If and when Duke transfer quarterback Thomas Sirk takes his first snap at East Carolina in 2017, it will be the 1,000th of his college career. The milestone would have taken place for the Blue Devils last year but Sirk sustained a ruptured left Achilles tendon and sat out the season. Sirk missed 2013 at Duke after… [ More… ]
View from the East
View from the East
Pirates ratchet up recruiting
The announcement of the addition of graduate transfers Thomas Sirk from Duke, Tyshon Dye from Clemson and Gaelin Elmore from Minnesota reinforces coach Scottie Montgomery’s contention that East Carolina won’t back away from anyone in recruiting. South Carolina came after Sirk, a quarterback, even after he had tweeted his plans to join the Pirates. Miami of… [ More… ]
Insights from Brett
Embrace of grad transfers a risk worth taking
The graduate transfer market in college sports is similar in many respects to free agency in the professional ranks — with two glaring differences. For one thing, the players available to college programs are often someone else’s castoffs rather than some of the best in the business, as they are in the NFL, NBA, NHL and… [ More… ]
Football Recruiting
Pirates pluck high profile transfers
East Carolina can expect an immediate impact from a pair of late additions to its football recruiting class of 2017. Graduate transfers Gaelin Elmore, a decorated defensive end from Minnesota, and Tyshon Dye, a running back from Clemson’s national championship team, have elected to complete their eligibility wearing the purple and gold after gaining undergraduate degrees. Elmore… [ More… ]
Recruiting Report Card — Part Two
Defense: Pirates enlist impact newcomers
The objective for East Carolina’s coaching staff when it came to the defensive recruiting class of 2017 was crystal clear — sign as many players as possible to immediately bolster a unit ranked among the nation’s worst last season. The Pirates were near the bottom nationally in nearly every major statistical category in 2016. They… [ More… ]
Recruiting Report Card — Part One
Offense: Pirates load up on future stars
The future of East Carolina’s football offense was secured in a span of 72 hours last week. First, there was the major announcement January 30th that local product and highly rated junior quarterback Holton Ahlers will play for the Pirates in 2018. The Tim Tebow clone made a verbal commitment to ECU before a packed… [ More… ]
Insights from Brett
Pirates’ Signing Day wish list answered
Former N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien used to say that it doesn’t matter how many stars a player has by his name when he arrives in college football, but rather how good he becomes by the time he leaves. While it goes without saying that a team stocked with highly-rated athletes will stand a much… [ More… ]