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Pirate Notebook No. 35
Tuesday, December 18, 2001

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

MOBILE, AL — East Carolina applied the finishing touches to its gameplan for Wednesday's GMAC Bowl with a 90-minute workout Monday afternoon amidst soggy conditions.

Following the session at Murphy High School, ECU head coach Steve Logan seemed please with the effort of his team.

"We have practiced really well," Logan said. "We had some distractions today with the weather, but the kids came out and practiced well.

"We polished most of our kicking substitutions today, and worked a little bit of two-minute (drills). Tomorrow we're going to go over to the stadium and have a little walk-through and then tee it up and play."

Logan noted that the timing of the game has helped the Pirates in their preparations for Marshall. Playing in a bowl prior to Christmas has enabled his players to focus solely on football, instead of the various distractions that the holiday season can introduce.

"It's got advantages. It helps the spirit of the kids," he said. "We've gone to a couple of bowl games that go over the Christmas holidays. That's kind of hard — it's hard on families. The positioning of this bowl, in my opinion, is a real plus for this entire situation down here."

Logan would like nothing more for his team than to cap off a positive experience with a victory.

Devising a way to stop Marshall's high-powered passing game has been a source of anxiety for the East Carolina coaching staff. Marshall enters Wednesday's contest averaging over 500-yards per outing, much of that through the air.

Logan said yesterday that containing Marshall's rifle-armed quarterback Byron Leftwich will be no easy task. So, look for the Pirates to throw plenty of wrinkles his way come Wednesday.

"We're going to try to give a different look every snap," Logan said. "We want to try to get into the throwing lanes with different coverages.

"Hopefully, we won't get the same coverages in any two consecutive snaps. We'll change the rush, change the blitz, change the coverage and see if we can't disrupt something in their rhythm."

If there is a bright side to facing Marshall's aerial acrobats, it is the Pirates' familiarity with the system. Marshall will be one of many in a long line of spread offenses that ECU has encountered throughout the season.

"The last four to five teams that we've played have all been passing teams," said secondary coach Tony Oden. "They've either come into games passing a lot, or finished games passing a lot because we got ahead early.

"TCU didn't pass it as much against other teams, but against us, they threw it over 60 times. That was like two games worth of passing, so we're used to seeing a lot of passes."

While the formations the Pirates will face on Wednesday may be reminiscent of past foes, Oden notes that Leftwich and the Herd receiving corps set Marshall apart from the rest.

"This quarterback is a very accomplished guy," Oden said. "He has three great receivers. It's going to be tough, but we're going to be ready for the challenge."

Odds are freshman quarterback Paul Troth won't see any action on Wednesday. Nonetheless, the bowl experience has been invaluable to the young gunslinger's progress.

Thought to be the front-runner to inherit the QB reigns from Garrard, the extra practice should have a spring-board effect on the Charlotte native.

"It's kind of been like an extra session of Spring ball," Troth said. "You get to come out and stay with the seniors and learn from David (Garrard), and learn the offense. But you also get the chance to show everybody what next season could be."

Troth has had his chance to impress in several scrimmages. The special sessions, used by Logan and staff to evaluate talent and develop players, have given Troth an evolving sense of confidence in his ability to run the offense and execute.

"A couple weeks back, we had a scrimmage, and I could see myself getting better," he said. "Right now the progress is just mentally. Physically, I'm almost there, and mentally, I'm almost there. I've just got to put everything together now."

Troth will have every opportunity to put it all together this spring and on into next season as, perhaps, the Pirates' starting quarterback.

Logan said yesterday that the Pirates are as healthy as they have been all season, with no significant injuries to report. Sophomore receiver Marcus White was held out of practice yesterday, however, due to a shoulder injury that has nagged him all season.

White still may play on Wednesday, but is expected to undergo surgery once the season is complete.