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NEWS, NOTES &
COMMENTARY
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The
Bradsher Beat
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
By Bethany Bradsher |
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Attention riveted on talent
hunt's climax
©2006 Bonesville.net
Last fall my family and I went gem mining in
Spruce Pine. Using a square screen, we poured debris, dirt and rocks through
and sifted them out, searching for the amethyst, garnet and topaz that were
hidden therein.
The East Carolina football coaches have been on
a similar expedition for months, and today they will include media and fans
in a celebration of their newfound treasures.
I think it’s safe to say that you might live in
a college football town if you plan to take all or part of Signing Day off
from work.
For those who do ditch their real-world
responsibilities for a little foretaste of fall, there’s the
Signing Day Fan Fest at 4 p.m. in the
Murphy Center. Head coach Skip Holtz will give fans the rundown on the whole
new crop of Pirates, and complimentary refreshments and video highlights
will be featured at the event.
Despite the official ECU athletic website’s
promise to update signing news every hour all day today, the day will
actually hold few surprises. Tuesday’s news about the signing day intentions
of
Richmond County running back Norman Whitley
brought to 17 the number of high school and junior college players who have
already
declared their intention to become Pirates.
Logan to NFL sooner or
later
Even Pirate fans that cheered
Steve Logan’s 2002 departure as head
football coach had to concede his ability to cultivate quarterbacks. But
despite reports that he was on the brink of getting his chance to practice
that skill in the NFL, Logan will not be leaving the North Carolina coast
for frozen Wisconsin anytime soon.
New Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy
announced this week that 52-year-old Tom Clements, former offensive
coordinator for the Buffalo Bills, would fill his final staff vacancy as
quarterbacks coach. Several sources confirmed that Logan and Clements were
the finalists for the post and that McCarthy interviewed both at the Senior
Bowl in Mobile, AL.
Logan has never worked in the NFL, but he
coached the last two MVPs in NFL Europe — Dave Ragone last year and Rohan
Davey in 2004. Considering the speed at which the NFL coaching carousel
travels, I’d be surprised if Logan doesn’t find himself on an NFL staff
within the next three years.
Piecing together fall
itinerary
Does signing day give you an itch to plan your
fall tailgating activities? You can pinpoint the opening and closing dates
on the Pirates’ schedule, but the months in between the two are still a bit
sketchy.
Conference USA has not officially released the
schedules of its members yet, but a few details are available from the
websites of ECU opponents. The upcoming campaign will open on Sept. 2 on the
road against Navy, and the Pirates will end the season in Raleigh against
the Wolfpack.
Two other dates are available — home games
against West Virginia on Sept. 23 and against Virginia on Oct. 7.
The Southern Miss game will be played on the
road, although the date is not available, and other definite conference
opponents include Central Florida, Marshall, Memphis, UAB and three squads
from the Western Division of C-USA.
Shellacking finally
revisited
West Virginia and Virginia Tech have both been
common names on ECU schedules over the years, but the Pirates have only met
Virginia once before, in 1975. That season had something else in common with
the upcoming one: It was the second season for a new head coach, in this
case Pat Dye. ECU went 8-3 that season, with the victories including a 61-10
shellacking of the Cavaliers in Charlottesville and a strong clue as to why
the two teams didn’t meet again for three decades.
Excellence under the
radar
If football in February just doesn’t feature
enough action for you and you’re getting burned out on basketball, ECU has
several athletes in less-publicized sports who are worthy of an expanded fan
following.
Sophomore swimmer Megan Pulaski, a Greenville
native, set a new East Carolina varsity record Saturday and helped lead her
team to a 144-99 victory over Duke, elevating the Lady Pirates’ record to
9-1. The women’s swimming program and coach Rick Kobe have created a winning
environment that is unsurpassed among ECU sports programs.
Several Pirate runners distinguished themselves
at the On Track Open invitational in Lynchburg, VA, over the weekend. Senior
Kyle Yunaska won first place and set a new personal record in the
1,000-meter run, junior Eric Frasure won the shot put and the weight throw
and set his third NCAA-qualifying distance. On the women’s side, freshman
Danielle Eiler earned a new career-best in the shot put with a throw of
13.19 meters.
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02/23/2007 01:12:47 AM |
