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Pirate Notebook No. 65
Monday, April 29, 2002

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

It's not uncommon for a program losing its starting quarterback, star runner, and all-time leading tackler to declare the upcoming season a rebuilding year.

Writing off big goals in advance, though, is no longer the case for an East Carolina program which will be turning with a reasonable degree of confidence to new faces and schemes to gain momentum, not lose it.

Since taking over the program in 1992, Steve Logan has raised the bar in Greenville. Bowl appearances, which before his arrival were rare indeed, are now expected.

The 2002 season is no exception, according to a player on whom the program is counting to emerge as a strategic weapon.

"With the talent that's in the locker room right now, I think there's the potential to meet all of our goals," said quarterback Paul Troth. "I think it's an advantage not having as many expectations. We might be able to sneak up on some people.

"I don't think we'd have it any other way, because there are no stars on this team. We have 11 guys on offense and 11 guys on defense, and we all work hard. Our goals never change here at ECU — go to a bowl game, win the bowl game, and along the way, win the conference."

Some of the Pirates' success offensively will depend on the maturation of Troth, who as a true sophomore will take over under center for David Garrard, a fourth round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Troth brings the necessary credentials to the position, though he threw just three passes last year. He made significant strides during spring practice, which has both Logan and offensive coordinator Doug Martin feeling confident about next season.

The Charlotte native won't be asked to carry the load by himself, though, thanks to a deep stable of running backs and a stout offensive line. With the talented tandem of Art Brown and Marvin Townes taking over the ball-carrying duties, even the loss of All-America running back Leonard Henry is termed a "non-event" by Logan as far as prospects for the Pirates' ground game are concerned.

The receiving corps, viewed as a weakness in '01, should be a strength in '02, thanks to the return of leading receiver Richard Alston. Logan also expects Marcus White and Torey Morris to return to full strength after battling injuries much of last season that hindered their production on the field.

But if East Carolina is to end six years of Conference USA futility and deliver that first league championship, it will need to improve exponentially on defense, particularly against the pass. The Pirates yielded a league worst 261 yards per game through the air, while opponents completed almost 60 percent of their passes.

"The model is going to change over there (on the defensive side of the ball) a good bit," Logan said. "We're going to take on some different characteristics — change some of the ways that we were doing some things.

"(Defensive coordinator) Tim (Rose) has been all about doing that since last season has been over with. There are going to be some schematic differences over there."

One area that should see significant improvement is overall team speed. With linebackers Pernell Griffin and Greg LeFever gone, Josh Chisolm and Eric Butler have emerged as possible replacements, and Chris Moore and Vonta Leach should see plenty of time in the middle as well.

"I'm not worried about the linebacker thing," Logan said. "As good as Greg and Pernell were, I'm really excited about the young kids we've got coming up — Chris Moore, Vonta Leach, Josh Chislom. We're going to put a set of linebackers on the field that are just ridiculous fast."

Plenty of adjustments have been made in the secondary, too, including Kelly Hardy's transition to safety, a change made possible by the emergence of speedster Donald Whitehead at the corner. It's a move that should give the Pirates the ability to arrive at the ball more quickly.

One player expected to help shore up the secondary next season is junior college transfer Richard Moton. At 6'4", 190-pounds, Moton possesses the perfect size to play free safety in the Pirates' system, and will enable ECU to be more diverse in its coverages, according to Logan.

"What Richard will allow us to do, if in fact he can participate this year from the standpoint of being good enough," said Logan, "it will allow us to move Travis Heath around in the back end of our secondary, and it will impact where we are able to play some people. We were on the hunt for a junior college free safety that we thought could come in and play.

"This young man's got good height and good speed. He comes from football stock — Northeastern Oklahoma Junior College is one of the top junior colleges in the country. We'll see if we can get him in here and get him integrated into the system by kickoff in August."

Moton originally signed with Oklahoma State out of high school, but did not qualify academically. He has spent the past two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M working on his academics and fine-tuning his game.

The Cowboys continued courting the Tulsa native this season, hoping to keep him in his home state. But it was a transplanted Okie that won the battle in the end, luring Moton Down East.

"I had a little bit of a hook with that young man," Logan said. "He is from what they used to call Tulsa McLean High School, but it's got a different name now.

"We had him come out with his parents, and I was able to talk to him about what it would be like for him to come from Oklahoma to here, and that I could take care of him and integrate him into our system."

Moton's Juco numbers are impressive, to say the least. In two seasons, he had 128 total stops, and snagged six interceptions. He is scheduled to graduate next month.

One of the reasons Logan is upbeat about this season is the foundation laid by fifth-year offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler. Since returning to the program in 1998, the offensive line has been arguably the most consistent unit for the Pirates, which Logan attributes to Shank's ability to recruit to the offense.

“Steve Shankweiler has a great eye for players who can work in this system,” Logan said. “He’s done a great job of restocking our offensive line. Those guys, a lot of times are not NFL prospects, but they function well as a unit in this offense.

“The demands on offensive linemen in this offense are extraordinary from the standpoint we want you to trap block, run block, option block and drop back pass. Not many people do all that and it starts up front with those linemen and Steve has a way to teach it. He has an eye for the kind of kid who can do that for us."

One of those kids is Brian Rimpf, a 6'5" 300-pound left tackle. Earlier this month, the Raleigh junior was one of 49 named to the watch list for the prestigious Lombardi Award, which is given annually to the nation's best lineman.

NCAA bumps up I-A standards

While the ratio of wins to losses was lowered to 6-6 for bowl eligibility, the Division I Board of Directors ratcheted up the requirements for institutions to gain or retain I-A membership...

Read the Bonesville report...

North Texas defied logic last season by attending the New Orleans Bowl with a 5-6 record. Though the NCAA has stated in the past that teams must have a winning record to attend bowls, the Mean Green was given a free pass since it won the Sun Belt Conference.

Though 5-6 likely won't get you bowling this season, 6-6 will. That was the message out of Indianapolis last week.

Conference USA probably won't feel the effects of the rule change this season, but it may get snake-bitten in the future. When time comes to renew its contract with the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, don't be surprised if the third-year Houston game looks elsewhere. Bowl officials have already indicated their desire to lure a BCS league, and the new rule provides just the loophole to do so.

Other bowls, like the GMAC, could follow suit, too. Located deep in tradition-rich SEC country, the Gottfrieds must surely be tempted by the prospects of added exposure that a power conference can bring.

Yes, college football, which is already saturated with BCS flavor, got a little spicier last week, meaning the pressure for C-USA schools to produce on the gridiron just got heavier.