Ed Emory never was much on pulling punches. From the looks of things, he's not about to start holding back now.

Recently, the former East Carolina coach threw a left hook at John Thompson's recruiting blueprint. Emory, now the head coach at powerhouse Richmond Senior High School in Rockingham, believes recruiting North Carolina is the key to long term success at ECU and is concerned the Pirates coach is focusing too heavily on harvesting the Sunshine State.

His reason?

While Florida does have the reputation for producing the most major college prospects, Emory says it can't supply every Division I school.

In the end, Emory believes, in-state players have a deeper appreciation for the fabric of the East Carolina program.

Ditto to that.

"Florida is getting watered down," Emory said in a recent story published on Bonesville.net. "With South Florida and Central Florida and (Howard) Schnellenberger at Florida Atlantic, they are swarming all of the Florida players.

"If (Thompson) is going to go to Florida for his players, he better be sure he�s not getting 3's and 4's down there. You gotta look hard in you own state. These are kids that follow your program� that have loyalty.�

Oh, sure, Emory has a vested interest in Thompson recruiting in-state players. As a high school coach, he wants his kids to have as many avenues possible to a Division I school. Who wouldn't?

Even Emory will admit that he recruited abroad during his days in Greenville. His memorable 1983 team boasted its share of out-of-state stars en route to an 8-3, Top 25 finish.

Even so, that was a different era in college football, one in which recruiting didn't garner much media attention. The chances of sneaking into foreign waters and netting prize catches were far greater then.

Today, recruiting receives as much focus as the Bowl Championship Series, with detailed scouting reports more accessible than a box of Fruit Loops. The emphasis on Florida has never been greater, as the pilgrimage to the prep football hotbed by college coaches grows annually.

"We want to sign more North Carolina players," Thompson has said. "Absolutely. But our job is to sign the best players.

"If you want to go and compare, look at how many the other schools in this state signed in terms of Division I players. I think that would be quite telling to you � how many there are in this state and how it is divided. None of the schools really had a boatload of them. We want to get the best ones. We need to get more of the best ones visiting this place. The guys who visit get excited and we do very well with the visits here."

In fairness to Thompson, he's had roughly 18 months to become acquainted with the North Carolina landscape. Developing relationships and trust with local coaches takes time, and his lack of seniority over John Bunting and Chuck Amato is an obstacle.

Given that, it would seem natural that Thompson would rely on recruiting strengths while acquainting himself with new surroundings. The Pirates staff � especially defensive coordinator Jerry Odom � has strong connections in Florida.

But the danger here is that ECU will become too reliant on Florida players when equivalent homegrown talent is available. If Thompson's second recruiting class is the baseline of what can be lured from the peninsula � most preseason publications ranked the Pirates' haul near the bottom of Conference USA � ECU would be better served taking similar players from its own backyard.

In a nutshell, that was former coach Steve Logan's philosophy. It's also a strategy with which Thompson could be successful.

When in doubt, ECU must target in-state players of high character and academic standing who fit its system. East Carolina never has never been a program where the talent pool overflowed, instead relying on a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality, player development, and an innovative system for its success.

Where Logan found locals who fit the formula on offense, Thompson easily can do the same on defense.

What's at stake is far greater than wins and losses in the near term. The impact of Thompson's recruiting gameplan will extend much further than his tenure, which is why the importance of making North Carolina a priority must be emphasized.

By and large, former players who have maintained the strongest ties to ECU grew up within driving distance of campus. Even though the Pirates' most famous alum was from Florida, arguably the two most loyal called Wilson and Vanceboro home.

Then there's the infrastructure of the program that must be considered. If allegiances with in-state coaches aren't preserved, the Pirates could get burned in the long haul. Whoever succeeds Thompson will be hamstrung from the get-go by a derelict recruiting foundation at home, and ECU isn't in a position to start from scratch.

That isn't to say Florida shouldn't be an area of concentration. With an assistant nicknamed Florida.com, Thompson would be crazy not to leverage such a valuable recruiting resource.

Just as long as North Carolina isn't shoved aside as a result.

Doing so would damage ties with ECU's past and potentially undermine its future.