View from the East
Saturday, January 10, 2004

By Al Myatt
ECU Beat Writer for The News & Observer

1. Clemson (9-4, 5-3 ACC) ... Tigers finish with a flurry, topping Tennessee 27-14 in the Peach Bowl.
2. N.C. State (8-5, 4-4 ACC) ... Wolfpack ends on an up note with a 56-26 Tangerine win over Kansas.
3. Wake Forest (5-7, 3-5 ACC) ... Deacons had some big wins before ending with three straight losses.
4. South Carolina (5-7, 2-6 SEC) ... Gamecocks lost their last four and Lou Holtz made staff changes.
5. Duke (4-8, 2-6 ACC) ... Blue Devils made a midseason turnaround under new coach Ted Roof.
6. North Carolina (2-10, 1-7 ACC) ... Struggles on defense led to a poor season for the Tar Heels.
7. East Carolina (1-11, 1-7 C-USA) ... ECU had its most losses ever following a coaching transition.

QB — Philip Rivers, N.C. State — The Wolfpack senior threw for 4,491 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2003.
RB — Marvin Townes, East Carolina — The Pirates junior ran for 1,128 yards In his first season as a starter.
RB — Chris Barclay, Wake Forest — The Deacons sophomore rushed for 1,248 yards and 12 touchdowns.
OL — Brian Rimpf, East Carolina — Senior Bowl selection was All Conference USA for the third season.
OL — Sean Locklear, N.C. State — First team All ACC choice, protecting Rivers and springing T.A. McLendon.
OL — Tyson Clabo, Wake Forest — First team All ACC in Demon Deacons’
diverse offense.
OL — Travelle Wharton, South Carolina — Gamecocks senior was named second team All SEC by league coaches.
OL — Doug White, East Carolina — Dependable center for the Pirates since forced into starting role as a freshman.
TE — T. J. Williams, N.C. State — Had 28 catches for 444 yards with three TDs.
WR — Jerricho Cotchery, N.C. State — First team All ACC with 86 catches for 1,369 yards and 10 TDs.
WR — Terrance Copper, East Carolina — Set a school season record as a senior with 87 receptions.

ALL-CAROLINAS DEFENSE

DL — Matt Zielinski, Duke — First team All ACC pick had 18 tackles for loss.
DL — Donnell Washington, Clemson — Had 55 tackles, nine for losses and four sacks.
DL — John McCargo, N.C. State — Had 13 tackles for loss.
DL — Damane Duckett, East Carolina — Leader of Pirates front was selected to play in Blue-Gray game.
LB — Chris Moore, East Carolina — Had 100 solo tackles and a team-high
148 total with 13 for losses.
LB — Leroy Hill, Clemson — First team All ACC choice had 133 tackles, six sacks and 25 tackles for loss.
LB — Ryan Fowler, Duke — Had 136 tackles for Blue Devils.
DB — Eric King, Wake Forest — First team All ACC choice had 15 pass break-ups and three interceptions.
DB — Andre Maddox, N.C. State — Had 129 tackles on his way to first team All ACC honors.
DB — Terrell Smith, Duke — Blue Devils tackles leader was in on 140 stops.
DB — Jamaal Fudge, Clemson — In on 108 tackles for the Tigers with five for losses.

ALL-CAROLINAS SPECIAL TEAMS

K — Aaron Hunt, Clemson — Made 16 of 22 field goal attempts.
P — Ryan Dougherty, East Carolina — Freshman averaged 44.5 yards per punt and made first team All C-USA.
RS — Derrick Hamilton, Clemson — Averaged 34.5 yards on kickoff returns with one score.

Tommy Bowden, Clemson — Probably no coach at a Division I-A program in the Carolinas was in greater danger of losing his job than the Tigers coach after a 45-17 loss at Wake Forest on Nov. 1 — considering Duke had already dismissed Carl Franks. Bowden was so overcome with emotion when asked about his job status at a subsequent news conference that he couldn’t respond to the question. But his program did a great job of bouncing back, starting with a stunning 26-10 win over his dad Bobby’s Florida State team at Death Valley the following week. The Tigers hammered Duke (40-7) and rival South Carolina (63-17) — in Columbia — before knocking off Tennessee 27-14 in the Peach Bowl. The Tigers ran something that looked a lot like ECU’s old Gamecock play for a touchdown against the Volunteers. Bowden got a well-deserved 3-year contract extension through the 2010 season on Dec. 2.

PAST WINNERS
Jim Grobe, Wake Forest, 2001.
Chuck Amato, N.C. State, 2002.

Philip Rivers, N.C. State — The Wolfpack showed it could play with the top programs in the country with overtime losses at Ohio State and Florida State but also sustained some disappointing losses with a young defensive front and injuries to primary running threat T.A. McLendon. State’s No. 17 kept the team performing at a high level with his leadership and passing ability. Rivers completed 348 of 483 passes (72 percent) for 4,491 yards in his senior season with 34 touchdowns and just seven interceptions in repeating as Bonesville.net’s Carolinas player of the year. Rivers closed his college career with 475 yards passing and five touchdowns in the Pack’s 56-26 Tangerine Bowl win over Kansas. He finished as the ACC career leader in passing yardage and total offense. His jersey was retired at his last home game.

PAST WINNERS
Leonard Henry, RB, East Carolina, 2001.
Philip Rivers, QB, N.C. State, 2002.