‘08 ECU Football Season Preview

 
ECU kicks off the 2008 season against two top 15 teams, Va Tech and West Virginia. ECU ended the 2007 season on a high note, defeating BSU in the Hawaii Bowl. ECU lost one of their best offensive weapons ever to the Draft, however ECU returns a very solid core of players. 
Besides CJ, other key players ECU lost:

• Travis Williams- Versatile Athlete, 4 year starter, the best corner over the past 2 or 3 seasons. Travis is currently in camp with the Steelers tyring to make the cut.
• Josh Coffman – Anchor of the O-Line.
• Matt Butler – 2nd team All-Conference O-Line. 
• Phillip Henry – Athletic receiver, usually played 3rd WR.
• Fred Wilson – Dependable Linebacker, will be missed.
• Steven Rogers – Started all 13 games last season at the WR position.

 

Going into the 2008 season, ECU will face the same problem as last season, passing defense. ECU will most likely struggle with teams that have a powerful passing attack. To deal with this, during the off season, Skip did some shuffling around. So we may see some position changes in the backfield. Position previews:

• DLine – ECU’s D-line is the best i’ve seen in 12 years of following ECU football. For the defensive tackle position, it was entertaining watching true freshmen Linval Joseph, North Carolina transfer Kalief Mitchell and Jay Ross manhandle O-Lines last season. All are all-conference players. They will be joined by former Offensive Tackle Brandon Sietzer, who performed very well in the little time he played.  ScottyRobinson and Willie Smith who are All-Conference caliber as well, who may play either in the DE or DT slots. Defensive End All-Conference player Zack Slate is joined on the other side by All-conference 2nd team Defensive End CJ Wilson, who is perhaps the teams best pass rusher. Both Zach and CJ are preseason first team All-Conference selections for this season.  Perhaps the best defensive player on the team is Marcus Hands. Hands could have very well been on track to attaining All-American status if not plagued by injuries. Hands played in 4 games in 2007 before suffering a season ending injury against WVU. Marcus was name first team half season all-conference prior to bowing out. Hopefully, Marcus will play this season.
• Secondary – In the secondary, Van Eskridge is a returning CUSA 2nd team and All-freshmen award winner. Van led the team in tackles last season.  Van will get help from Senior veterans Leon Best and JJ Millbrook. With a year of experience under their belt, let’s hope Jerek Hewitt and Dekota Marshall perform up to par. Chris Mattocks, who saw quality minutes last season, should also provide much needed consistensy in the backfield.  The secondary was amongst the worst in the nation last season. 3 starters return, and the coaches did some role changes in the offseason.  
• Special Teams – Our special teams are special.  Dwayne Harris is the most dangerous punt and kick returner. He has the breakout speed and athleticism of Chris Johnson. J Williams did a beautiful job of returning punts last season as well, attaining all-conference honors. We are awaiting word to see if Ben Hartman will be healthy for the starter against Va Tech.
• OLine – This can make or break the season. The O-line has a good balance of experience and depth. Look for Doug Palmer to provide leadership as he is the only returning O-line to have started all 13 games last season. Doug Palmer was also selected as a CUSA first team preseason selection. The staff is excited about the return of Terance Campbell. Campbell, coming of of an all-conference freshmen team performance in 2006, suffered a heart attack in the offseason. This caused him to miss the entire 2007 season. Terance started all 13 games as a freshmen, and there is no reason to expect anything less of his all-conference performance two years ago.  
• QB – Both qbs are back from last season. Kass, a pocket passer and Pinkney a scrambler. This setup causes headaches for opposing Defensive coordinators. Either of the QBs, Kass or Pinkney, could have a breakout season. We’ve got to focus on consistency first. Lets get from Point A to point B, andcount on bothdoing just as well as last year. **Note: Former starter Brent Clay withdrew from the team after experiencing a career full of injuries. Brett had struggled with an on-going knee injury. The most recent injury during spring practice, was one too many. Unfortunately, Brett never got a fair chance to really show his talent. Many fans will remember the interception that Va Tech ran back for a TD in the season opener in ‘07.
• Backs – There is no doubt that J Williams is an excellent and solid running back. Dominique Lindsay is another quality back with decent playing time. Lindsey has been relatively consistent over the past 3 seasons. Brandon Simmons, while not a extraordinary back, is a seasoned veteran expected to add depth. Fans are anxious to see YouTube legend Norman Whitley play. Stomin’ Norman has been plagued by injuries since he has been at ECU. Finally, Junior college transfer and redshirt JR Rogers is expected to add excitement. The coaches sound optimistic about JR, and are hopeful that he will provide speed coming out of the backfield.
• WRs/TE – Both Jamar Bryant and Dwayne Harris are very explosive and dangerous. Both are All-Confrence caliber players. Expect help from Junior Alabama transfer Reyn Willis, and junior Alex Taylor. TJ Lee played well last season before being injured. TJ will be healthy entering the 2008 season. Tight end Davon Drew is expected to capitalize on last year’s performance.
• Linebackers – Quentin Cotten andPierre Bell are both high quality and dependable LBs. Both are capable of having standout seasons. Pierre Bell is perhaps the most experienced player on the team, entering the 2008 season as a 3 year letterman having played over 30 games and has been a starter since the 2005 season. Nick Johnson and Jeremy Chambliss will also provide quality play in the middle linebacker position.

Impact players for this season: TE Devon Drew, WR Dwayne Harris, WR Jamar Bryant, LB Quietin Cotton, FS Van Eskridge.

Season preview:

Aug 30th

Virginia Tech Charlotte, North Carolina 12 noon, ESPN

 

After winning 17-7 in last year’s season opener against ECU, the Hokies will not underestimate Skip’s crew. ECU earned respect and most importantly some self-confidence in last year’s opener against Va Tech.  The Hokies return a potential dangerous qb tandem in Glennon and Taylor. Very similar to Kass and Pinkney, Taylor is a runner, and Glennon is a drop-back passer. VaTech’s OLine this season should much better than last season. The Hokiesdid loose some of their key offensive starters, RB Ore, along with their top 4 Wide receivers. However, keep in mind that last season’s game was not won on offense. The Hokies held ECU to their lowest scoring total of the season. Also note that one of the tds that Tech scored was off of an interception while Va Tech had ECU backed up to the endzone. The Hookies did lose a considerable amount of high quality defensive players, but history shows that the Hookies reload quite readily. They will be tested against ECUs veteran set of offensive weapons. Like last year’s opener, look for this to be a low scoring game.
Tech – 13
ECU – 10

Sept 6th, 2008

West Virginia Greenville, North Carolina 4:30pm, ESPN

THe Pirates were defeated in every aspect of the game (except perhaps punt returns), falling to the Mountaineers 47-7 last season. The Mounties held ECU to just 54 yard passing and 106 yards rushing. WVU racked up over 600 yards of total offense. Was WVU THAT much better? Hopefully the pirates learned a lesson from last year’s squabbing. RichRod and Slaton are both gone, but WVU is still a well rounded team. Pat White will be on the short list for the Heisman.
WV 28
ECU 13

Sept 13th, 2008

Tulane New Orleans, Louisiana 3:00pm, ESPN

A week prior to the Sept 13th match up, the GreenWave start their season against SEC stalwart Alabama. This will be a good “warm up” for the ECU game. In the past few years, the Tulane game has always been chalked up as a “W” by ECU fans without thinking twice. At the end of last season, Tulane defeated UTEP and Rice rather handily, and had very close games against UAB, Memphis and Army in the middle of the season. ECU did defeat Tulane 35-12 at the last game of the season. Tulane looses their top offensive player, Matt Forte. Without any star-quality returning players, and inconsistency at quarterback, there should not be reason to worry too much about Tulane this season. ECU’s defense should take over.
ECU 23
Tulane 7

 

 Sept 20th, 2008

NC State Raleigh, North Carolina TBA, ESPN

Another big question mark. State has some momentum from the last half of the season last year. Against ECU last season, State exploited ECU’s secondary weakness and Daniel Evans had a breakout game. The Pack also scored on two very key turnovers. Otherwise, it was a decent game.

The Pack had a lackluster season last year finishing 5-7, but were plagued by injuries. Coach O’Briens 2nd year will hopefully be better, but it will not be easy. The Pack returns only 4 defensive starters and 6 starters on offense. Fortunately for State, running backs Andre Brown and Toney Baker, along withTE Anthony Hill will be back after missing most of last season with injuries. Both of the RBs will provide a good offensive attack if the passing game is lacking.

Wolfpack fans will be very ill if the Wolfies loose to ECU and UNC. UNC has many starters back from last season, and ECU will bring their A-game. Besides ECU, the Wolfpack face a very tough out of conference schedule against two two top 25 teams, South Carolina and South Florida. Unfortunately, if State goes 0-4 against these teams, TOB could be harshly judged by Pack fans. Let’s wait another year or 2 to properly evaluate him. Back to the game, I think this will be another dogfight. Without any major play makers, and lack of a high quality qb for the Pack, I think ECU has the edge. If Evans decides to have a breakout game, the Pack could take it. This is dependent upon how ECU’s secondary is playing.
ECU 23
Pack 20

 

Sept 27th, 2008

Houston Greenville, North Carolina 3:30pm, ESPN

ECU sneaked by Houston last year 37-35. Houston may have lost some of their original prime recruits due to their coach, Art Briles, leaving for Baylor. Kevin Sumlinn, former offensive coordinator for Oklahoma andFlorida takes over the reins. Houston finished last season 8-5 with an appearance in the Texas Bowl. Coach Sumlin is no walkover, he was the offensive coordinator for a team that averaged 44 points last season. Houston should transition seamlessly into a new system. Houston returns very quality QBs including a NCAA freshmen All-American Case Keenum. However, the top 3 receivers are gone, and leading RB Anthony Alridge is gone as well. Houston’s defense is a question mark as they allowed 30 points per game last season but return 8 starters.
ECU 37
Houston 20

 

Oct 11th, 2008

Virginia Charlottesville, Virginia TBA, ESPN

ECU didn’t play UVA last season, but the Pirates defeated the Cavs 24-17 in ‘06. UVA had a very successful season last year, spending time in the top 25 and playing in the Gator Bowl. UVA seemed like they had an identity crisis last season. The “top 25″ UVA team defeated Wake Forest, UConn, Pitt and gave a whupin’ to Miami 48-0. The “so-so” version of UVA lost to NC State and lost to a sub-par Wyoming team 23-3.

The Cavs would love some revenge against ECU from ‘06. However, playing against ACC opponents is always important for the Pirates, they take these games seriously. The Cavs lost 6 starters from the offense including QB Jamall Sewell and both tight ends. However, the Cavs are confident in the replacements including QB Peter Lalich, who saw action in the Gator Bowl last season. On the other side of the ball, the Cavs lost all D-line starters from last season including All-American Chris Long. However, the cavsreturn many starters in the backfield. With many veterans returning on ECU’s defense and the inexperienced new starters on offense for UVA, this should be somewhat of a low scoring game. Like the NC State game, the score prediction is a tough one. The question is if UVA can play like a top 25 team or not.
ECU 16
UVA 10

 

Oct 18th, 2008

Memphis Greenville, North Carolina 12 noon, ESPN

If things are shaping up the way they should for ECU, the Memphis game could have a big impact on the post season situation for ECU. The Tigers have very good potential at QB, andreturn all of their wide receivers. ECU has had problems with teams that have quality QBs and receivers. If any of the QBs emerge as a solid play maker, expect Memphis to be very dangerous. The icing on the cake is juco transfer running back Curtis Steele, who had a very impressive spring game, and potential Miami transfer Charlie Jones.
For next season, the Tigers may struggle on defense. Like last season’s contest, this should be a high scoring game.
ECU 44
Memphis 38

 

Nov 2nd, 2008

UCF Orlando, Florida 8:00pm, ESPN

Like ECU, UCF looses their star running back. The ‘07 contest was a high-scoring mess of a game. UCF has a very experienced coach andthey play a very physical game. ECU got lucky on a few key turnovers last season to defeat the Golden Knights 55-34. With both star running backs gone, This year might focus on defense. UCF has a very excellent secondary, and ECU has there best DLine ever.
UCF 17
ECU 13

 

November 8th, 2008

Marshall Greenville, North Carolina 3:30pm, ESPN

ECU fans are still scratching their head about whatever happened last season. Did we rely on Chris Johnson too much? Was Marshall just better then we expected? The Herd lost a few key players, (qb and LB) but return a fair amount of starters. Add in a handfull of Jr College transfers, and the return of All-American and defensive player of the year Albert McClellan, the Herd should be confident for the 2008 season. Redshirt freshmen Mark Cann looks to be the front runner for QB after an impressive spring game. Look for good things from Phillip Gamble and all-conference back Darius Marshall. (That’s right, Darius Marshall made all-conference despite 3 other All-American running backs in the same conference, Chris Johnson, Matt Forte andKevin Smith). I do expect Marshall to have a better year then last, however ECU should be focused unlike last season.
ECU 27
Marshall 23

*RB Darius Marshal is my CUSA offensive player of the year.

 

Nov 15th, 2008

Southern Miss Hattiesburg, Mississippi TBA, ESPN

Southern Miss has owned ECU in recent years. Last year’s game was closer then I thought it would be. The much respected Jeff Bower is gone, but has been replaced by offensive guru Larry Fedora. Fedora has already won a very important battle, signing highly touted WR Deandre Brown. Downside is that Southern Miss does not have a proven QB on the roster, and USM also lost all of their defensive line. This could hurt, especially if the passing attack does not materialize because of the qb.

Interestingly enough, many ECU fans were both glad and sad that USM got rid of Bowers. When this was announced, I had flashbacks to the Logan saga . ECU hated playing Bowers, I can only remember winning once or twice in the past 11 years against Southern Miss. Bowers is a good coach, making the most of what he was given. Non-BCS players, non BCS money. He ran a very consistent program. Southern Miss had a so-so season last year. Maybe they should have beaten Memphis and Rice. Maybe the blame can be put on Bowers and that is part of the reason why he is gone. I do know that Southern Miss fans wanted better results. Did Southern Miss make the same mistake ECU did? We won’t know for a year or two. Most likely not because John Thompson was not a hard-nosed coach, and did not have that “killer instinct” that successful coaches instill in their players.

Back to the game, I think its safe to assume Fedora will do a good job coaching a non-BCS school. Southern Miss always fields a decent core of good players and finds a way to win.
USM 24
ECU 17

 

Nov 22nd, 2008

UAB Birmingham, Alabama 4:00pm

UAB returns 18 starters from last years squad which finished 2-10. Besides a few defensive backs and linebackers, many of these starters have not proven themselves to be considered valuable playmakers. However, this is a relatively young squad. Expect these 2nd year starters to play on a higher level. The Blazers also have added 11 Jr College Transfers. It’s hard to tell how these additions will pan-out. UAB returns a few good WRs, but currently lacks a running back. UAB finished last in the conference in running last season. Hopefully, Juco transfer Aaron jones will be eligible to play in the fall. QB Joseph Webb should provide consistent play.

With a balanced passing and rushing attack, ECU defeated UAB rather handily 44-6 last year. Like ECU, UAB has a hateful out-of-conference schedule, facing up against Tennessee, South Carolina and sunbelt champion Florida Atlantic.

*Saftey Will Dunbar is my choice for CUSA defensive player of the year.
ECU 20
UAB 10

 

 Nov 29th, 2008

UTEP Greenville, North Carolina 1:00pm, CBS College Sports

This was a nail biter last season. ECU came back to tie the game with only a few minutes left and win in overtime. This season, UTEP’s running game may suffer due to nagging injuries to their backs.
UTEP was among the worse in NCAA in defense last season. 3 new coaches were hired, but don’t expect such a quick fix, as UTEP looses a fair amount of starters on the defense side of the ball. UTEP returns only 5 players on an offense that won only 4 games last season. Among those players is NCAA freshmen All-American HM  qb Trevor Vittatoe, who will most likely be name C-USA preseason offensive player of the year.
ECU 27
UTEP 14

SO, here we are at 8-4

Wins against UVA, Tulane, Marshall, UTEP, UAB, Houston, Memphis and the WolfPack

losses against VaTech, Southern Miss, WV and UCF

Because we lose to UCF and Southern Miss, no conference championship game.

confrence predictions:

C-USA EAST
UCF(lost to Southern Miss)
ECU(lost to Southern Miss, UCF)
Southern Miss(lost to Marshall, Memphis)
Marshall
Memphis
UAB

C-USA WEST
Tulsa
Houston
UTEP
Rice

SMU
Tulane

Preason conference rankings:

1. Tulsa

2. UCF

3. Southern Miss

4. ECU

5. Houston

6. Memphis

7. Marshal

8. Rice

9. UTEP

10. UAB

11. Tulane

12. SMU 

*Marshall RB Darius Marshal is my CUSA offensive player of the year.

*UAB Saftey Will Dunbar is my choice for CUSA defensive player of the year.