Recruiting News
ECU faces uphill battle in hunt for tight ends

ECU Recruiting News
Pirates cast wide net for wide receivers

ECU Recruiting News
Loaded Pirates still courting running backs

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, February 6, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, February 5, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, February 4, 2023

Writer Archives

  • Bonesville Staff
  • Brian Bailey
  • Sammy Batten
  • Bethany Bradsher
  • Brett Friedlander
  • Al Myatt
  • NFF
  • Greg Vacek
  • Danny Whitford

Recent Web Roundups

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, February 6, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Sunday, February 5, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Saturday, February 4, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Friday, February 3, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Thursday, February 2, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Wednesday, February 1, 2023

GREG VACEK'S WEB ROUNDUP
Monday, January 30, 2023

More Web Roundups

Copyright © 2023 Bonesville.net · Website by Seaport Webworks. · Log in · Privacy Policy