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SURVEYING THE LANDSCAPE
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Pirate Notebook No. 292
Monday, December 18, 2006
By Denny O'Brien |
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Bowling
benefits abundant for ECU
©2006 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.
When East Carolina faces South Florida this
Saturday, it will mark the first time the Pirates have competed in a bowl
since the 2001 season.
And while an appearance in the inaugural
PapaJohns.com Bowl no doubt will
boost the program's profile, ECU doesn't have to wait five days to begin
reaping the rewards that are attached to a postseason berth. That's because
many of the benefits of East Carolina's 13th bowl berth are already being
cashed in.
One of the most immediate, Pirates coach
Skip Holtz says, was the chance to reflect on a season of renewal for the
ECU program.
"Having the opportunity to sit down and
look at the season, it's been a fun year," Holtz said. "It's been a great
ride that these players have taken us on in the 2006 season because of their
effort, their attitude, the way they practice, the way they play, their
heart and soul and everything that they put out on the field.
"It's made it a really rewarding season for
me, and it's great to have this opportunity to get ready to go to a bowl
game for them. At the same point in time, it's a great opportunity to be
practicing some of the younger players as we get ready for the 2007 season.
As much as this is a reward for a season well-played for your seniors, it's
also a kickoff for your underclassmen to start getting ready for the next
season."
Where fans have traditionally viewed bowls
as an opportunity to celebrate the season's accomplishments during a festive
holiday getaway, coaches often find that the greater value is in the impact
a berth can have on the future. With several key players competing in their
final game for ECU, the extra practice time has been important for
evaluating potential replacements for next season.
Among the holes that must be filled is at
quarterback, which James Pinkney has solidified for the past three-plus
seasons. Redshirt freshman Rob Kass is the frontrunner to claim the top spot
on the depth chart, but Holtz has indicated the job will be up for grabs
this spring.
The extra practice has given Kass and his
competitors a jumpstart on the spring.
"The last couple (of weeks) have kind of
been you're not practicing for just South Florida," Holtz said. "You're
spring practicing so to speak. You're trying to keep them fresh and you
don't have the pressures of a game plan.
"It's much more lighthearted, much more
fun. I love spring practice. There's not a sense of urgency that you have to
get this done. It's more about just getting younger players to turn and
reach their potential and teach them how to play."
While bowl practices can accelerate a
program's growth, future success is contingent on much more than the
development of underclassmen. As seniors exit, coaches seek to replace them
with more talented prospects.
To that end, Holtz and his assistants have
experienced a boon on the recruiting trail. One of only two bowl
participants in the state, East Carolina has gotten a lot of recruiting
mileage on its recent success, especially in recent weeks.
Two of the state's most high profile
athletes —
South Central's Tyrell Worthington and Harnett
Central's Rodney Cox — recently committed to the Pirates and
cited ECU's success as a huge factor in the decision process. If ECU can
maintain its current recruiting pace, it could be on the verge of its most
talented class in school history.
"Having the opportunity to play in a bowl
game is huge from a recruiting tool standpoint," Holtz said. "We're still
practicing. Half the teams aren't going to bowls. Automatically you've kind
of put yourself in that upper tier, that upper half.
"It's going to be a television exposure
where (recruits) are going to have the opportunity to see you compete. A lot
of the athletes that we're recruiting are from Eastern North Carolina. A lot
of the athletes at this point that have verbally committed or are interested
are from the state of North Carolina, which gives them the opportunity with
it being a contact period to get in their car and come watch us practice."
But from here on out, Holtz says those
practices will be more focused as the Pirates implement their game plan for
South Florida. That will be the emphasis during their remaining two
practices in Greenville, as well as in sessions in Birmingham.
The Pirates arrive in the Iron City on
Tuesday evening, and several bowl week festivities await them. Included is a
welcome dinner, tour of the Civil Rights Institute, the Bowling and BBQ
Challenge, and a visit to the Birmingham Children's Hospital.
Holtz says he has no intention of spoiling
the players' fun, but has made it clear that the top priority in Birmingham
is claiming ECU's eighth victory.
"You want them to go and you want them to
enjoy it," Holtz said. "But it's one of those we've got to draw the line and
say here are our concerns. We've got to make sure that we are focused on the
three hours a day or four hours a day that we're working football.
"We've got to stay focused on why we're
here. It's like we tell them all the time, on a road trip, it's a business
trip for us. We're not taking cameras and putting them around their neck and
taking pictures of everything we see as we go. It's a business trip for us
and we're going with a purpose. Our purpose is to win."
And that, Holtz says, would be the greatest
reward of all.
Promise keeper
It's been two years since an ECU player had
his name on the back of a jersey.
When Holtz took over as head coach, he told
the team that names would be removed from jerseys until the Pirates returned
to bowl competition. With ECU set to help inaugurate the PapaJohns.com Bowl,
Holtz intends to fulfill that promise.
"I made that promise to them when we
started," Holtz said. "I said when we play to the point to where we can make
the name on the front proud, then we'll put the names on the back.
"I told them that if we can get to a bowl
game that we'd put the names on the back of their jerseys. It's funny, we
beat N.C. State and on the bus on the way back, it was like 'Coach, you need
to send them jerseys to the seamstress. Get them names on the back of the
jerseys.' "
Early birds
One of the drawbacks to bowls played before
Christmas is the travel and monetary strains that can be placed on fans.
However, one of the potential benefits of an earlier bowl is the lack of
rust a team might carry to its postseason destination.
Holtz has been involved in several bowls
during his time as an assistant at Notre Dame and South Carolina, but never
one played as early as Dec. 23. When asked to evaluate the pros and cons of
an earlier game, Holtz said he'll make that evaluation after Saturday.
"I've never played an early game," Holtz
said. "This is the first time I've played before Christmas.
"It gives you the chance to kind of stay in
some kind of rhythm during the course of the season. A lot teams play really
well at the end of the year because of all of the practice. I'm kind of
anxious to experience it."
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02/23/2007 02:03:39 AM |
