Relax folks, a wise coach once said when rebuilding. You lose big, then you lose little, then you win little, and then , you win big! Anybody with an objective point of view can see the dramatic improvement in the players, the team, the coaching staff, the whole program period. Houston is Top notch. I'm also for the first time in a long time optimistic for the BBall team. Lets stop the silly nit picking and recognize what's going on here. We were on the bottom, the bottom! I'm truly excited for the future of our football program. I have total faith in Houston. Give him time. Quality man, quality coach, he'll build it the right way. Go Pirates! Keep rowing!!!!

Rome wasn't built in a day and winning football and basketball teams in this conference aren't either - with the expedited rate of improvement it isn't a stretch to see us developing veteran players and taking down the Cincinnati's and SMU's on the field and on the court in 2020.

Anyone with a clue about Pirate Football couldn't have realistically expected more than a 6-6 finish this year. As a long time Pirate Club member and season ticket holder, I surely didn't. This years performance isn't wearing me down, it's giving me hope. Hope that we had no reason for the past 3-4 seasons. We made correctable mistakes, that cost us legitimate chances to win against not only top tier conference opponents but top 25 ranked teams, all while playing freshmen and sophomores. They will learn to win. We are close, really close. The future is bright.

Normally, I enjoy reading your comments. However, especially given current circumstances, it is one of the most ridiculous columns I have ever read. Like one of the posters above said, where was this column two years ago in the second year of Scottie, and the 6th, 7th, or 8th year of Jeff Lebo? I feel you have some axe to grind against current administration? While in no way do I 'accept' the way things are, the progress made in football, and promise of a highly ranked recruiting class, give me the "hope" that we have turned the corner. Next year, if things are the same, would be the time for this column. With regard to basketball - They have to get some progress this year. The loss to Navy is hopefully one in the "bad loss" column. It's way too early in the season to cast them in such a negative light.

Ah, the hypocrisy of those that can never be happy with our existing coaches, wanting to "move to the next level" where our coaches can't possibly take us, who destroy our athletic program, then whine and complain because the current coaches can't recover from the years of terrible leadership in less than a season. You reap what you sow by how your support the team and who you support in leadership.

I love it when folks state the obvious, I'm surprised that it came from a supposedly ECU beat columnist. Terrible article and very shallow.

Sorry Dude......yes it is frustrating to lose but there is no overnight fix for years of neglect for the basketball program and Jeff Compher's horrible tenure over the athletic department. The football team is finally showing a pulse and is doing it with primarily freshmen and sophmores. The Bball team has only played 2 games together. If you were thinking there would not be growing pains for both programs the that is not realistic.

I’m sorry, but you’re rushing this thing. Maybe you pine for the days of uncompetitive football and Scottie Mo? We have that man And his boss three years to burn our football program, and by and large, our entire athletic department to the ground. While we ALL want wins, we need to step back from the edge and see that dynamic improvements this team has made. I mean, if SM was still here that score yesterday would have been 59-14, at best. You should have been writing accountability opinions two years ago, not waiting until now.

Greg, Thank you so much for what you dol. I read Bonesville every day of my life and enjoy it very much. People are missing the point on the board member who brought the information about Dan Gerlach public(I like Gerlach very much by the way). The point is the coverup. UNC was trying to run out the clock here. Further investigation shows that in a number of ways. Their attorney asked the Greenville PD when the videos would go away. Obviously they did not want them to come to light. What happened to transparency and fully investigating the matter? Sunlight is the best disinfectant.

Holton Ahlers reminds me of Shane Carden and Dwayne Harris. He is a baller, a play-maker, so you have to figure out how to get him in the game and take advantage of his skills. That said, I think it's an extreme disservice to claim he is a good, or great, QB. He is adequate. His career is shaping up similar to Shane's. Maybe he will be good by next year. It is very frustrating see and listen so many people make excuses for a sophomore quarterback who has played in so many games, but still makes rookie/freshman mistakes. He needs to be smarter in his decisionmaking, faster execution (which we saw some on Saturday). I think the game still needs to slow down some for him - take what you are given, do not force plays. Fortunately, he has great receivers, running backs, and the offensive line is maturing. All the right ingredients are there, they just need a little more experience. Offensively, we need improved line and QB play, and better play calling. Defensively, we need to do a better job in assignments/coverage and wrapping up tackles.

Ahlers is a one sided quarterback. Only comfortable throwing on one side of the field. He looks for 2 of his buddies to throw the ball to and panics when they’re not open. He can’t run , very slow, but tries to be the running back. Thanks to Jsi, Daniel Charles, Mauney, and yes, the O line, who has always given him time to throw the ball, he hid what he did. Bonesville and Hoist the colors are SO OBVIOUSLY BIASED in their reporting, they only give props to selective players. SHAME!!!! His record breaking yardage was a fluke. I bet he mess up every other game. He sucks. Prove me wrong and I’ll be a man and apologize from the bottom of my heart. Let him play half as good and I’ll apologize. I’m sure I won’t have to.

As Irish Spectre stated the O line has to be the top priority in recruiting. Unfortunately building a dominant or even solid O line is the toughest task a football team faces IMO. Finding good skill position players has never been an issue for ECU, but having an offensive line that can control games has been a big issue, and this has to be rectified. Building a solid team starts with the hogs.

...good take. I like the way multiple receivers stepped up in a big way, and I like the way HA got pass protection. I also think that lost in all of it is what RB Mauney can be. He has shown flashes, very north-south, very tough to bring down, but the OL must continue to improve for him to do his thing, and if they can establish even a little bit of a running attack, then it's truly off to the races offensively; that'll a) open up the passing even more, and b) open up the field for Ahlers to lug it (sparingly, of course), which he's very capable of (like a fullback, actually.) IMHO, the OL is the no. 1 recruiting priority.

Please update the recruiting information as there has been 3 additions and one deletion since this was last updated. Thanks

It's not popular to say, but there ARE moral victories. They're usually necessary to get to the actual goal, and last night was a huge one. Kudos to both sides of the ball, up and down the roster, especially the Q, his receiver corps and (incredibly!!) the OL. Several of those dumb-ass Cinn. penalties were due to their massive arrogance, thinking they were going to waltz in to D-W, and waltz out with the "W." ECU saw things a little differently, and that offended the Bearcats. The Pirates played with a lot of pride.