Between now and fall practice, we're going to take a walk through the 2015 Hokies schedule and preview each opponent with the people that follow them every day. We will be taking a look back at last season and spring practice, as well as attempting to forecast the year ahead.
On September 26th, the Hokies and (groan) East Carolina Pirates will meet once again, this time in surprisingly hostile Greenville, North Carolina. ECU spoiled the Hokies' victory against Ohio State last season. ECU beat Tech 28-21 the week after the Hokies upset the Buckeyes, but the good news is the Pirates lost a number of playmakers that decimated the Hokies a year ago. The bad news is Head Coach Ruffin McNeill has built himself a formidable program that cannot be overlooked despite the roster turnover. In an effort to better understand how the Pirates offseason has gone and learn some more about an opponent chock full of fresh faces, I had the pleasure of speaking with Nathan Summers of the Greenville Daily Reflector.
Another season — another match-up between the Hokies and Pirates. With the exception of 2012, these two teams have gone head-to-head every year since 2007. Most Hokie fans have Pirate fatigue, especially after last year's 28-21 ECU victory at Lane Stadium. Do ECU players and fans feel similarly, or do they look forward to this game every fall?
I think this is still a big one for ECU. True, playing so often takes a little of the intensity out of it for fans, but it only grows the rivalry on the field, and when ECU wins it makes the series more of a legitimate rivalry on both sides. Games against Towson, BYU and Florida bring a different twist to this year's non-conference schedule, but the Hokies give it a great, familiar rivalry game.
Shane Carden has moved on to the Chicago Bears, along with his 20" biceps. What is the state of the quarterback position in Greenville, and who is the front runner to lead the Pirates offense?
Replacing Carden under center will be a true test of ECU's offensive system. While Carden learned the ropes while backing up Dominique Davis a few years ago, now sophomore Kurt Benkert will get to show what he's learned. Unlike Carden's sophomore year, Benkert enters the season as the clear favorite ahead of junior Cody Keith, former transfer Blake Kemp and true freshman John Jacobs.
Last year's game came on the heels of Virginia Tech's huge road win over the Ohio State Buckeyes. While Bud Foster's defense found success against the Buckeyes by putting the Hokie corners on an island, former ECU Offensive Coordinator Lincoln Riley exploited his receivers' size advantage from the opening possession. ECU used a steady dose of jump balls down the sideline to departed receivers Justin Hardy and Cam Worthy en route to the upset win. Do the Pirates have a similar set of receivers waiting in the wings to execute a comparable gameplan against the Hokies?
Yes. Although Hardy and Worthy are gone, junior slot man Isaiah Jones and sophomore outside receiver Trevon Brown are now the team's biggest offensive threats. Brown is perhaps an even greater downfield threat than Worthy when he's healthy, while Jones has been a constant factor since his true freshman season and will almost certainly be the team's top pass-catcher this season.
Based on your observations this spring, how much (if at all) is the offensive system going to change under new OC Dave Nichol?
Because Nichol was groomed for this role while still the Pirates' outside receivers coach and long before Riley's departure, not much is likely to change. But Nichol's true challenge could be in continuing to develop this offense over time. Riley learned quickly the value of a true running game during his time here —and also the advantage of a true right end — and he was reworking the offense to develop those positions.
Ruffin McNeill has made a concerted effort to upgrade his defensive unit over the past few years, meaning the Pirates are no longer known as just a high scoring, spread-based offensive team. What is the outlook for the Pirate defense this season, and who are the guys Hokie fans should be worried about?
Despite a few key losses — nose tackle Terry Williams and inside linebacker Brandon Williams foremost among them — the defense has its truest leader and leading tackler back in ILB Zeek Bigger. He is joined by fellow senior OLB Montese Overton to bolster the middle. Back at end after a near-death car accident a couple of years ago is senior standout Terrell Stanley. As always, the back end is the biggest question, though former Jim Thorpe candidate and senior starting corner Josh Hawkins could have a breakout season.
Were there any breakout performers during spring practice that look poised to make an impact this fall?
As always, much of the Pirates' future was on display this spring, including notable outings for players like TE Steve Baggett and a crew of redshirt offensive linemen who all took big strides. But on a team that has routinely played as many as seven true freshmen in a season, it can be tough to tell which players will parlay spring and summer camp success into actual playing time.
Lastly, let's fill-in the blank: "If I'm in the greater-Greenville area, I would be doing myself a disservice if I did not stop at fill-in-the-blank for barbecue."
Ha, that's always a tough one for me, the non barbecue eater. But I know there is a reason for the line that starts forming every morning at B's, a line that generally stretches out and around the tiny restaurant until the inevitable daily announcement that there is no more barbecue until tomorrow. Parker's is the other main favorite in town, and a short trip to Ayden takes you to the famous Skylight Inn.
Despite being a barbecue heretic, many thanks to Nate for taking the time to answer some questions about the Pirates.
Previously in this series:
Comments
that is a scary looking woman!
You can't trust a man who doesn't eat BBQ, I don't believe a single word of his from that interview.
She would slap you and beat you while telling you that you were not doing it right!
The Maenad has control.
I'm so glad those two guys named Terry Williams will be gone. They could really get after ya!
For once, can we just blow these guys out? I'd like to be able to relax in the 3rd and 4th when playing ECU... just once. This series is just so bad for my health lately
We blew them out in 2010, so not long ago. IIRC it was close at the half but we pulled way out ahead in the 3rd quarter after halftime adjustments.
Ughh. This is how I feel about ECU on the schedule no matter the outcome.
love the use of Mr. Wanka!!
Man, what a waste of time reading this. I get to the end just to read this quote:
and I realize nothing that guy said is credible anymore
I'm already dreading this game
Was Weaver a former ECU alum or something!? We play these guys more than many ACC opponents, and I hate to admit it but they're scrappy and sneaky good.
It's like hiring interns. Once upon a time VT was a mediocre football program at a rural school, and a few nice OOC opponents helped us find our way. We pay it forward by showing ECU the ropes..
We play them every year because when the ACC was mulling going to an additional conference game every year we obviously didn't schedule a 4th OOC opponent. When that didn't happen ECU eagerly agreed to the matchup and it just seemed like laziness almost in terms of not having to find additional opponents to schedule. They are sneaky good, but I don't think this will be one of their better teams.
I say we find this Nathan Summers before the game and tie him up and kidnap him and ship him to a place that doesn't care for barbeque, like say . . . Vermont.
or we could just send him to Charlottesville
Thanks, but we don't want him here. Besides, we do have a couple of decent BBQ places here (alas, I have found no true vinegar sauce yet). And a new one. I'll report after I try it out.
No true vinegar sauce? Some would argue that you have no decent BBQ places then.
I just flat-out don't like vinegar sauce.
*ducks*
Admittedly, as a member of #teamvinegarsauce, vinegar sauce is always the top choice when available, but is there such a thing as bad BBQ?
Some may disagree, but burned BBQ is bad BBQ IMO. Also, I've had a few vinegar sauces that are basically vinegar with pepper, not exactly delicious.
BBQ drenched in gooey or runny red ketchupy sauce is bad to me. Yeah, I could usually eat it if that was all that there was, but I'd never choose it. Proper vinegar sauces made with peppers and salt and lightly applied are what I look for in a good BBQ, but I can eat good chopped or pulled BBQ meat with just salt and a little pepper if it's properly cooked and properly blended, meat, fat, and skin-wise. Individual tastes dictate the wide variety of BBQ sauces, and most folks will gladly argue for their favorite, but seldom give in to someone else's idea of good. This is a discussion with no end, no compromise, no true consensus.
Given that it seems you're on #teamvinegarsauce, I think I know the answer to this buuuuut what is your BBQ meat of choice.
Please don't dissapoint and say something that doesn't start with p
Well, you can grill, smoke and sauce about anything you want, but the only thing that's BBQ is pork.
I tend to agree.
Good man! I drink to you, sir
According to my research, South Carolina does mustard-based BBQ, and Alabama does mayo-based (!!!!!!) BBQ.
Since I don't like either condiment, I submit those two for review.
That mayo sauce is weird stuff. The mustard can be very good if done well.
Lexington (NC) style sauce can be pretty good, basically the vinegar sauce with a little ketchup, but still and all, really good vinegar sauce trumps it all. Cannot imagine a mayo sauce, and don't care for the mustard sauce, myself.
the mayo sauce is typically used on chicken. Its mayo thinned down with butter and vinegar and is damn tasty on chicken. IT would be TERRIBLE on pork or beef. The mustard sauce is terrible for bbq but great for dipping french fries in.
A leg for you Sir. A better plan which saves time and $$. A fine punishment I'd say.
More like Canada, the place where they call thick ham bacon instead of using bacon as bacon
Middle East
My cousins all went to ECU and it's always a little Family Rivalry. Greeneville, NC is a nice little place with a lot of little things...food is fairly good down there.
Nice town? Other than ECU, it's a sh:t hole. When I was stationed at SJAFB in Goldsboro, we sent our flight surgeons to Greenville (Pitt memorial) to learn how to treat gunshot wounds so they could deploy w our Air Transportable Hospital to the Middle East.
Not to Raleigh, to Greenville. They had plenty of patients to get experience on. Ghettttttto.
There's nothing positive about ECU.
Garbage town. Garbage fans. Garbage school.
Girls? Well minus Captain Hook up there.
Girls! No question when I was there that's what I was enjoying about the place. Then again, I didn't stay long enough to get to know much of the town away from the college scene, it was summer, and it was about 38 years ago.....awww, nevermind.
Rivalry with ECU ??? Only in the minds of some delusional ecu people. U.................gggh. Would rather play 10 regular season games. You are correct Greenville & ecu & their fans have nothing of redeeming value.
Interesting, for c-stars in medical training we send our people to Baltimore. ...Because....well..Baltimore.
Cam Worthy was one of the best deep ball receivers in the country last year (probably second only to Devin Smith) but they have a player who's better? Color me skeptical.
On a side note, we faced 6 receivers in the top 25 in yards per reception last year. Quite the group. We generally only play two or three (Miami always has one). I think all of them have either graduated or are off the schedule this year.
seems like a bit of a stretch. he definitely had a good year, but it was more about their offensive system imo. he had 1/4 of his yards last season against us and they were all jump balls where our DBs played like French had done an article on earlier trying to play their hands. They were routine catches for him because he was high pointing the ball.
Eh, no, not really. He's the first receiver for ECU to have that type of performance and there are plenty of other receivers in air raid systems who didn't put up the same kind of numbers. His height, skill, and ability to high point the ball made him a uniquely dangerous weapon.
Even without his phenomenal performance against VT, Worthy averaged 16 ypc which is an excellent number. He was arguably a top 10 deep ball receiver last year even without his best performance. That was without running a ton of deep routes.
https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2015/04/09/cff-sig-stats-wide-rece...
if he was as good as you make him out to be don't you think he would have been drafted earlier? Also ECU has put out some pretty solid WRs and worthy didn't do jack until his senior year for them. Justin hardy was their stud WR last year and even though he didn't put up huge numbers against us he received the most attention throughout the year.
Players can be excellent in college without being good NFL prospects.
Worthy probably doesn't have the quickness to be a regular NFL receiver- he's pretty much a deep ball specialist at the next level. And there isn't much room for a guy who's main attribute is that he's a deep ball threat but without much speed. He can get away with that against smaller, slower college corners/safeties, but it isn't nearly as effective in the NFL. In addition, there were character concerns (JUCO kid who was suspended for two games right after the VT game, so he didn't even get to play against that awful UNC secondary). So no, I don't think he would've been drafted earlier solely because he had a great year. That being said, he's getting a look and having a cup of coffee in the NFL, which not everyone can say.
ECU has had great receivers before, but like with Hardy they were asked to run a variety of quicker routes in order to get the ball out in a hurry. ECU hasn't had anyone who was nearly the same deep ball threat that Worthy was since we've been playing them, hence my skepticism that they suddenly have someone even better.
Just disagreed that he was potentially the 2nd best deep ball threat in the country. It's your opinion though so no point in trying to change it.
EDIT: how many
of your threadsthreads that you involve yourself in end with this sentiment?Better?
None? I don't start threads. Do you have any input on the topic of cam worthy?
It must be shocking to you that people may have different opinions on various topics in life. Glad you are learning new things.
by the way... it's BrYan Randall.
thanks for the catch. Fixed
I've already showed you the statistics where I got that assertion from and then further supported my statement with other evidence, so... Not solely based on my opinion. Wasn't exactly a #hottake or anything.
That wasn't even the main point of what I was saying anyway. Cut it however you like, but he was a great deep ball receiver last year and I have not personally seen evidence that ECU will be able to easily replace him. Brown, the receiver mentioned, had similar yards per reception numbers but was not nearly as efficient/proficient at actually catching the balls that came his way- the yards per attempt numbers were a fair bit lower.
http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2015/4/29/8504985/east-carolina...
hey..you...stop using all the evidence bull crap...that's dangerous 'round here /s
I just looked it up.... we're playing ECU 8 times over the next 10 years.
Absurd. I'm tired of this forced 'rivalry'. The extension that Whit signed to this rivalry is the worst thing he's done since he has taken over, and one of the few things I vehemently disagree with. This stupid thing needs to end, and the sooner the better.
Not one of Whit's best moves.
I don't mind playing them sometimes, but a yearly series seems like pure laziness.
Spread it around a little.
VT needs to opt out!
Boy, nothing like creating a rivalry game with a non-P5 opponent... Thanks Jim
They view this match up as a big time rivalry game, where we dread it because we have absolutely nothing to gain by beating them.
And that's why this game royally sucks from our perspective. We have little to nothing to gain and everything to lose. We drop one game against ECU, it doesn't matter how good they are, it'll destroy our season. We lost to them last year at the end of the game when we were ranked #17 the week after beating the #8 team on the road and the next week we're unranked. The kicker is, ECU was actually a good team at that point, but nobody cared. We lost to them, we must suck, time to drop them from the polls. And then you have years like 2011 when we beat them on the road only to see our ranking drop from #11 to #13. Damned if you win, fucked if you lose. How is that good for us?
And the worst part is, this is a game we view as a tune up to our season, and a game they annually view as their chance to prove themselves to the nation. This is the game they circle on their calendars every year, pulling out every stop, treating as their Super Bowl, and we go into it withholding plays so we can surprise the teams in the important part of our schedule. How is this good for us?
And the $EC plays cupcakes in week 12+ yet gets to claim #ToughestSchedule
Except besides the annual part how is that any different from any G5 game? You don't think Marshall, Ark St, WMU, and of course Cincy haven't all looked at the game against us as a potential statement for their seasons?
Spoiler alert, yourre a fool if you think they don't.
At least we aren't paying out millions of dollars for a beatdown like the FCS teams, and at the end of the day why are you mad about playing a team we win against 80% of the time? I would murder a puppy if it meant we won 80% of the time against the likes of UNC and BC who arguably have similar talent levels as ECU.
Except for the dong, your uncle could be your aunt...
You can't say "oh, well except for it being an annual matchup, this is no different than ____". The whole reason this sucks at the level it does is because its an annual game. Schedule a home and home with them once a decade... Hey, I've got no problem with that. Where I have the problem is when you're trying to force it as an annual rivalry where they play us enough to intimately learn our ways in a series where they value the game on a completely different level than we do.
You don't schedule an annual OOC rivalry in a no-win scenario. If we're going to have this kind of annual warmup against a decent opponent, at least spread it around. Don't let a single team in a lower level learn too much about the way you play, especially when a single loss to them could ruin an entire season.
I think this is the key to the frustration. The reason ACC matchups are such a tossup is because of the competition factor from knowing your opponent so well. ECU in part knows our team just as well as any ACC team but doesn't come with the luster of an ACC victory if we win. That is why its lose-lose for us.
Except by that same line of thinking we should have less to fear from ECU then any other G5 team. We learn and are familiar with them to the same level. You are being dishonest with only saying the familiarity benefits ECU.
And at the end of the day there is a wide disparity between good and bad G5 teams. As they have shown in the past 5 years the pollsters are big fans of ECU, and look much more favorably on a victory over them then say Tulane, or UConn.
We don't care enough about ECU to break out all the stops against them on an annual basis. We may know their tendencies, but we only go into these games with half a playbook running only the most vanilla plays to not show anything before the ACC slate. Whereas ECU doesn't have that issue, because we're the team that they would be holding those kind of plays for.
Now you are stretching. I would like you to provide a single reputable source saying the team has purposely gone into an ECU game not trying to win and doing all they can, not a speculative post, an actual quote from a player or coach.
Hell last year we tied the record for all time pass attempts in a VT game. Do you think we would have done that if we didnt want to tip to the rest of the ACC just how shaky our run game was after the much more balanced game the week before at tOSU?
the ONLY good thing I can come with about this series is that we play a game in North Carolina ever year. if the ACC hadn't screwed up our schedule so Duke & UNC were on the same rotation, we wouldn't need to schedule ECU so much. (2015: away@ECU, home vs UNC, & Dook.. and NC State FFS)
Is that huge guy on defense one of the ones that has left?
Yes, I believe so.
yeah boulder dude is back
Terrible Terry Williams, and yes, he is gone.
So fat. So good. So glad he's gone.
It would be really nice if Tim Settle can be better than this guy.
It'd be nice if Tim Settle could be better than every guard and center in the country.
Terry Williams will stand out to me as the best defensive player I've seen us play against in recent memory
Ndamukong Suh easily earned that honor for me a few years back when Nebraska visited Lane. That dude was a terror on the defensive line, knocking down pass after pass.
That's funny, I remember thinking that whole game that Tyrod's mobility completely neutralized Suh. I looked it up, and Tyrod was 9-15 for 171 yards (QBR=73.7). As a team we rushed 55 times for 206 yards (3.7 Avg). I don't know if the six incompletes were batted down or what, but my enduring memory of that game is Suh looking mortal while Tyrod worked around him.
I have that same impression because the signature play of the game involved TT moving around in the pocket and eluding Suh just long enough to rifle that winning TD pass to Dyrell Roberts. Overall during the game Suh made it into the backfield plenty of times but TT's mobility seemed to save us a bunch of negative yardage.
Hate to break it to you, but your stats are not from the correct game against Nebraska. You're thinking of 2008, when we played in Lincoln — I'm referring to the 2009 game at Lane.
In 2009, we ran 37 times for 86 total yards. RMFW ran for 107 on 21 carries, but Tyrod ran for -22 yards (sacked 4 times) on 9 carries. Tyrod went 12-27 for 192 yards and his yardage was buoyed by the sideline bomb to Danny Coale and the 11-yard pass TD pass to Roberts.
Suh got his hands on a number of balls — more than I can recall any single defensive player in a game against the Hokies. Sure, Tyrod's height didn't help, but Suh was disruptive as hell. Regardless, putting up decent rushing numbers and a solid QBR isn't indicative of a defensive player's minimal impact on a game.
Suh finished with 8 tackles, 0.5 sacks and 4 passes defended. Was it a Dadi-versus-Pitt or a ManBearPig-versus-GT game? No, but it was frustrating as hell to watch from the east stands.
Thanks for the additional info. I stand corrected.
wow..I would have sworn up and down that we played them in Lane first and then in Lincoln the following year. My memory is not good
Aaron Donald wasn't awful in 2013.
The hideousness of that woman(?)s face will haunt my dreams forever.
Tell me that angry grandmother in the photo doesn't curl your toes.
Clearly, that guy with her can handle a lot. His former career must have been lion tamer.
Glad she's unhappy during a VT game, though. Just don't be near her in the parking lot or at the beer stand.
She's probably nice when her head isn't spinning.
He was probably a ref for women's wrastlin
I guess I am wrong. Thought I has read otherwise.
I live in Greenville, so I like the matchup. However, it is absurd how many times the game is played considering VT only plays certain conference opponents once in a blue moon. There are a lot of similarities in how devoted the fan bases are though.
And yeah, Parker's meh. But B's barbecue is the shit.
If in town come by Basil's. The Frank Beamer signed ball is front and center with the ECU memorabilia in the bar, and the restaurant is very Hokie friendly (know the owners...)
I feel like this series wouldn't be so bad if every other ECU home game were held in Charlotte.
...for the Crootin'!
We need to get ECU into the ACC so we only have to play them once every 8 years.
i laughed
'til you cried, I bet.
Certainly for me. One of those hysterical laughs that ends up with tears of dismay.
so did I. Then I realized that if they did join, they'd probably end up in the coastal to uphold of our pre-existing "rivalry" FML
Either that, or become VT's new cross-divisional rival.
At least the game would have value for us in that case
But be like Pitt...annoying the crap out of us with no end in sight.
At least now we have hope that the contract will lapse someday.
I'd argue that good barbecue will stand on it's own and not need any sauce.