Bucking the Star System
The Tenth
Anniversary Edition of
Bonesville The Magazine
has rolled off the presses. Both the
traditional print and online Flash
versions of the magazine may be
ordered through links elsewhere on
this page. Among the wide-ranging
features in
its
100 pages is an eye-opening report
by Fayetteville Observer and Bonesville columnist Sammy Batten on
East Carolina's propensity for
out-witting the so-called recruiting
experts by attracting players that
excel beyond their "star system"
projections. — Editor |
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By
Sammy Batten
©2011 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Hunter Furr has
experienced football from a fan's perspective in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium,
but someday in the not-so-distant future he plans to have a view from
the field.
Furr, who never really got
an opportunity to showcase his running skills the last two seasons at
North Carolina, announced Thursday his plans to enroll at East Carolina
for the fall semester. The 6-foot, 210-pound running back will have to
sit out the coming season under NCAA transfer rules, but will be
eligible to join the Pirates for the 2012 and 2013 season.
The decision to leave UNC-Chapel
Hill was announced by Furr on August 3, just days after the Tar Heels
unexpectedly fired Butch Davis as their head coach. Furr said Thursday
evening that Davis's situation was no factor in his departure.
“That's not why I left. I
think that was clear,'' Furr said. “I just wanted an opportunity to
play.''
East Carolina provided
that opportunity in a swift process that began with Furr's former high
school coach helping find other options once he decided to leave Chapel
Hill. Furr piled up 6,187 yards and scored a Forsyth County record 94
touchdowns in a four-year career at Mount Tabor High School in
Winston-Salem.
Although listed as North
Carolina's No. 2 tailback behind senior Ryan Houston coming out of
spring practice, it appeared Furr would have to fight to hang onto that
position this fall with the emergence of redshirt freshman Gio Bernard.
Furr appeared in 24 games as a special teams player in his first two
years with the Tar Heels, but had only logged eight carries for 35 yards
in the backfield.
Mount Tabor coach Laymarr
Marshall began contacting other schools when Furr opted to leave North
Carolina. Elon, Marshall and West Virginia were some of the schools
under consideration by Furr.
“It all happened really
quickly,'' Furr said. “My coach at Mount Tabor got in contact with them
(ECU coaching staff). They looked at my transcript. Then I went and took
a visit down there, and they (coaches) told me I had a spot on the team.
I made up my mind today and decided it was East Carolina.''
East Carolina is no
stranger to Furr. He's played against the Pirates the last two seasons
and has enjoyed games at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium as a spectator.
“It's such a great
atmosphere and East Carolina is a big-time football school,'' Furr said.
“I think the coaches there are going to give me a fair shot to play. It
will be tough sitting out this season. But I'll do all I can to help the
team this fall, then come out next spring and compete for a starting
job.''
One of the selling points
for East Carolina was a relationship Furr already had with the Pirates
new assistant athletic director for strength and conditioning, Jeff
Connors. Connors spent the last 10 years in a similar capacity at North
Carolina before accepting the position at ECU in January.
Furr worked closely in
Chapel Hill with both Connors and new ECU strength and conditioning
assistant, Robert Tate.
“I had a great
relationship with Coach Connors and also with Coach Tate,'' Furr said.
“I have nothing but respect for them. I really took it hard when they
left (UNC). It will be good to be back working with those guys.''
Furr is also acquainted
with ECU linebacker Justin Dixon, who was once a North Carolina recruit,
and Pirate wide receiver Andrew Bodenheimer. Furr and Bodenheimer were
high school rivals.
East Carolina has stocked
its roster with some solid backs for the 2011 season, including junior
college transfer Reggie Bullock, redshirt freshman Alex Owah, and
sophomores Michael Dobson and Torrance Hunt. Hunt and Dobson were at the
top of the depth chart at the end of spring practice, but no one has
been declared the starter yet this preseason.
Furr believes his skills
will fit nicely into ECU's offense, which requires its backs to both run
and catch the football.
“I think it's a very
running back-friendly offense,'' Furr said. “You can make a lot of plays
catching the ball out of the backfield. (Running backs) Coach (Clay)
McGuire told me one year at Texas Tech they had a running back make 70
catches.''
The offensive style plays
to one of Furr's best strengths — speed.
He was one of the fastest
players on the Tar Heels' roster the last two years and in high school
was a state 4-A champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes as well as the
long jump. Furr was fast enough to also compete for the North Carolina
track squad.
But Furr's focus at ECU
will be football.
“My No. 1 goal is to be
the starting tailback,'' he said.
Furr said he'll travel to
Greenville on Monday to enroll for classes.