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Pirates lure New Bern's Purdie
State champions'
linebacker to transition to safety
By
Sammy Batten
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
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Cody Purdie has been
traveling from his home in New Bern to Greenville for years. First,
it was to watch the East Carolina Pirates play football, and more
recently Purdie has been a regular visitor to receive therapy for a
minor injury.
So, when the East Carolina
football coaching staff decided to offer a scholarship about three
months ago, Purdie already had a certain comfort level with the
environment in Greenville.
"I was going over for
therapy about three times a week at one point, and every time I'd stop
by East Carolina,'' Purdie said. "Every time the coaches and the players
would treat me as if I were at home. They were all excited to see me.
The more I went over there, the more I realized that's the place I
wanted to be.''
Purdie, a linebacker for
the state 4-A champion New Bern Bears, finally decided to accept the
offer on June 10 to become the third member of ECU's recruiting Class of
2014.
"It was a little surprise
for them (ECU coaches),'' Purdie said. "I stopped by and saw (offensive
coordinator) Coach (Lincoln) Riley and told him. Then I told (head
coach) Coach (Ruffin) McNeill. They were excited about it as well.''
The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder
has been recruited to play safety for the Pirates, but it's been at
linebacker where Purdie has distinguished himself in two varsity seasons
at New Bern. A starter since his sophomore season, Purdie established
himself as a college prospect as a junior in 2012 when starring for New
Bern squad that went 15-0 and edged Porter Ridge, 39-38, for the state
4-A crown.
Used at both linebacker
and as a short-yardage back on offense, Purdie collected a team-best 143
tackles, 10 quarterback sacks and 20 tackles for loss to earn a spot on
the New Bern Sun Journal's All-Area team. He also contributed eight
rushing touchdowns and 177 yards rushing on just 28 carries.
Purdie produced one of his
biggest plays of the season when it counted most. With New Bern
struggling in the third period of the state championship game against
Porter Ridge, Purdie's effort produced what New Bern coach Bobby
Curlings called "a momentum changing'' play.
"We sent him on a blitz
from his linebacker spot and he disrupted the quarterback,'' Curlings
said. "He caused the quarterback to rush his throw and he actually threw
it backwards for what turned out to be a fumble. We picked up the fumble
and the momentum slid back our way.''
The performance came as no
surprise to Curlings, who has watched Purdie develop from a kid hanging
around the Bears' practices to a college prospect.
"We've know about him a
long time,'' Curlings said. "He had an older brother (Corey), who
graduated about three years ago. His older brother was a senior when he
(Cody) was a freshman. Corey was a linebacker for a us, too.
"But we've known Cody
since he was little. He'd be out here at our practices chasing footballs
around. So we knew he'd be a good one because of the athleticism we saw
at a young age.''
Purdie began his football
career in the third grade playing for a local Pop Warner squad. During
the first Pop Warner practice, players competed for positions by
competing in head-to-head sprints.
"When I ran the first time
they saw I was fast and put me at running back,'' he said. "I played
that all the way through middle school. I started playing defense for
the first time when I reached the high school.''
College recruiters began
to notice Purdie during the summer after his freshman year at New Bern.
He spent the football season playing on the junior varsity, but after
attending an underclassmen combine he received an invitation to a top
prospect camp in Atlanta, GA. He later was chosen for an elite prospect
camp in Florida, but was unable to attend because it conflicted with New
Bern's preseason practice schedule.
Smaller college programs
were initially interested in Purdie. But as he developed through his
sophomore and junior years on the New Bern varsity, bigger schools like
Charlotte, North Carolina and N.C. State established contact. Along the
way, the Pirates snatched up Purdie's teammate, offensive lineman
Christian Matau, who signed with ECU in February.
"He (Purdie) liked East
Carolina. It was right here by his house and he was tickled to death to
the get the offer,'' Curlings said.
New Bern has produced a
number of major college prospects in recent years, including Matau and
N.C. State signee Bra'lon Cherry in February. But Curlings said Purdie
is one of the few players during his time with the Bears who plays both
ways.
"I guess over the years
we've had several come through like him,'' Curlings said. "But he is
unique. I've been here since 1997 and it's rare we have people play both
ways. He's been doing that consistently since his sophomore year. It's
hard to compare him to our other standouts because he's so valuable in
all three phases of the game.''
Purdie will make the
transition to safety at ECU, but he's confident that won't pose a
problem.
"It's not going to be a
big transition,'' he said. "Almost all the schools I've talked to wanted
me as a safety, so I've been working on it already. I'm working on my
open field play and I'm getting a feel for it. The best part is I still
get to do what I love, and that's hit people.''
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06/20/2013 02:22 PM |
