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Pirate Notebook No. 28
Monday, November 26, 2001

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

GREENVILLE � David Garrard was one of the last to leave the field following Friday's 28-21 loss to rival Southern Miss.

When the final gun sounded and public address announcer John C. Moore gave his final farewells, the Durham senior walked slowly toward midfield, where he joined a host of others for the traditional post-game prayer.

From there, Garrard walked toward the gate, that chain-linked structure that separated the purple gladiators from their fans. He walked slowly. He walked alone.

As he made his final strides on the Bagwell Field surface, the bulky quarterback with a hefty heart appeared to be deep in thought. Who knows the thoughts with which he was wrestling? Perhaps some were happy, though some were surely magnified with disappointment.

As he exited the field, he was showered by heartfelt "Thank yous" from those still lingering. Awaiting the gentle giant was a throng of fans many years his junior. They extended their pop warner-sized footballs and rolled-up programs, hoping to get that signature.

"I would have signed more," Garrard said. "But they (coaches) told me I had to go."

Moments later, Garrard strolled virtually unnoticed into the media room, as several of his teammates were keeping the reporting drove entertained. He arrived clutching a football, which was similar to the one he twice fumbled and once had intercepted in the seven-point loss.

This one, though, was covered in black ink, having been signed by each of his teammates.

As he sat down, football still tightly tucked against his body, the normally bright-eyed signal caller was instantly bombarded by microphones and tape recorders, just as he had been many times before.

"I think I've had a great career here," Garrard told the inquisitive group. "I've enjoyed playing in front of the crowds. I've enjoyed going to the school, being in the community.

"I can't complain about anything in my career. I've had a great time with a bunch of great guys to play with, and the coaches as well. I've loved every minute of it."

Three months prior to this, the disappointing ending to a disappointing regular season, Garrard told many of the same reporters his desires for the season, the master plan for his grand finale.

After two consecutive second-place C-USA finishes, the record-breaking signal caller proclaimed that a conference title would be the "crowning jewel" to his illustrious career.

But for one reason or another, a king would not be crowned in the Emerald City. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it was Murphy's Law. Whatever it was, Garrard couldn't quite put a finger on it.

"That's just what happens, I guess," he said. "I don't know how to call it. Things that could go wrong did go wrong."

What some had envisioned as a possible unblemished season for a talented team ended, barring a bowl bid, in what the very same prognosticators would deem a prime example of mediocrity.

The Pirates won just once more than they lost, which resembles nothing close to greatness. But Garrard says the record is by no means indicative of his team's merit, which was pretty good by his measure.

"When you see all the scoring we did and you see us losing by just a few points, I think that in itself tells you that it was a good team," he said. "On any given Saturday, Thursday, or Friday � whenever we play � anybody could win.

"I thought that we were in every game. I don't think anybody that we played just dominated us at all."

Only once did the Pirates lose by more than a touchdown, 44-30, at nationally-ranked Syracuse. Even in that one, Garrard's group led late, but untimely mistakes proved fatal, much like they did in four other heartbreaks.

Garrard showed little emotion on this day, though, save maybe for sober relief. He politely answered each monotonous question, providing the perfect punch lines to a not-so-perfect story.

When the ten minute Q&A ended, Garrard gathered his grip. In his left hand was a worn-out duffel bag. In his right was that football, of which he didn't seem ready to let go.

He then walked almost unobtrusively toward the door, and in a blink, he was gone.

I, along with another, soon followed, hoping to get one last word. We thanked him for his contribution to East Carolina University, and his cooperation toward our writing cause.

Then, with that winning smile, and that soft-spoken voice, Garrard extended his own sentiment of thanks, which to me, seemed silly, for I had done nothing for him.

But as he vanished like a phantom in the night, I realized that it didn't matter. He was David Garrard � that was his nature.

While Garrard may have been the headliner, he wasn't the only member of a superlative group of seniors. Running back Leonard Henry and linebacker Pernell Griffin shattered a few records themselves, and collectively, the class of '02 did some special things during its tenure at ECU.

Never did this group experience a losing season, winning 29 during the stretch. Included among those wins were comebacks over Big East powerhouses Miami and West Virginia, and a bowl victory over Texas Tech.

It was a group that was a source of great pride for East Carolina. And nobody was more proud of it than head coach Steve Logan.

"That's been an excellent group," Logan said. "They've won 29 games over a four-year period. That's averaging right at seven wins a season, which in East Carolina's Division-I history is unheard of.

"It's been an exquisite group of young men on and off the field, and in the classroom. Almost every one of those kids has their degree, or will attain it by this spring. They've done it all the right way, and I couldn't be more proud."

Though victories and awards were synonymous with this celebrated flock of seniors, it probably isn't what it will remember most.

Senior defensive tackle Bernard Williams' three-sack performance in last year's galleryfurniture.com Bowl garnered defensive player-of-the-game honors, but what mattered most to him was the extended family of which he became a part.

"I'm so blessed to be a part of this family for the rest of my life," Williams said. "Although this was my last game, I'm still going to be a Pirate for the rest of my life.

"I met a lot of these guys before I even got to ECU � our friendships developed before we even came here. When we got here, the friendships grew into like a brotherhood. For those guys to be my friends and my brothers, it was special."

It isn't hard to figure out how East Carolina entered its game against rival Southern Miss with four losses. Only once in ten games had the Pirates held an opponent to under 400 yards, while spotting the opposition some 26 points per game.

Against the Golden Eagles, though, the Pirates' defense delivered its second best outing of the season. The Bucs yielded just 362 yards to Southern Miss, sacking quarterback Jeff Kelly three times on the day.

But five turnovers � one interception and four fumbles � took their toll, often giving the defense short fields to defend. Nonetheless, the Pirate D fought hard, according to Logan.

"The way they kept going on the field after a couple of turnovers, making them kick a field goal or getting an all-out stop � that's as good a defense as you can play," Logan said. "It took a lot of courage to keep going out and keep battling, and they did that.

"They were courageous is what they were. That's just what East Carolina does � play hard to the last snap."

Though the defense was often put in awkward situations, Williams wasn't pointing any fingers on Friday. It is for situations like those that defensive coordinator Tim Rose has instilled a "just get the job done" type of attitude.

"When you find yourself on a short field, you've got to hold on," Williams said. "That's what we did.

"We tried to keep the game within reach, and we kept it within reach. We kept coming up short on the special teams, but those guys played hard for us all day. You can't blame it all on special teams, or the defense or offense."

Friday's defensive game plan incorporated more blitzes than in weeks before. Those schemes seemed to work, as the Golden Eagles passed for just 167 yards on the afternoon.

Even Griffin, C-USA's career tackling leader, factored into the Pirates' blitzing schemes. Going into the game, Griffin had not recorded a sack, but all that changed on Friday.

"He (Coach Rose) turned me loose a couple of times," Griffin said. "I had two, three guys on me most of the time.

"I kept telling myself 'You can't get frustrated, you've got to make plays.' I just bared down and came up with the sack."

Griffin hopes to have one more opportunity to harass an opposing quarterback. But the Williamston native knows that's all out of his hands for now, and in those who do all the bowl politicking.