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Bailey's
Take on Pirate Sports
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, August 26, 2003
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By Brian Bailey
Sports Anchor of WNCT-TV 9 |
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Pirates' O-line gets heady
praise from Stockstill
�2003 Bonesville.net
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Note:
Technical problems delayed
the archiving of the Cable 7 audio from Monday's Brian Bailey Show... |
Rick Stockstill is ready to go in his first year as East
Carolina�s offensive coordinator. He seems very content with the decisions
that have been made. Perhaps decision number one was in naming Desmond
Robinson as his starting quarterback.
It�s much like the Dallas Cowboys and Bill Parcells, who
named Quincy Carter as the Cowboy�s starter last week. Parcells says Carter
gives his team the best chance to win now. Carter, like Desmond Robinson, is
mobile and a threat both through the air and on the ground.
�Dez was just a little bit more consistent,� said Stockstill
on my weekly radio and cable television show this past week. �Both
quarterbacks played well, especially in the last week or two. But we feel
that Desmond was just a little bit more consistent.�
Stockstill credited Paul Troth�s attitude as an attribute
that will help him this year. Troth will still win some games for this team
this season. He is expected to play against the Bearcats on Monday.
Stockstill had very positive comments about the entire
offense, but he gave exceptional praise to the offensive line.
�This is just an outstanding group,� Stockstill said. �I
believe that this group could line up and start for any program in the
country. They are as good as anyone that I saw in the ACC for sure.�
I asked Coach Stockstill about his relationship with the
Bowden family. Stockstill began his college quarterbacking career at Florida
State in 1977, Bobby Bowden�s second season. He is quick to note the
similarities between his famous old coach and his new boss, John Thompson.
"Coach Thompson is a lot like Coach Bowden in a lot of
ways,� Stockstill said. �Coach Bowden was about Coach Thompson�s age when he
came to Tallahassee and he built the program. We won a lot of games and
played in a bunch of bowls while I was there. Coach Thompson has that kind
of enthusiasm, for sure.�
Coach Stockstill also has an infectious enthusiasm and I
look forward to watching the Pirate offense this season.
Family affair subplot
It will be an interesting opening game for the Shankweiler
family for sure.
Steve Shankweiler spent two stints on the ECU coaching staff
as the offensive line coach. In all, Coach Shank was a part of ten football
seasons at East Carolina. Based on Stockstill's high praise of the Pirates'
2003 offensive line, Shank left things in good shape when he departed ECU
this past winter and took the same job with Rick Minter on his staff at
Cincinnati.
Kort Shankweiler, Shank's son, came to East Carolina after a
standout career at quarterback for J.H. Rose High School in Greenville. This
past spring the redshirt freshman decided to switch to tight end. He�ll
start at that position Monday against his Dad�s new team.
I can just see Patti Shankweiler � the wife � in one half of
a red jersey. The other half would be purple � for Patti Shankweiler the
mom.
Coach Shankweiler was always a straight shooter and I
enjoyed working with him for over a decade on my radio show. Best of luck to
the entire family on Labor Day Monday. It should be a holiday to remember.
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Brian Bailey.
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02/23/2007 01:25:21 AM |
