Every college football team, East Carolina included, goes into every season expecting to play well, win every game and contend for championships. But let’s face it, unless your name is Clemson, Alabama or one of a handful of other traditional powers, your team stands a better chance of playing on the moon than at the Louisiana Superdome for the national championship next … [Read more...]

Fred Goldsmith has been a valuable influence in the development of first-year East Carolina football coach Mike Houston. Goldsmith was Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year at Duke in 1994 before parting ways with the Blue Devils in 1998. Ironically, perhaps, former ECU coach Scottie Montgomery started his college career at Duke under Goldsmith. Houston was … [Read more...]

An excellent test to distinguish between a true football player and a non-football player: Measure that individual’s reaction to the phrase “full pads day in mid-August.” The thoughts of the non-football player would go immediately to dread of the extreme heat mixed with the inevitable pain associated with repeated violent collisions. But consider the response of East … [Read more...]

Monday was another key step as the Pirates roll on toward opening day in Raleigh. The East Carolina football squad put the pads on for the first time. Those pads will stay on now for most of the rest of the month. Practice in pads is much different, especially in the heat. "I thought we continued to make strides today," said first-year coach Mike Houston in his … [Read more...]

It’s the goal of every new coach, especially those taking over losing programs, to change the culture of the team they’ve inherited. East Carolina’s Mike Houston is no exception. It’s one of the first things he said at his introductory press conference back in December. The problem is, a new culture can’t be established until the old one is completely rejected. That’s … [Read more...]