CHERUBINI CHIMES IN
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One-on-One with the
Pirates
Monday,
August 30, 2010
By Ron Cherubini |
Brad Wornick
By
Ron Cherubini
©2010 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Sometimes
the conditions come together to create the perfect opportunity for the
underdog. For Brad Wornick – an aspiring sophomore quarterback – the
graduation of sixth-year quarterback Patrick Pinkney and the arrival of
Coach Ruffin McNeill and his wide open, pass-first offense has created the
perfect setting for an opportunity. Starting in the spring, Wornick
mounted an impressive campaign for the starting quarterback position, going
from scout team walk-on, bolting past the two scholarship QBs
to the top of the depth chart coming out of spring and through the summer.
Luck? Hardly. Noted as the best decision-maker in an offense that is
predicated on decision-making, Wornick has demonstrated a keen grasp of the
offense and a passing ability that validates his prep success at Ardrey-Kell.
He is good. He is young. And with those two attributes, Wornick finds
himself in the thick of a QB battle that has come down to a game-week
decision.
Brad was kind enough to sit down for
a chat with Bonesville to share his insights on the upcoming season.
Q: What can ECU fans expect
from this offense this year?
A: We are expecting big things
from the offense and last week (at the second scrimmage) we had,
what, seven touchdowns? The new coaches came in knowing how good this
offense can be and we all sort of went through the spring and we (players)
realized how good it can be. And now, we are seeing it and how explosive it
can be.
Q:
When you hear Lincoln Riley talk about the need for you to work on your
leadership and throwing the football (loves his decision-making), what is he
referring to?
A: We work on it every day.
When we watch film, the bad throws are coming off the back foot, or didn’t
step into and we work on shuffling around in the pocket and making all the
throws. It is not about not being able to make the throws, but it is
about me continuing to work hard on the fundamentals and throwing
techniques.
Q: Talk about how
difficult/not difficult this offense is to learn and what have been the
hardest aspects for you to get it down?
A: I have had the spring and
fall and feel pretty good in this offense. To an outsider, it is going to
look pretty complicated just because it looks like we are doing a whole
bunch of different stuff, but we probably learned the play book in about two
weeks once the coaches got here. They have added anything since we
got the playbook which tells us that this is it. Coach (Riley) told us that
they aren’t adding anything else. Now it is about drilling and drilling
everything we run until we are good at it. It really is simple.
Q: Talk about
the weapons ECU has in the offense?
A: For us, this offense is
exactly about getting the football to our playmakers. We are going to take
our shots downfield, but we are also going to hit those five yard pops and
get the ball into their hands and let them make a play. As a quarterback
here, we know that we are going to be rolling in 8-10 guys at receiver and
all of them can make plays. They are all capable of making things happen
during and after the catch. Any of those guys can take a pass to the end
zone, which is what this offense is about.
Q: Do you think it will take
two QBs to get through this season, or can you be the guy this season? If
you lose the job, how will you go into the season?
A: One guy is going to
emerge as the starter going into the first game, and of course, I want to be
that guy. But either way, being the 1 or 2, a quarterback has to go into
each game looking at it as if you are the starter because you are only one
play away from being in there. When Coach Riley decides, he will stick with
that guy and I know whichever one of us is the guy, he will be successful.
Q: From a fan’s perspective,
your rise to the top of the depth chart is somewhat from left field. Talk a
little bit about your experience in the program?
A: My perspective is that any
football player, no matter how you come into the program, is expecting to become a
starter. I didn’t really have a lot of opportunities with the past coaching
staff, being a walk-on and a scout team quarterback, but when Coach Riley
came in, it was me, Rio (Johnson) and Josh (Jordan) at that point and he basically told us, “I
haven’t seen any one of you guys throw…” So when we came out of spring, I
was No. 1 because I knew the playbook the best. And from that day on, I
believe I have really stepped up my play and have shown what I am capable of
doing. So every opportunity I get, I try to make the most of it.
Q:
What player on this team do you respect the most and why?
A: I respect Dwayne Harris,
no question. He has been in the program for a long time and a lot of guys
look up to him. I look up to him. You know, he is a great player and just
does everything the way it should be done.
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