By
Al Myatt
©2013 Bonesville.net
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East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill returns to
the turf of Carter-Finley Stadium where he made his first start in a
youthful secondary for East Carolina in 1977. ECU (8-2) plays N.C. State
(3-7) at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.
Besides McNeill, Willie Holley from Edenton and Charlie
Carter of Fayetteville also got their initial starts against the
Wolfpack that Sept. 3. Gerald Hall of Edenton was the lone returning
starter among the defensive backs.
The ECU secondary was tested by NCSU quarterback Johnny
Evans, who drove his team to the Pirates' 3-yard line in the closing
seconds. Evans sent a pass in the flat to Ricky Adams but McNeill
tackled him to preserve a 28-23 ECU win.
"It was our first start for a lot of us," McNeill said.
"Leander Green (quarterback from Jacksonville), Theodore Sutton
(fullback from Kinston) and Billy Ray Washington (receiver from
Jacksonville)."
Most of the players from that era were from North
Carolina, which added to the intensity of the matchup.
Pat Dye, who was the Pirates coach from 1974 through
1979, said time was put back on the clock to enable the final play in
the 1977 season opener.
"We had to come back out of the locker room," said Dye,
who went on to coach successfully at Wyoming and Auburn before his
enshrinement in the College Football Hall of Fame.
But McNeill was able to seal the deal.
"I was in the right place at the right time and made a
pretty good tackle," McNeill said. "It stopped them from going into the
end zone to win the game."
ECU topped State 23-14 in Ruff's freshman season. State
won 29-13 in 1978 and 34-20 in 1979 in McNeill's junior and senior
seasons. All of the games in the series were played in Raleigh until
1999.
McNeill has faced the Pack just once as head coach at ECU
when Damon Magazu's overtime interception of a Russell Wilson pass
sealed
a 33-27 Pirates win in Greenville in 2010.
Texas Tech played at State in 2003 when McNeill was
assistant head coach, special teams coordinator and defensive tackles
coach on the Red Raiders' staff.
"Philip Rivers — I think we made him a first round draft
choice that day we played them over there," McNeill said.
The current San Diego Chargers quarterback directed the
Wolfpack to a 49-21 win.
"That was the last game my mom (Bonnie) saw me coach,"
McNeill said.
The Pirates coach wears his mother's name on his wrist
band on game days now.
"I didn't lose her when she passed," Ruff said. "I gained
an angel."
The game Saturday will bring back some memories for
McNeill, a Lumberton native.
"It's my first time here, as a coach, going over there,"
he said. "It was always fun to play as a player. My first start was over
there as a player and my eyes were as big as saucers. I think Johnny
Evans threw for 5,000 yards that day."
The Wolfpack's quarterback situation is not as stabile as
when Evans was passing and punting.
First-year State coach Dave Doeren has started transfers
Brandan Mitchell and Pete Thomas during State's current six-game losing
streak. Thomas, who came from Colorado State, completed 22 of 33 passes
for 207 yards and one touchdown in last week's 38-21 loss at Boston
College. Sophomore Garrett Leatham also played against the Eagles,
completing three of six passes for 69 yards with a score.
"The Mitchell young man came from Arkansas," McNeill
said. "He's a really good athlete and really, so is Pete Thomas. ...
They both have quarterback-designed runs. They're trying to run Dave's
offense that he ran at NIU."
Doeren guided Northern Illinois to the Orange Bowl last
season. He likes read option elements for his quarterbacks but the
personnel he inherited from the Tom O'Brien regime was geared for a pro
style attack.
"They've got spread sets, as well as closed," McNeill
said. "They've got a run game, screen game and play action type things."
McNeill said they're isn't a lot of variation in terms of
who is directing the State offense.
Magazu, now a senior, will be looking for a bookend win
to go with the signature moment of his freshman season. The series
reportedly has been booked for three more games — every third year — in
Greenville in 2016, in Raleigh in 2019 and in Greenville in 2022.
"We've got to run to the ball, just like any other week,"
Magazu said. "We've got to stay focused on ourselves and not worry about
who we're playing."
State has some advantages
State, which leads the series with ECU, 16-11, has some
advantages.
The Wolfpack has been playing better competition. Its
last four opponents have a total of 29 wins. ECU's last four foes have
just five wins combined.
State also has more reliable placekicking. Niklas Sade is
19 for 22 on field goal tries this season while ECU's Warren Harvey has
struggled. Harvey has made just four of 13 beyond 30 yards.
The Pack is also at home, where it is 14-7 against the
Pirates.
Significance for Compher
East Carolina athletic director Jeff Compher spent 13
years in several positions at N.C. State, including assistant AD from
1986 to 1992.
He was Doeren's AD at Northern Illinois before coming to
ECU in April. He shared some thoughts on the first-year Wolfpack coach.
"First of all Dave is a family man," Compher said. "He
and his wife, Sara, are a fantastic couple. Their three sons (Jacob,
Luke and Conner) are active and fun-loving boys who really get to know
the team and people around the program.
"Dave is also a bright, no-nonsense coach who is
ultra-competitive with all aspects of his program. Whether its
recruiting, academics or anything else where you keep some kind of a
score, he wants to win and he is aggressive in his approach to winning.
I found him to be professional and very easy to work with because he is
organized in his approach to building a program."
Pirates have head start
Among the advantages ECU will have on Saturday is a head
start on the Wolfpack in terms of coaching continuity.
McNeill and staff have been recruiting to their systems
for four years. The building process that Compher referred to is in its
early stages under Doeren.
"There's seven seniors on this (ECU) defense," Doeren
said. "Behind that, you have two juniors. So nine of these guys are guys
that have been in the system for three to four years. Our guys have been
in the system nine months. You know what I mean? There's a huge
difference there."
Ruff watches hoops
While McNeill was in his office Tuesday night, waiting
for some recruiting calls, he watched some of
ECU's 83-74 basketball loss at No. 6 Duke.
The Pirates had closed an 18-point deficit in the first
half to one point with under seven minutes left.
McNeill started in his profession as basketball coach at
Lumberton High School.
"A great job by Coach (Jeff) Lebo and his kids," McNeill
said. "They were playing a very, very tough opponent as we all know in
Cameron (Indoor Stadium). Duke's won a lot of games there.
"I thought our kids stood up and played exceptionally
well. They fought to the end. That's a young team and they'll get better
each week."
ECU
coach
Jeff
Lebo
and
players
Greg
Alexander
&
Petar
Torlak
addressed
the
media
after
the
Pirates'
win
over
Chowan:
