East Carolina Preview
September 20, 2007 11:56 AM | General
September 20, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Rich Rodriguez says it has been East Carolina’s Jimmys and Joes and not so much its Xs and Os that have been the reasons the Mountaineers have had such a tough time running the football on the Pirates.
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| Coach Rich Rodriguez says his defense is going to have to get pressure on East Carolina junior quarterback Patrick Pinkney.
Brian Persinger photo |
Two years ago in Morgantown, West Virginia managed just 127 yards on the ground in a 20-15 win. Last year in Greenville, the Pirate defense limited the Mountaineers to 157 yards rushing including only 80 from All-American Steve Slaton.
“I’ve always been impressed with what they do defensively,” Rodriguez said Tuesday afternoon. “Their defensive front has been playing outstanding, the linebackers are as good as anybody we’ll play and it may be the best group of athletes that we have played all year.”
Quentin Cotton has been the most active among a very active group of East Carolina linebackers. Cotton has made a team-best 25 tackles to go with 4 ½ tackles for losses, a sack and an interception. The 6-foot-2-inch, 234-pound junior was a third-team all-Conference USA pick in 2006.
“He has played as well as any linebacker I’ve seen in the last couple of years,” Rodriguez said. “He did that against us last year but watching him on film this year he’s all over the place.”
Strong side linebacker Pierre Bell has made 23 tackles while middle linebacker Fred Wilson has been in on 15 stops.
Up front East Carolina (1-2) has two big run-stoppers in the middle in 6-foot-3-inch, 300-pound sophomore Jay Ross and 6-foot-3-inch, 296-pound Mark Robinson. Six-five, 222-pound junior defensive end Zach Slate is one of the Pirates’ top defensive playmakers with 19 tackles, 5 ½ tackles for losses and two sacks.
Senior weak side corner back Travis Williams is the only returning starter in a Pirate secondary that Rodriguez says has held up reasonably well despite the losses.
“They have a couple of new guys back there but those safeties are still tackling well and playing well against the run,” Rodriguez said.
East Carolina came into this season thinking sophomore Rob Kass was going to be the man at quarterback. But he was suspended for the season opener against Virginia Tech and lost his starting job to Patrick Pinkney, a junior who has endured two shoulder surgeries while waiting his turn.
Pinkney had the second highest single-game passing total in East Carolina history with his 406 yards passing in a 34-31 home victory against North Carolina on Sept. 8. Pinkney completed 31 of his 41 pass attempts with three touchdowns against the Tar Heels. Last week he threw for 203 and a pair of touchdowns in a home loss to Southern Mississippi.
“It’s funny how a guy gets his opportunity because he wasn’t a starter at the beginning of the year,” Rodriguez said. “He got in the first game and he throws for 400 yards against North Carolina. He’s looked really good and he’s made the most of his opportunity.”
Rodriguez said West Virginia’s defense must be conscious of Pinkney both as a passer and as a runner. Pinkney is the team’s leading rusher with 109 yards.
“He’s a guy that ran and passed for more than 1,000 yards in high school,” Rodriguez said. “He fits that style and they are running plays to allow him to do both.”
Veteran running back Chris Johnson has faced West Virginia the last three years gaining 92 yards on 22 carries in the 2005 game in Morgantown. Johnson shows 1,651 yards and 17 touchdowns in 37 career games.
Wide receiver Phillip Henry led East Carolina with six catches for 54 yards in last year’s game against West Virginia in Greenville. Henry has caught 13 balls this year for 145 yards and shows 75 catches for 1,057 yards and three touchdowns for his career.
Jamar Bryant, a 6-foot-2-inch, 193-pound sophomore, shows 12 catches for 152 yards including a season-long 50-yard reception against North Carolina.
“They are not beating themselves,” Rodriguez said. “They run some of the same schemes we do with some of the triple options and some of the quarterback runs. It just requires more guys being in tune with what their assignments are.”
West Virginia (3-0) is coming off a Thursday night win at Maryland on Sept. 13. It was West Virginia’s second taxing game in a span of five days, having played at Marshall on Sept. 8.
In the Maryland game the Mountaineers got 137 yards and three rushing touchdowns from junior Steve Slaton, who enters Saturday’s game ranked first among all active runners with 46 touchdowns. Slaton has carried the football 66 times for 392 yards and eight touchdowns so far this season.
True freshman Noel Devine has managed to ease some of Slaton’s rushing burden, running for 256 yards on just 17 carries for a national-best 15.1 yards per carry average. Devine ran for 136 yards on only five carries against Maryland.
Quarterback Patrick White is third on the team in rushing with 244 yards and four touchdowns, while also completing 63.3 percent of his pass attempts for 436 yards and four touchdowns.
Darius Reynaud is West Virginia’s No. 1 receiver with 18 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Reynaud is averaging 15.6 yards per reception.
“Obviously we have to execute better at times offensively as compared to how we have executed against them in the past,” Rodriguez said. “We have to tackle well on defense and eliminate the big play.
“We have to put pressure on their quarterback. You can’t give him a lot of time because he will take off and run more than any quarterback we have played this year,” Rodriguez said.
Kick off for Saturday’s game is scheduled for noon. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPN2. Sirius Satellite Radio users can access MSN’s broadcast on channel 123; the game will also air on the Internet through CSTV All-Access.
