This has been a normal summer for East Carolina football, at least in comparison to the restrictions of 2020. Recruiting has been productive. Players have been getting bigger, stronger and faster. Pirates coach Mike Houston will soon begin formal preparations for the 2021 season opener in Charlotte against Appalachian State on Thursday, Sept. 2, at 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU). "Busy," … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportLineman built his future during COVID layoff
Tyler Leinberger was angry and frustrated like many when COVID-19 forced the postponement of Virginia's 2020 high school football season until the spring. But the unplanned hiatus led to a breakthrough for the Thomas Dale High School offensive lineman that turned him into a major college prospect. "I think that time, honestly, was a blessing for me,'' said Leinberger, who … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportNorcross star on track for early enrollment
When Zakye Barker would cry as an infant, his father Zach would flip on the TV and try to find a football game. "I'd cry all day, but when he'd turn on the TV and put on football I'd stop crying,'' Barker said. "It was like I knew what was going on. So once I turned four they were like, 'Well, we have to put you in football.' I was all for it even though I couldn't start … [Read more...]
VIEW FROM THE EASTPirates pulling from portal
East Carolina has been affected by the ebb and flow of talent in the transfer portal since the NCAA ruled that student-athletes can have immediate eligibility the first time they switch schools. Pirates baseball coach Cliff Godwin said the new regulation is not "real life," allowing athletes to seek greener pastures rather than adjust to circumstances at their first … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportBig man Allen tapping into ‘nasty side’
Greg Greene was strolling through the hallways at Durham's Riverside (NC) High School in the spring of 2018 when he passed a very large freshman. Greene, an assistant coach for Riverside's football team, didn't immediately recognize the student who he'd actually worked with as an eight-year-old. But Greene knew the then-6-foot-4, 285-pounder looked like he belonged on the … [Read more...]