East Carolina Pirates

Head Coach

Skip Holtz	4th year
07-08	8-5
C-USA	6-2
FCR	45

Previous Season Wins

Head Coach - Skip Holtz has done an outstanding job in his three years at East Carolina with 20 wins and including an 8-5 mark last year and a season ending win over Boise St. They return sixteen starters but lose Chris Johnson the nation’s leader in all-purpose yards and questions remain at quarterback. The program is clearly headed in the right direction and once again the question is will Skip Holtz be around much longer?

Quarterback - At quarterback senior Patrick Pinkney and junior Rob Kass return, both saw significant time and will battle through the fall camp to determine the starter. Pickney completed 60.5% of his passes for 1,358 yards and 11 TD’s while Kass had a 54.9 completion percentage with nine TD’s, both players had four picks. Kass is more of the traditional pocket passer and Pickney the better runner, he had 402 yards rushing last season, don’t be surprised if Holtz uses both once again in 08’.

Running Backs - At running back senior Dominique Lindsay is the front runner to replace Johnson but speedy sophomore Jonathan Williams was solid this spring and will be in the hunt. Senior Brandon Simmons and sophomore Norman Whitley will also look to get carries through the fall camp.

Receivers - On the outside at the X Jamar Bryant returns, the junior had 48 catches for 704 yards and 6 TD’s and will be in line for All-C-USA honors at seasons end. At the H sophomore Dwayne Harris returns where he had 26 receptions for 246 yards and two TD’s and Alex Taylor will be at the Z position. In the four-wide sets Alabama transfer Reyn Willis will line up at the A Slot and when they go with the tight end it will be senior Davon Drew.

Offensive Line - The offense line will be led by returning starters senior Stanley Bryant who’ll be at left tackle sophomore D.J. Scott at right tackle and right guard will be junior Doug Palmer. Junior T.J. Harper will be the left guard and under center will be junior Sean Allen, in addition junior Terrence Campbell who was a starter in 06’ is back having gotten his heart condition under control.

Defensive Line - The Pirates return all four starters upfront led by their defensive end seniors Zach Slate and junior C.J. Wilson, they combined for 11 ½ sacks last year and they both are excellent edge rushers. In the middle at the tackles will be junior Jay Ross and senior Brandon Setzer. East Carolina will have a excellent rotation that will include seniors Marcus Hands and Khalif Mitchell, sophomores Josh Smith and Linval Joseph and junior Maurice Mercer.

Linebackers - On the outside senior Quentin Cotton returns at one spot where he had 66 tackles last season, on the other side will be sophomore Melvin Patterson but only until Pierre Bell returns, Bell had 97 tackles for the Pirates and is a All-C-USA player. Junior Nick Johnson will be in the middle and will be asked to contribute in the run defense.

Defensive Backs - The cornerbacks will be senior Jerek Hewett and sophomore Darryl Rodgers, Hewett had 49 tackles and Rodgers had a solid spring. At strong safety senior Leon Best returns and he’ll be teamed with Van Eskridge, the junior free safety led the team with 104 tackles.

Special Teams - Placekicker junior Ben Hartman returns he was only 12-22 last year but does have range and he hit two game winners for the Pirates. Junior Matt Dodge will once again be the punter; he had a solid year averaging 41.3 yards. Dwayne Harris and Jonathan Williams are capable return man for East Carolina.

Schedule - Challenging, they open with Virginia Tech and West Virginia and then must travel to NC State and Virginia, and squeeze in a home game with Houston to boot and that’s all in the first six weeks. If they can manage to be 2-4 at that point they could be dangerous the rest of the way. It will be a battle to finish above .500 this season but don’t be surprised if Holtz finds a way, they'll sneak in a win the C-USA title and get 8+ win this year.