|
CHERUBINI CHIMES IN
-----
|
 |
One-on-One with the
Pirates
Friday,
August 26, 2010
By Ron Cherubini |
Q&A
with Ty Holmes
By
Ron Cherubini
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
 A
year ago, East Carolina was trying to plug the middle of its defense with an
alignment that led to a converted safety trying to man the heart of the
unit. This season, the 3-4 alignment assigns that responsibility to two
players, one of which may be Ty Holmes, a 6-1, 221-pound sophomore. Clearly
more of a traditional inside backer build with the wheels needed to do more
than be just a plugger, Holmes has established himself as a player who will
be counted on for a lot of defensive reps, if not the role of starter
inside.
Though short on experience – having seen action at ILB in just eight games
as a reserve a year ago – Holmes has a strong resume in the special teams
department and has drawn rave reviews from his coaches, being cited as
having one of the best spring camps of all the linebackers.
Ty was kind enough to sit down for a chat with Bonesville to share his
insights on the upcoming season.
Ty Holmes (49) in action last season (ECU SID
photo)
One-on-One with Ty Holmes
Q: Coach Brian Mitchell said that
you and your inside backer mate Jeremy Grove had the
best camps of the spring for the linebackers. Talk
about your progression and what the 3-4 brings for a
player like yourself?
A: Camp is going pretty good for
me now, because I just got back out there. I had a
concussion, but I am OK now. We are battling for
ours spots and learning the new defense and taking
one day at a time out here.
Q: What is the primary role you
will be asked to do in this defense as an inside
backer?
A: My role includes a lot of
responsibilities in the passing element of the game,
but we are still really focused on the run first at
the snap… that is what we all think first.
Q: Talk a little about
preparation and what you have been doing to make
this season a big one for you?
A: I take each play one at a time
and focus on learning what I am supposed to do in
each situation… the techniques and things that I am
supposed to do execute the defense. For me, that is
how I approach it and it is best for my confidence.
Q: What player on this team do
you most respect and why?
A: Probably… ummm… Emanuel Davis
because no matter what he does or what happens to
him or whatever comes his way, he just sucks it up
and does it. He works so hard. You can’t say
anything to him because he comes out every day,
every play and works hard and doesn’t complain. At
the end of the day, he is the biggest motivator when
we are doing the extras like gassers at the end of
practice. You really can’t ask for a better guy to
be the leader.
Q: Looking at our offense, can
you point to a lineman or a running back that you
have been working against that is just a tough guy
to deal with?
A: At running back I would say
the guy who is tough to deal with is Reggie Bullock.
Man, he's so shifty… you might see him and then a
second later, you might not see him again. He is
strong, too. You have to keep an eye on him every
minute and get him down with everything you got.
Q: Looking around at your
defensive teammates, how are you feeling about the
attitudes you are seeing as the first game
approaches?
A: I am feeling as though we are
a lot more together than we were last year (at this
time). This year, we pretty much all hang out
together, everyone knows each other, and we all get
along. You know, if anybody has a problem, you can
talk to each other about it and it doesn’t go out on
the field. We all know how to work together… our
chemistry is very good on defense. We are getting
into what we are doing out there.
E-mail Ron Cherubini
Ron Cherubini Archives
08/26/2011 03:23 AM |
