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News Nuggets, 08.14.06
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NOTES FROM ECU AND BEYOND...

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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

New thumbnails: Freeney, McNeil, Perryman

DARRYL FREENEY (5-10, 184), WR, Nansemond River High, Suffolk, VA ... Has run 40 yards in 4.47 seconds, done shuttle drill in 4.41 and elevated 35 inches in vertical jump. Those performances turned in at Southeastern (VA) combine in May. ... Akron, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia Tech showed interest in Freeney, who committed to the Pirates on Aug. 3. ... Caught 27 passes for 540 yards with seven touchdowns for Coach Brian Maus' team. ... Also had one rushing touchdown for the Warriors. ... Had three interceptions at cornerback last season but projects as a receiver at ECU. ... "He runs great routes and catches about everything you throw at him," Maus said. [Posted 08.14.06]

DARONTE McNEIL (6-2, 227) RB, Elizabeth City Northeastern ... Ran for 2,574 yards and 36 touchdowns as a junior en route to conference player of the year and all state honors. ... Louisville and Virginia made offers but ECU's proximity and the opportunity to play early in his career were influential in McNeil's commitment on Aug. 9. ... Also attracted interest from UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State, Nebraska, Penn State and Boston College. ... Coached by Antonio Moore, who said McNeil may carry as many as 30 times per game after averaging 19-20 rushes in 2005. ... Northeastern has also produced ECU wide receivers Javon Brumsey, a February, 2006 signee, and Phillip Henry, who caught 28 passes for 428 yards for the Pirates as a sophomore in 2005. [Posted 08.14.06]

CLIFF PERRYMAN (6-1, 218) OLB, Richmond (VA) Hermitage High ... Comes from a program with multiple Division I-A prospects but Perryman's ability to penetrate and make stops is apparent to college coaches examining tape of his teammates. ... Got the attention of Maryland, Syracuse and Virginia before accepting an offer from East Carolina. ... Coached by Patrick Kane, who speaks positively of Perryman's range and character. ... Covers 40 yards in 4.6 seconds. ... Committed to ECU on Aug. 1. [Posted 08.14.06]

View all 2007 ECU football recruiting thumbnails...

Blazers hold first scrimmage on Sunday

The UAB football team held its first scrimmage of the preseason Sunday afternoon, and to no one's surprise, there were both positives and negatives in the two-hour workout, according to a report on the UAB athletic website.

The Blazers were initially supposed to scrimmage on Saturday but Coach Watson Brown changed the schedule due to showers on Saturday.

"It looked like a first scrimmage," Brown said. "I thought it was a good solid day. The kids got after each other and played hard. We had some mistakes, too many penalties. You'd like not to see that many in a scrimmage. I'm disappointed in that and we've got to get more disciplined."

Still, Brown seemed pleased overall and said he was anxious to look at tape from the scrimmage to take a closer look at his team's performance.

Brown thought his trio of quarterbacks — Sam Hunt, Chris Williams and Joseph Webb — all had their bright moments on the field despite a hint of inconsistency.

"The good thing was we didn't throw an interception," said Brown of his signal-callers. " I thought the quarterbacks threw the ball to the right place. They didn't throw on time all the time, they held the ball too long some and had to start scrambling. I thought those guys played pretty well, but were a little inconsistent."

Williams, Hunt and Webb combined for 266 yards through the air, hitting 21-of-36 passes. Individually, Williams, the only one of the three with experience — though limited — as a Blazer hit 7-of-11 passes for 109 and a touchdown. Hunt, a junior transfer from Middle Tennessee, connected on 6-of-13 for 84 while the redshirt freshman Webb was 8-of-12 for 73 yards and a touchdown. Hunt also rushed for 32 yards with Webb running for 26.

In the rushing department, UAB's quartet of seniors all saw fairly limited action with Trey Chaney leading the way among the foursome that also includes Dan Burks, Corey White and Marculus Elliott. Chaney ran for 32 yards on eight carries. Elliott carried five times for 25 yards while White had 18 on 6 carries and Burks 14 yards on 5 carries.

The top ground-gainer was junior Tony Shepherd who rushed for 37 yards on only six attempts.

Senior wide receiver Nick Coon was the top receiver with four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown before leaving early with a shoulder injury. Steven Brown had three grabs for 34 yards and Norris Drinkard had three for 33 yards. True freshman Courtney Smith had four receptions for 23 yards.

The Blazers will return to the practice field Monday for a single session in the morning.

UAB opens its 2006 season on Sept. 2 when the Blazers take on fifth-ranked Oklahoma at Norman, OK. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on TBS.

East Carolina opens its Conference USA schedule at UAB on Sept. 9. The Pirates had meetings and a weight lifting session on Sunday. ECU has two practices scheduled for today.

NCAA clears Snider to play this season at Tulsa

Snider gets NCAA exception to play immediately at Tulsa

Tulsa coach Steve Kragthorpe has confirmed that transfer Zach Snider's request for an NCAA waiver has been granted, thus making him immediately eligible for the Golden Hurricane, according to a release on the university's athletic website.

Snider was granted an Administrative Review Subcommittee (ARS) waiver that allows for an exception to the standard application of NCAA legislation.

Snider (6-3, 240) transferred to Tulsa from the University of Arkansas this semester. He played in 10 games as a red-shirt freshman defensive end at Arkansas last year, where he totaled 11 tackles and 2.5 stops for -11 yards.

Snider is listed on the Tulsa depth chart at the tight end position.

As a prep athlete, Snider played at Tulsa Union High School where he tallied 401 career tackles at linebacker. Snider was rated as the No. 10 player in Oklahoma by Rivals.com and was named the Tulsa World State Player of the Year his senior season.

Snider was also named all-state by the Tulsa World and Daily Oklahoman after leading his team to the state semifinals and a 12-1 finish as a senior. He was credited with 153 tackles, six sacks, three interceptions and four fumble recoveries in leading his team to a 14-0 record, state title and a No. 4 national ranking by USA Today his junior campaign.

Tulsa, the defending Conference USA champions, play East Carolina in Greenville on Oct. 14.

Kansas officials undergo NCAA grilling

Representatives from Kansas University met with an NCAA committee on infractions for six and a half hours on Sunday in Baltimore to give their side of the story on 11 violations that were self-reported last summer, according to a Lawrence Journal-World report.

“I want to thank the committee for giving us a fair, thorough hearing," KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said in a released statement. "The committee was cordial, inquisitive and very business-like. It was clear they had prepared well.

“We reaffirmed to the committee our absolute commitment to NCAA rules compliance. We felt the committee asked good questions, took their time, listened well and allowed us to fully explain our answers.

“I don’t think it would be productive to speculate on how the committee reacted to our presentation. The focus now is that this chapter is over. We can now move forward, confident that the changes we have made in the area of compliance will help prevent us from going through this again.”

News Nuggets are compiled periodically based on material supplied by staff members; data published by ECU, Conference USA and its member schools; and reports from other sources. Copyright 2006 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007 12:50 PM