By Denny O'Brien
©2009 Bonesville.net
All Rights Reserved.

It’s hard to empathize with an athlete of Rob Kass’ size and ability. That’s because most of us aren’t six-foot-four and 235 well-proportioned pounds, nor can we heave a football with NFL velocity and distance.

But when you reflect on the career of the one-time starting quarterback at East Carolina, it’s easy to sympathize with him. Things just haven’t turned out the way anyone, especially Kass, expected when he earned the top spot on the Pirates’ depth chart in the spring of 2007.

Since then, life has been a football tilt-a-whirl. There have ups, downs, and high-speed spins. Kass has been handed the keys to the ECU offense, had them stripped away, and seized them back temporarily before losing them again.

And when ECU received word that the NCAA was granting Patrick Pinkney a sixth-year of eligibility, it was fairly apparent that Kass would spend much of his senior season watching someone else direct the offense again.

Many predicted the news would prompt a transfer. Some speculated that Kass might quit football altogether. There probably were rumors that had him joining the Peace Corps.

If you’ve spent any time with Kass, those ideas would not have entered your thinking. Not even once. Because there are two things of which you should be certain about Kass: His passion for East Carolina is not subject to question, and he has no grasp of the term ‘quit’.

“Obviously, we’re not playing a game tomorrow,” Kass said during preseason practice last fall. “As a competitive person, I’m going to work every single day to be the guy.

“Come Virginia Tech, I want to be that guy to go out there and lead the team up and down the field. But if I’m not, I’m going to sit back and observe and learn, and when I get my opportunity I’m going to go out there and make the most of it.”

Of course, Kass wasn’t the guy to lead the team against Virginia Tech. The only opportunity he had against the Hokies was for a few plays while Pinkney shook off a bruise.

The result was a couple of fastballs that sailed right through the mitts of ECU receivers.

Fast forward to 2009 and you can appreciate the crossroads at which Kass now sits with his football career. He ultimately must choose between the uphill climb of battling Pinkney for the starting QB job or switch to another position and try to navigate his way onto the depth chart.

That’s quite a quandary for a lifelong quarterback, who is the son of a lifelong quarterback, the grandson of a lifelong quarterback, and the brother of a lifelong quarterback. It’s like Jeff Gordon suddenly deciding to change left-rear tires on Sunday.

What can’t be lost in the Kass quarterbacking saga is his significance to the position at ECU.

Without him, the Pirates don’t beat eventual Conference USA champion Central Florida in 2007, nor do they shock Boise State in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.

ECU also is unlikely to even make the C-USA title game itself last season, considering how his play rescued the Pirates against both Memphis and UAB.

And who can forget Texas-El Paso in 2007? No quarterback in ECU history could have executed the offense more perfectly during that final drive in regulation.

Given those credentials, you could certainly understand Kass if he chose to grumble about his current plight. The low road would seem the popular route with his type of résumé and talent.

Instead, Kass was recognized by the ECU staff this spring for his outstanding attitude, effort, and leadership.

If Kass ultimately does pursue a position switch, don’t bet against him making an impact next season. He has the physical tools to play tight end, a position at which the Pirates are considerably light following the departure of Davon Drew to the NFL.

Such a transition, if successful, would provide an incredible dynamic in the huddle with both his and Pinkney’s presence. It also would open the door for Josh Jordan to get some game-day repetitions, which could be vital to ECU’s success in 2010.

Regardless of what Kass decides for next season, you have to admire the way that he has carried himself through adversity. He has certainly taken a team-first approach in a sports era when individualism is the rule.