A lady once asked former East Carolina football coach Steve Logan what he did in the offseason. Her assumption was that he didn’t have any demands on his time when the Pirates weren’t preparing for or playing games.
No one could appreciate the humor in that misconception more than current ECU coach Mike Houston, who is doing his best to navigate the new challenges of name, image, likeness (NIL) and the free-flowing transfer portal.
The Pirates finished the 2022 season with an 8-5 record, defeating Coastal Carolina by a 53-29 margin in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 27. Houston was asked about the significance of that triumph which has provided an impetus for a busy offseason.
“It’s the 10th bowl win in program history,” Houston said. “You look at how long the program’s been here, and that’s only number 10. That shows you the significance of the achievement.
“I think also, coupled with not having a bowl win since 2013, you got a lot of monkeys off your back kind of deal for the program. After back-to-back seasons of being bowl eligible and then getting the win this year. It really puts your program back in a situation where you really feel good about just where we are.”
Ahlers impresses
Quarterback Holton Ahlers was MVP of the Birmingham Bowl and was MVP in a pair of subsequent college all-star games in Orlando and Pasadena.
Ahlers took full advantage of his time at ECU to develop and mature into a pro prospect.
“When he made the decision last year to return for his final year of eligibility, he and I talked, and the reason you do that is to have the opportunity to have the kind of year he had this year,” Houston said. “Not only did he have an outstanding season this year, he finished the season playing his best ball.
“I thought the Temple game, the bowl game leading into the all-star games, he was playing at a level that is as high as he’s ever played at. And I think that just having the opportunity in those all-star games, I think you saw a lot of intangibles really shined through brightly to everybody there. And that’s the leadership characteristics, his work ethic, his intelligence as a player, his character. All of those things came through during the week of practice.
“I know everybody fan-wise, they’re focused on just the game. The game is one thing. It’s the week of practice is probably what’s most valuable to players like him. Because the scouts are at the practices, and they get to see him one-on-one every day, and they get to interview him. They could spend a lot of time with him.
“And so, I think just all those intangibles that we love about Holton, everybody else got a chance to see. And so, I think certainly he has drastically enhanced his opportunities. He’s going to get an opportunity. It would not shock me to see him drafted in a late round pick. If he’s not, then there’s no doubt there’ll be a lot of people trying to recruit him as a priority free agent.”
Coaches convention concerns
Houston was on hand for the coaches convention held in conjunction with the College Football Playoff championship.
The new and uncharted parameters of the college game were in the forefront of discussion.
“Every head coach in the nation at the FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) level is concerned about just where everything is trending,” said the ECU coach. “So that was the big thing that we all discussed. There’s concern about just the leadership in college football right now, from a national perspective. I think there’s concern in what are the rules, and are we going to enforce the rules?
“I don’t think any of us feel like there’s any accountability right now. And I don’t know where this thing is headed. We’ve got to get out of a situation where everybody’s so scared that they just don’t do anything. There’s got to be leadership. There’s got to be rules. There’s got to be accountability. And right now, our profession, our sport, is void of that.”
Heading to the Big House
The Pirates will open the 2023 season at Michigan before what could be the largest crowd ever to see an ECU football game.
“You’re playing the back-to-back reigning Big Ten champions at their place,” Houston said. “I’m sure they’ll be top 10, probably top five, preseason ranked next year. I would think that they’ll probably be sitting there probably right behind Alabama and Ohio State. They’ll probably be right there. … Georgia right there next.
“So, I think it’s going to be a great challenge. I think it’s a great opportunity. It’s going to be a great atmosphere to play in. I think it should allow us to really be able to focus during preseason camp. Still a long time off though, but certainly it makes for … nobody can say that we shy away from competition. So, it’ll be fun. A fun environment to go play in.”
Spring dates
ECU will start spring practice, March 14, weather permitting, since an indoor practice facility is not yet a reality.
“We’re going to go Tuesday, Thursday, Friday afternoons, and Saturday mornings,” Houston said. “Then the spring game will be on April 8.
What will be the primary focus during the offseason sessions?
“The number one priority right now is we’ve got a lot of familiar faces that have moved on to the NFL,” Houston said. “You’ve got Keaton Mitchell, you got C.J. Johnson, Isaiah Winstead, Noah Henderson, Holton, Myles (Berry), Xavier (Smith). You have a lot of guys that have moved on. So, it’s new faces, it’s getting everybody meshing together culturally. I feel very, very good about the core of our program. It’s getting the new guys acclimated to everybody else is the priority right now.
“I think as we get into spring practice, it’s figuring out who goes where, I think, defensively, a little bit. … We’ve got some talented kids, figure out where they fit. Figure out what’s going to be the strengths, and things that we need to do schematically to improve.
“I think offensively you have a good core coming back up front. I think it’s figuring out who those new faces are going to be at the tackle positions. I think it’s adjusting and tweaking our offensive scheme to fit the new quarterbacks, because obviously you’re going to start a new quarterback for the first time in five years, and it’s figuring out the pieces around him. We obviously have some proven commodities coming back, but you also have some new faces, and just figuring out what they’re going to do.
“So, I think there’s just a lot. I think it’s an exciting time for sitting in my seat. I’m excited about this. I’m excited about a fresh start with guys that have been here, whether it’s waited their turn, or waited or been working towards a bigger role. I think it’s exciting to get out there and start doing that stuff.”
Staff additions
There will be some new faces on the coaching staff.
“Excited about our staff,” Houston said. “Coach (Steve) Shankweiler, obviously longtime veteran offensive line coach. He is transitioning to a different role in our program. Still going to be involved. Wants to do whatever he can to help the Pirates. So, it’s not like he’s not going to be here and be around. He’s taken a little bit of time off. After doing it for however many years he’s done it, 40 years or whatever. He has taken a few weeks to mentally and physically recharge.
“But I’m just excited about Allen Mogridge, and I’ve known Allen for a long time. First met him when he was a graduate assistant at North Carolina, and I’ve known him ever since. He knows this conference well, being at multiple institutions in this conference. He’s had success everywhere he’s been with his personnel, and I think he’s going to be a guy that our (offensive) linemen are really excited about, and I’m excited to watch what he’s going to do with them.
“Jules Montinar is joining us as our new corners coach and passing game coordinator defensively. So, Jules, again, I’ve known him for a long time. I interviewed him years ago when he was a GA (graduate assistant) at Alabama. He was at James Madison before I got there, so I followed his staff at James Madison and firsthand saw the job he had done recruiting and building that corner room there. He’s got stops in the SEC as well as multiple stops in our conference. So, he will do a great job with our corners.
“I’m really excited about those two guys and what they’re going to bring from a recruiting standpoint. They both have heavy ties in the state of Florida, and I think we’ve benefited from those relationships already with this recruiting cycle. So, they’ve been good fits. They’re men of character. They fit our staff really well. Yeah. I’m excited about those two guys.”
Recruiting
Recruiting is an ongoing process for the 2023 roster and beyond despite signing dates in December and February.
“With the way our sport’s changed, I don’t think there’s anybody in the country that’s done recruiting,” Houston said. “So, we’re done from, for the most part, from a high school perspective. You have a couple of situations going on with some kids that have not signed with us yet that you could see us add, but those would be a little bit outliers.
“You’re going to see another recruiting cycle here in the month of May with transfers. We have a couple of spaces where we have scholarships that we’re holding to fill in the proper guys on our roster to complete our team.
“And I think that’s what this has become. It’s become where you build your roster each year in the offseason. And I don’t love that. We’re still going to major in recruiting high school student athletes, signing them, developing them, growing them. That’s going to be our core. But just like last year, we signed a handful of guys in May that ended up being significant contributors for us this fall.”
The new American
The American Athletic Conference will undergo a transition before the 2023 season with Central Florida, Cincinnati and Houston moving to the Big 12. The AAC will add Alabama-Birmingham, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice and Texas San Antonio.
ECU’s league schedule next season will include trips to UTSA, Rice, FAU and Navy. The Pirates will host Tulsa, Southern Methodist, Tulane and Charlotte.
Houston said he doesn’t think the realignment process is completed.
“I don’t think it’s done yet,” Houston said. “I think you may still see some additional movement. It is what it is. We, for quite a while now, have been the top non-Power Five conference in the country. You look at the performance of our conference in the bowl season this past winter, and the strength of the conference is obvious to everyone. And so, it makes our conference attractive for people targeting to expand from other conferences.
“And so that’s what you saw with UCF and Houston and Cincinnati leaving. I think that (AAC) Commissioner (Mike) Aresco and the administrators did a good job of aggressively expanding our conference. I think increasing our number to 14 does protect us a little bit. If you see an additional school or two leave for other conferences, you will still have a strong conference. So, it’s like the stuff with the transfers and the transfer portal, and name, image, likeness. It’s the new landscape of college football, and I think that’s what you are looking at with our conference.
“It’s a new conference. It’s a different conference. We’re a little bit of the outlier in that we’re the only non-big city market. The rest of the schools in our conference are going to come from large cities, and that’s the demographic of the conference. East Carolina, I think, is more in line with the Clemsons and the Georgias and Floridas of the world. … Greenville is a college town, and it’s not a big city, but it’s a college place. So, I think that’s where I think what we have is still very special.
“I’m excited about the opportunity in this new conference to compete, and I think our program’s in a good place, and I think that we’ve just got to continue to make sure that we invest institutionally. We have the opportunity right now to really invest in football, and to establish ourselves as one of the better programs in this conference. But everybody else is investing also, so we can’t let ourselves get comfortable and fall behind. Because that’s what happened years ago when we transitioned from Conference USA to the American Conference. So, I think investment and pushing to continue to improve right now is really what is important.”
Super Sunday
Philadelphia and Kansas City play on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, AZ. Former Pirate Linval Joseph is a defensive tackle for the Eagles.
“I hope for a good game,” Houston said. “Amanda and I and our two boys are probably going to be watching the game just as a family. This weekend is the first weekend we’ve had a chance to catch our breaths as a coaching staff, and so we’re going to get away and just be with the family. So just hoping for a good ball game, and I’m sure it’ll be enjoyable. Two pretty evenly matched teams.”
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