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BAILEY'S TAKE
ON PIRATE SPORTS
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From the Anchor Desk
Tuesday, February 7, 2006
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By Brian Bailey |
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Holtz plugs gaps with 2nd
recruiting class
©2006 Bonesville.net
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RECRUITING
OVERVIEW |
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Replay
the archive of Monday night's Brian Bailey Show,
with guest Donnie Kirkpatrick, ECU's football
recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach,
talking about the Pirates' incoming recruiting
class. |
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Select clip |
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East Carolina football coach
Skip Holtz shored up the team's two biggest areas of concern with his haul
on
National Signing Day last Wednesday.
The Pirates needed immediate
help at key position groups on both sides of the ball. Mission accomplished
on both counts in this staff’s second recruiting effort.
"I believe we answered our
immediate needs on the offensive line and at the linebacker position, two
areas where we were hit the hardest," Holtz said. "I like our numbers by
having our four mid-year players with us during spring ball and being able
to sign a balanced blend on both sides of the ball.”
The four mid-year signings
should provide the most immediate impact.
Orlando Farrow and Dan Muhwezi
both hail from Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania.
Mark Duda coached both players and says East Carolina is getting a couple of
excellent linebackers.
“They’re both ready to play,”
said Duda. “They are both in school early, working out and getting set for
spring practice. Physically, they are certainly ready to play, and getting
in school early will help them with everything else.”
Farrow led Lackawanna in
tackles in 2005 and is a 3.1 student. He had 62 tackles in ’05, while
Muhwezi had 60. Both players certainly have a nose for the football.
Andrew Farr is an offensive
lineman from Hargrave Military Academy who comes in as a freshman. Look for
Farr to really beef up at East Carolina in getting ready for spring drills.
Fred Wilson is a linebacker who comes to
ECU from Georgia Military College, the same school that produced Aundrae
Allison. Wilson had 47 tackles this past season for a team that finished
9-2.
Also from Georgia Military
comes Willie Barton. Barton is a tank, a 6-5, 350-pound offensive lineman
who was a two-time All-American at Georgia Military. Barton lists basketball
as a hobby. Wouldn’t Ricky Stokes like to have someone Barton’s size this
year pushing people around to help out Corey Rouse! Barton is listed as one
of the 23 signings from last Wednesday.
Richmond County running back
Norman Whitley leads the in-state
contingent. One publication had Whitley as the 11th best prospect in North
Carolina. Whitley was named MVP of the Shrine Bowl. He ran for 2,175 yards
as a senior, scoring 24 touchdowns. Whitley could come in and have an
immediate impact.
New Bern’s
Darryl Reynolds could also come in and help
out right away. Reynolds led the Bears to the state 4AA title game against
perennial power Independence this past season. Reynolds' one-handed catch in
the game was one for the ages.
Reynolds will be joined in the
secondary by another defensive back with good size from North Carolina,
Dekota Marshall of Southwest Onslow.
Marshall comes from a team that is a perennial prep power and plays a
physical style.
Wilson Hunt’s
Sean Allen is one of those rare, big
offensive line prospects. He had a 90 percent blocking grade by his coaches
this past season.
Overall, Coach Holtz seemed
pleased with his class. As with any class, you certainly never get everyone
that you hope to sign.
"I'm really proud of our staff
and players for the job they did," Holtz said. "We had some battles against
some traditionally good programs. As always, you win some and you lose some,
but I am encouraged by the number of visits we had this year. The excitement
and optimism for our future is easy to see when you look at this class."
Play ball!
Our mild winter to date is set
to take a turn for the worst this week. Wouldn’t you know it? It’s finally
time for baseball and here comes the cold.
The Pirate baseball team opens
on Friday with Maryland from the ACC paying a visit for a three-game weekend
series.
I’ve had a chance to check out
parts of two scrimmages, but it’s really hard to tell what you’re watching.
The two teams were evenly matched and I enjoyed watching the workouts.
Coach Billy Godwin has the
guys hustling around, and the workouts seemed extremely organized and
certainly had a purpose.
The jungle will come back to
life for Friday's 3 p.m. first pitch! Let’s hope, as the late Harry Caray
would say, that we have a “beautiful day for baseball.”
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02/23/2007 01:33:27 AM |
