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In this archive
image, wide receiver Davon Grayson enters
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for the first game of his
college career in East Carolina's opener last
season against Old Dominion. The freshman snared
3 touchdown passes in that debut performance and
went on to record 18 catches for 176 yards and 4
TDs in six starts before a knee injury cut short
his season. (File photo by W.A. Myatt] |
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FOOTBALL |
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'Intensity' changes for Ruff & Co. |
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The summer seems to
drag each year, unless you�re at the
beach enjoying the fun in the sun.
The East Carolina Pirates' version
of that fun in the sun comes in
August, in preparing for the
upcoming college football season.
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More
from Brian Bailey... |
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MULTIMEDIA |
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Audio: The Brian
Bailey Show |
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  The
Brian Bailey Show
airs on Pirate Radio
1250 on Mondays at
6:30 p.m. Brian's
guest this week was
ECU offensive
coordinator Lincoln
Riley (right):
Replay
show... |
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Audio: Coach Ruff
Presser |
  ECU
coach Ruffin McNeill
addressed the media
at his inaugural
weekly press
conference of the
2014 season on
Monday (courtesy of
Pirate Radio 1250):
Select
clip... |
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FOOTBALL SPECIAL
FEATURE |
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Offensive encore ready to
roll |
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About a year ago, East
Carolina offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley �
in our annual pow-wow that
would be better titled,
"Please coach, open up and
tell me what you really got
there" � told me several
things that played out
almost prophetically.
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More from Ron Cherubini... |
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Photo: Fifth-year East
Carolina offensive
coordinator Lincoln Riley,
pictured along the sideline
at Southern Miss in 2012,
spoke recently with
Bonesville's Ron Cherubini
about the talent on his unit
heading into the 2014
season. (Bonesville archive
photo by Al Myatt) |
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FOOTBALL |
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Captain Carden is leaving
his mark |
Shane Carden provides quite
a few advantages for East
Carolina. A fifth-year
senior, Carden has an
intricate understanding of
the Pirates offense. If
Lincoln Riley, ECU offensive
coordinator, doesn't feel
comfortable dialing up any
call in the playbook, he
never will. ...
More from Al Myatt... |
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OLYMPIC SPORTS |
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Pirates relish being underestimated |
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 Preseason
coaches� polls are a rite of late
summer for fall sports, but that
doesn�t mean coaches, players or
fans have to put much stock in them.
If anything, East Carolina soccer
coach Rob Donnenwirth looks at his
team�s name, sitting at No. 8 out of
10 teams in their new American
Athletic Conference, and he is
delighted. ...
More from Bethany Bradsher... |
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FOOTBALL |
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Tide transfer punting for
Pirates |
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Worth Gregory spent a year
in the storied football
program at Alabama before
bringing his punting ability
to East Carolina. When Trent
Tignor completed his
eligibility in 2013 with a
42.8-yard average for two
seasons, Gregory gave the
Pirates someone ready to
continue providing an edge
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More from Al Myatt... |
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By
W.A.
Myatt
�2014 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
View ECU's
2014 football schedule
Davon Grayson (6-2, 196) looks to
rebound in the 2014 East Carolina football campaign from a knee
injury that ended a promising true freshman season in which he had
18 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns in six games. The
sophomore outside wide receiver is from the talent-rich Tidewater
Virginia area, by way of Kings Fork High School.
Grayson is a health fitness
specialist major and achieved a spot on the ECU Honor Roll for his
academic endeavors during the 2013 fall semester.
He took time to talk with
Bonesville after practice Tuesday evening.
Q: Favorite TV show?
A: Heroes.
Q: Favorite restaurant in
Greenville?
A: I've heard Sup Dogs is good, I
need to try that a little more.
Q: Did you feel more
comfortable in this fall camp as opposed to your freshman year?
A: Definitely more comfortable
this year. The big thing for me, I felt as if I had to come out and
regain my speed and get a feel for the game again � how fast the
game moves. This camp, I went into it knowing how fast the game was,
but at the same time I didn't know how fast I was.
Q: What part of your game do
you feel improved most this offseason?
A: I think my technique has
improved a lot. I've improved a lot on the 'real' receiver things.
My first year I didn't know exactly what to do, so I just went out
there and did the things that God blessed me to do � being strong,
being fast, going up and attacking the ball. Those were things I
didn't have to train � I feel like you're born with that. At the
time when I got hurt, I knew I needed to work on my technique more
because only God knew how well my knee would heal. Now I'm back and
I feel like I'm stronger and faster, with the technique that I
didn't have my first year.
Q: What do you consider to be
your biggest strength as a player?
A: I believe it's how I carry
myself on the field. Not even from a receiver standpoint, but how I
try to pick up my team. I think I'm a good player to have on your
team because I always think team before myself. I try my best to
boost the play of the players around me.
Q: How do you stay focused on
North Carolina Central this Saturday, knowing the competition that
comes after them in the following weeks?
A: I think that's the easy part.
You have to attack every week one day at a time. I'm not looking
ahead to the teams past this game, because the fact is, we have to
play this game first. We can start this season off 0-1 if we're
thinking about other teams. My mindset has been focused on them and
I've been thinking about this game since the game that I went down
hurt.
Q: How much has a guy like
Justin Hardy helped in your development?
A: Justin, he's a quiet guy and I
think the big thing for me was just how comfortable he was on the
field. Regardless of what's going on in the game, he's cold as ice.
He's a cool player, you can't ever tell what quarter it is with him.
He won't ever look tired and he never looks like he doesn't know
what to do. As my game matures, that's something I'm striving to be
like.
Q: Who has been the most
influential person in your life?
A: My dad. He installed a hard
work ethic within me. Before him, I wasn't a good kid. He totally
changed me, he moved me out of the bad situation that I was from. He
totally changed my life and I owe him the world for that.
Q: How much did missing the
latter part of last season motivate you this offseason?
A: It hurt me a whole lot when I
went down seeing my teammates all going out there and having fun,
and when I would I walk off the field I would hear fans say, "We
still love you Davon," and stuff like that. I'm striving to stay
healthy this year. I felt like I couldn't help my team out. I know
for a fact I could've had a big impact on the back end of that year.
This year, I'm going to try my best to do everything I can for my
team.
Q: What are your personal
goals for this season?
A: I just want to win a
championship. With me, there's no stats or anything like that. I
just want to be able to look at myself after every game and know I
tried my very best and I left it all out there.
Q: How would you describe what
was going through your mind after scoring your first touchdown in
Dowdy-Ficklen?
A: To be honest, I didn't know if
I scored. I don't know how to describe it. I just looked up and saw
the crowd and everything was so loud. I'd never experienced anything
like that. It was definitely the peak of my freshman year � that's
when I could calm down and play my game. When I scored the two after
that, I was on cloud nine.
Q: Do you have any
superstitions or rituals that you do before games?
A: I always run down to the end
of the field and get on one knee and talk to God on my own, before I
play. I'm also real meticulous about my hands. My gloves � I wipe my
hands all the time. During games, you'll see me rub my gloves
together all the time, just so I know my grip is right. I'm real
meticulous about that.
Q: What do you enjoy doing
besides playing football?
A: I love music. I try my best to
keep myself in touch with God. I love calling back home and hearing
how my family is doing, and outside of that, it's really all about
football. I love football. I eat, sleep and breathe football.
Q: How excited are you to play
in the AAC?
A: I'm very excited. I don't
really get into all the hype about the new conference and all that.
We're playing the very same game we've been playing since we were
kids. It's a good thing that we'll be on TV more. Hopefully, it will
bring good things to our program. It will bring in more recruits,
more great things for our school. This is a great school and just to
get it out there more is a blessing.
Q: What is your favorite thing
about East Carolina University?
A: I love the fans. I love how it
feels to come out hearing 'Purple Haze' and hearing the crowd
screaming for you. The fans are so diehard, I've never seen anything
like it.
