Saying goodbye is never easy

By Brian Bailey
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Nineteen East Carolina seniors will dress for the final time at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Thursday night.

It�s a stellar group, one that trusted a brand new coach enough to help start his program at his alma mater.

It�s a special group to Pirate head coach Ruffin McNeill in a number of ways.

�You know how much I care about the kids, how much I fight for them and how much they fight for me,� the ECU coach remarked when asked about his seniors at his weekly news conference.

�It�s a two-way street," said McNeill. "It�s not just me. I love coaching with them and coaching for them. These guys have done everything I ask. They�re my sons and it�s not lip service. I love them more as people than I do inside their uniforms. I love those kids personally.�

McNeill says he doesn�t want any of his seniors to mask their emotions on Senior Night. Shane Carden says that won�t be a problem.

�Sure it�s going to be emotional,� said the Pirate quarterback. �It�s really starting to hit me and I know I will be emotional.�

I�ve seen many a senior say goodbye to the Pirate Nation. Rarely have I seen a group like this that truly loves their university and their coach like this group does.

Ruffin McNeill has preached about a family atmosphere from day one. Five years of this consistent philosophy is the proof in the pudding. These aren�t only Pirate seniors, they are Pirates for life.

�With these seniors, I can identify with exactly what they�re going through,� said McNeill. �I�ve gone through the exact same thing and I know what�s going through their minds. There is going to be some emotion with these guys. I�m not going to hide it or ask them to suppress it. I want them to enjoy it. They will handle it well.

"I�m looking forward to hugging each one as they come out (of the tunnel) and meet their parents at midfield in front of Pirate Nation for their last time at Dowdy-Ficklen.�

After the seniors are honored, East Carolina once again takes to the ESPN stage for Thursday night football.

UCF has a championship to play for, so pardon the Knights if they don�t get all emotional for the Pirate seniors.

�We know we�re facing a really good football team in Central Florida, too,� said McNeill. �It will definitely be a big-boy pad day. George (O�Leary) has built that program where they win consistently. You watch them on film, defensively, and they�re one of the best in the conference. Offensively, they do a good job of moving the ball. They�re solid all across the board.�

UCF rolls into town on a three game winning streak. In wins over Tulsa, Southern Methodist and South Florida the Knights have outscored the opposition 100-14.

The Knights also have this stat in their favor. UCF has won 24 consecutive games that have kicked off at 3 p.m. or later. Thursday night�s kick-off is at 7:30.

I personally look forward to seeing Shane, Justin Hardy and the rest of this senior class honored before the game. I�m betting dry eyes will be hard to come by.

This is a special group and one that Coach Ruff can always look back on as the building blocks that his program was established on.

Hopefully the Pirate Nation will also be out in force to thank this group for the magic that is college football in Greenville, NC.

BB

E-mail Brian Bailey.