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Pirate Notebook No. 27
Wednesday, November 21, 2001

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

When senior quarterback David Garrard trots off the Bagwell Field turf following the final gun of Friday's showdown with old nemesis Southern Miss, he will do so as the most celebrated player in East Carolina football history.

Garrard will leave behind countless memories of late-game heroics and dominant performances.

ECU fans will forever speak of the time the big, graceful, humble guy from Durham found 'the zone' that few players ever reach � against a ninth-ranked Miami powerhouse � and engineered a second half comeback victory that will always be a part of Pirate football lore.

Against N.C. State in '99 and Texas Tech in last year's galleryfurniture.com Bowl, Garrard put on two of the more dominant rushing and passing performances in recent memory. Inside the pocket or out, he was virtually unstoppable in two program-building wins over quality opponents.

When he leaves Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Friday, Garrard will take with him virtually every meaningful passing record from a school that has developed a reputation for producing top-notch quarterbacks, the last three of which have landed on professional rosters.

With each game this season, Garrard has seemingly re-written a previous mark, be it for career completions, yardage or touchdown passes. One by one, the quarterback known by his teammates as "Buffet Killer" has erased them all.

Even more impressive than his numbers is the manner in which he has achieved them. While those before him benefited from the quarterback-friendly "West Coast" system, the offense has seen major changes with Garrard at the helm.

Garrard's bullish physique and deceptive quickness prompted offensive coordinator Doug Martin to re-introduce the option in a big way, a strategy which had been de-emphasized in the Pirates' package in recent years.

You'd be hard-pressed to find a quarterback that strikes more fear into a would-be tackler than Garrard, whose brutish running style in the open field garnered him the label "beer truck" from head coach Steve Logan.

In addition to the three-step, five-step, and seven-step drops, the play-action has become an integral part of the passing attack during Garrard's career. With phenomenal arm strength and Charmin-like touch, Garrard throws as good a deep ball as any to wear the Pirate uniform, rivaling even Jeff Blake, who is noted for having the best in the NFL game today.

Unlike most quarterbacks who specialize in one or two skills, Garrard has mastered a menu full of specialties � a menu which, under Logan and Martin, has become as diverse as any in college football.

Though the accomplishments speak for themselves, records and victories don't even begin to tell the story about Garrard's illustrious career, which has taken an unlikely path to greatness.

Overcoming the death of his mother, Garrard spent the latter portion of his high school days under the care of his siblings, who sacrificed a lot to nurture his football career.

At 270-plus pounds, college recruiters were knocking down his door � though most of them envisioned a tight end, a position in which this overweight signal caller had no interest.

One summer day during Logan's acclaimed football camp, Garrard was told to join the offensive linemen. Then, one 80-yard chuck later, a father-son-like relationship was born.

Equally impressive as David the quarterback is David the person. Mild-mannered and soft-spoken, Garrard doesn't exude the 'It's all about me!' attitude associated with many of today's prominent athletes.

While newspapers are often flooded with the off-the-field antics of high-profile jocks, Garrard has maintained a squeaky-clean image. The one time his name did grace the local papers for something other than football, it was for a religious commitment, not for wrong-doing.

Be it on the field or off, Garrard has been as good a representative for East Carolina University as any before him. His career will be marked with greatness, his life highlighted by humility.

On Friday morning against conference rival Southern Miss, he will play his final regular season game in that famed purple "#9".

"I just cherish every moment that I have with him right now," Logan said. "I work with quarterbacks for a living, and he's extraordinary in every way."

Currently, East Carolina has just four retired jerseys � Robert Farris (#16), Norman Swindell (#18), James Speight (#29), and Roger Thrift ( #36) � making the honor elite in status.

Garrard has more than earned his keep in that group with his on-the-field play alone. But statistics don't tell the whole David Garrard story. And it's hard to imagine another Pirate adequately filling his double-extra-large #9.

It's hard to find fault in an offense that is putting up more than 422 yards and just under 34 points per game. Led by Garrard and fullback Leonard Henry, the Pirate offense has put up numbers unmatched by any team during Logan's tenure.

But the manner in which this Pirate machine has churned out points and yards by the bushel could indeed be problematic when taking a closer look.

Rarely does the Pirate offense sustain drives that exceed three minutes in length. Logan's quick-strike mentality has often translated into feast or famine for the Pirates, either producing a quick score off an explosion play, or going down trying with an untimely three-and-out.

Either way, the defense, which is yielding almost as many yards as the Pirate offense accumulates, is almost assured of a quick trip back to the field after barely catching a breather.

That formula has produced some lengthy outings for senior linebacker Pernell Griffin and the once heralded 'Wild Dogs' defense. In virtually every game this season, the Pirates have been beaten in the time of possession battle �in many cases, the margin wasn't even close.

Time of possession has never been an important statistic to Logan, who often notes that scoring quickly is the way to go. In the coach's opinion, long, sustained drives leave more room for error, and turnovers have proven an Achilles' heel in the past.

But when examining the box scores of the Pirates' ten games to date, one game in particular stands out. Against Memphis, the Pirates held an uncharacteristic 13-minute advantage in time of possession, a game they won, 32-11.

Following the game, Logan even cringed at the statistic, sticking to his mantra and saying, "quick points � that's the answer."

In the blowout victory, Henry carried the ball 26 times for 132 yards. All totaled, the Pirates had 57 rushing attempts for 205 yards, while holding the ball for better than 36 minutes.

As for the defense? It put together its best performance of the season, limiting Memphis to just 231 yards on 58 plays, marking the only time this season the Pirates have held an opponent under 400 yards.

Though the defense played well against the dangerous Tiger attack, it was greatly aided by the Pirate offense, which sustained time-consuming drives all afternoon long.

That may just be the only way this defense can stop any team's offense � keeping it off the field.

Though the long-term solution to the current problems is shoring up the defense, the Pirates could benefit in the short term by moving to ball-control offense.

If recent trends hold true, East Carolina won't need an early-morning wake-up call for its 11 a.m. kick-off against Southern Miss on Friday. Through ten games, the quick-starting Pirates are outscoring their opponents 102-25 in the first quarter.

That trend has taken new meaning over the past three weeks � the Pirates have bolted out to 27-3, 28-3, and 14-0 leads against Texas Christian, Cincinnati, and Louisville, respectively.

But instead of nailing the coffin shut, the Pirates held on for dear life on the road against the Frogs and Bearcats, while the Cardinals outscored them 19-0 in the third quarter, en route to a 39-34 victory.

Some have charged that conditioning is the reason for the Pirates' second-half letdowns, though it isn't tough to see that mental mistakes, more than anything, have been the key to the opponents' comebacks.

An errant pitch and the inability to cover two onsides kicks against TCU gave the Frogs three extra possessions. Cincinnati benefited from the Pirates' poor special teams play � Terrance Copper twice fielded punts inside the eight-yard line, while Marvin Townes and Art Brown waged a costly tug-o-war during one kickoff.

Last Thursday night, the Pirates had apparently not awaken from their weekly halftime nap when Zek Parker returned the second-half kickoff untouched for a score. Before the Pirates could even yawn, the Cardinals had turned an eight-point deficit into an 18-point lead.

Yep, it might be wise for Logan to schedule a wake-up call for the ECU locker room at about 12:50 on Friday, the approximate time the Pirates will head back to Dowdy-Ficklen for the start of the second half.

If not, the Pirates could very well sleepwalk themselves into yet another nightmare, or worse yet, out of the post-season.

Perhaps nobody will welcome the return of starting frontcourt mates Moussa Badiane and Gabriel Mikulas more than sophomore forward Erroyl Bing.

Through four games, Bing has had to man the interior almost single-handedly, doing an excellent job thus far, averaging 18.8 points while pulling down better than seven rebounds per contest. His play in the BCA Invitational garnered an All-Tournament selection.

Though the Pirates aren't making any excuses for the absence of their starting center and power forward, Bing admits that he is looking forward to their return.

"It's going to be great when we get them back," he said. "But right now, we're just going to hold it down for them."

At six-foot-six, 250-pounds, Bing poses match-up problems, regardless of the position. Most small forwards aren't strong enough to handle him in the low post. Most power forwards aren't quick enough and can't defend the perimeter well enough to contain him outside.

It's that type of diversity that has head coach Bill Herrion singing Bing's praises.

"Erroyl Bing � God bless him � he's just a workhorse out there," Herrion said. "We're asking him to play on the blocks, to score inside, to draw fouls, to step away from the basket."

In fact, there is very little Bing hasn't done. In Monday night's loss at Appalachian State, he posted 26 points, 11 rebounds (six offensive), and dished out two assists while playing out of position.

It's that type of all-around effort that will be needed on a consistent basis if the Pirates are to compete in C-USA.