HIGH PRIORITY:
Dave Nichol (right), elevated by ECU to the
offensive coordinator position after the
departure of Lincoln Riley for Oklahoma,
will count among his most important tasks
before next season the identification of a
successor to graduated quarterback Shane
Carden. |
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ECU SID photo |
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BASKETBALL |
UConn rallies again |
In a game that
progressed similarly
to an earlier
American Athletic
Conference matchup,
Connecticut was too
much for East
Carolina in the
second half on
Wednesday night
before a black-out
crowd of 6,856 in
Williams Arena at
Minges Coliseum.
The 2014 NCAA Tournament
champions overcame a 33-24
halftime deficit to top the
Pirates 60-49 as Ryan
Boatwright scored 16 points.
...
Story & photos... |
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Pictured: Terry
Whisnant attempts a
shot in the paint
against UConn on
Wednesday night.
(Photo by W.A.
Myatt) |
Next: ECU at UCF |
Saturday, 12 pm
| TV: ESPNN |
The Season
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BASEBALL |
ECU closes Classic
with win |
Cfter a tough 4-3
loss to No. 24
Liberty on Sunday
afternoon, East
Carolina bounced
back with a 9-2 win
over St. John's on
Sunday evening at
Clark-LeClair
Stadium.
The Pirates (2-4) finished
the 12th annual Keith
LeClair Classic with a 2-1
record. ECU stranded the
tying run at third in the
bottom of the ninth against
the Flames. ...
Story & pictures... |
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Pictured: David
Lucroy delivers
against St. John's.
The junior
right-hander went
seven innings
allowing one run on
five hits with three
strikeouts in his
first win of the
year. (Photo
by W.A. Myatt) |
Next: ECU vs. Albany |
Friday, 4 pm |
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BASKETBALL |
Pirates surge past USF |
East Carolina started the
second half on an 11-0 run after building a 35-25 lead in the first 20
minutes and the Pirates went on to a 73-60 win over South Florida on
Saturday. ECU got 19 points each from Caleb White and B.J. Tyson in its
fourth straight win at home. ...
More... |
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Pictured: ECU
sophomore guard Caleb White launches a
jumper during ECU's 73-60 American Athletic
Conference win over South Florida on
Saturday at Minges Coliseum. White nailed
five of six 3-point attempts and scored 19
points. (Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
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BASEBALL |
ECU rallies past UNCG |
Cliff Godwin got his first win as coach of
East Carolina as the Pirates rolled past UNC-Greensboro,
8-3, in the opening game of the 2015 Keith
LeClair Classic. The Spartans had taken a
1-0 lead in the top of the fourth but ECU
answered with two runs in the fifth and
three more in the sixth. ...
More... |
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Pictured: ECU
freshman Jackson Mims (20) is congratulated
by teammates after an eighth- inning
sacrifice fly in the opening game of the
Keith Leclair Classic. After falling behind
early, the Pirates used offensive firepower
to roar back for the victory. (Photo by W.A.
Myatt) |
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By
Al Myatt
©2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Review ECU's 2014 Football Season
VIEW MOBILE VERSION OF THIS PAGE
The East Carolina quarterback situation will get a lot of
Dave Nichol's attention in the offseason with the exit of Shane Carden,
who started for most of the last three seasons and recently took part in
the NFL combine after a record breaking college career and a couple of
conference offensive player of the year awards.
Spring practice starts March 20 and the spring game is
set for April 18.
"Right now we've got five quarterbacks on the roster,"
said Nichol, who was promoted to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks
coach after Lincoln Riley went to Oklahoma following the 2014 season.
"Kurt Benkert, Blake Kemp and Cody Keith are our three scholarship guys.
They're going to get quite a few reps this spring. We're just going to
let them go compete. Obviously, Kurt was the No. 2 guy during the
season. Cody was hurt. Blake was over there kind of redshirting on the
scout team. Kurt will probably go out there as No. 1 but they're all
going to get a bunch of reps. The way we practice, we get a lot of reps
for our guys. We'll kind of go from there."
There are two walk-on quarterbacks on the roster, Jason
Connella and Ray Smith.
"We'll be able to see what they can do as well by the way
we practice and throw it around," Nichol said.
Story
continues after the following picture...
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In limited action as a backup last
season to Shane Carden, rising redshirt sophomore Kurt
Benkert (6) compiled some highlights, including this
scoring run in the season opener against N.C. Central.
(Photo by W.A. Myatt) |
ECU's former outside receivers coach talked about the
qualities of the scholarship quarterbacks.
"Kurt, first and foremost, is a really-motivated guy,"
Nichol said. "He's a big, strong guy. He's great in the weight room.
He's great in the class room. He's obviously been here, kind of doing it
behind Shane really for two years so to speak. He really wants to be the
guy. He can probably run better than most people think. ... He's just
really physically talented. Getting him to really absorb the offense
even better than he has is kind of the goal with him.
"Cody Keith had the Tommy John surgery but his arm is
coming back pretty good. He's a thrower. He's a talented guy who's
always been able to throw it. Like all of them, his challenge will be
how they can function when 11 guys are out there and moving the ball.
He's a good kid. Smart kid. He's already graduated. Big, tall kind of
passer."
Kemp transferred from Mesa (AZ) Community College before
the 2014 season.
"I'm interested to see kind of what he's all about,"
Nichol said. "He was on the scout team last year and did a good job for
them. He's an intelligent guy. He was a junior college kid who had run
this offense basically. ... He gets it done in different ways. I'll be
anxious to see him throw it around, too."
Nichol said the evaluation of Carden's successor will be
simple.
"Whoever moves the ball the best," he said. "I've already
told all them this. Whoever moves the ball the best. You get us moving
down the field with first downs, that's the guy who's going to be the
starter. However that happens. Somebody who doesn't turn the ball over
and moves us down the field.
"The most important statistic — well first, wins — but
then if you break it down offensively is scoring. Whoever takes us down
the field to score, that's who's going to play. Obviously, that entails
a lot of other stuff but that's very simple and it's very true. Then you
go into not taking sacks, not throwing picks, not having negative
yardage. A lot of times it starts with really just minimizing mistakes.
"Whoever it is, it's going to be their first game to
start (Sept. 5, at home against Towson). That's something that we're not
used to the last couple of years with a guy like Shane. So as opposed to
making ridiculous, crazy plays, let's make sure we minimize mistakes
because I think we've got some good talent around them. Throwing it to
the right guy and moving the ball down the field, even though that's
simple, that's still the name of the game."
Sizing up the running game
The running game has the potential to take some pressure
off the Pirates' first-year starter at quarterback.
Chris Hairston, Anthony Scott, Marquez Grayson and Cory
Hunter are among the experienced returners at running back.
"That's where it all starts," Nichol said. "Then you've
got your play action passes off the thing, which can be very effective.
We've got a bunch of linemen returning, long story short, so that's
going to help us in that running game. We've got to lean on those guys
and they've got to improve. Just because they're seniors doesn't mean
they've got it all figured out. We've got to lean on them up front to
help take some pressure off the quarterback and sometimes the passing
game. We hope to improve that running game next year, no doubt."
Running back Chris Mangus sat out last season after
transferring from Virginia Tech.
"He did some good things in the fall," Nichol said of
Mangus. "He's got to keep doing that and keep taking care of his
academics and all that kind of stuff. He's like a bunch of guys on
offense. We're just going to wait and see — throw the ball out there and
see what they can do this spring. He can catch a little bit. He can run
a little bit, but he's still got to kind of continue to grow and mature
on and off the field. He's trying to do that."
Significant losses at receiver
The Pirates lose outstanding receivers Justin Hardy and
Cam Worthy, both of whom were involved in the NFL combine in
Indianapolis in February. There is still depth among the pass targets.
"We've got a good group coming back," Nichol said.
"Obviously, those guys are motivated to step up and do some good things.
We feel good about starting on the right outside, Davon Grayson and
Jimmy Williams, then inside with Bryce Williams, Isaiah Jones, Quay
Johnson. Travon Brown and Terrell Green. We feel really good about those
guys.
"Each of them have to step up in different ways because
that's a lot of production we lost. ... Collectively, I think we'll be
able to get it done but that's the challenge. The one thing we talked to
them about was Justin never missed practice. He never got hurt. He was
just super consistent. That's why he could make all those catches and
all those plays. Just showing up and being there every day. There's
something to be said about that. The young guys will grow up and mature.
That's what they've got to do. We'd like them to do it sooner than
later."
Review ECU's 2014 Football Season