Bonesville: The Authoritative Independent Voice of ECU

East Carolina defensive back Warren Saba spoke with reporters via Zoom after the Pirates were defeated by Georgia State on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020, at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta. (AUDIO ONLY)

XAVIER SMITH:

Join Al Myatt and Kevin Monroe for the Bonesville Pregame Podcast as East Carolina prepares for a noon kickoff on Saturday at Center Parc Stadium in Atlanta against Sun Belt member Georgia State.

With decades of experience as a sports journalist, Myatt has been an anchor columnist for Bonesville since the site’s founding in 2001. Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate IMG Sports Network and a former ECU player, is contributing to Bonesville for the 13th straight year.

Myatt and Monroe analyze the Pirates and their opponent ahead of kickoff each week. Their Pregame Podcast is posted the day before game day.

 

East Carolina football coach Mike Houston spoke with the news media via Zoom in his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020. Coming off a season-opening loss to Central Florida, the Pirates are preparing for a Saturday road matchup with Georgia State. (AUDIO ONLY).

 

East Carolina coach Mike Houston spoke with reporters via Zoom after the Pirates were defeated by Central Florida on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in the season opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. (AUDIO ONLY)

MIKE HOUSTON:

East Carolina quarterback Holton Ahlers spoke with reporters via Zoom after the Pirates were defeated by Central Florida on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in the season opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. (AUDIO ONLY)

HOLTON AHLERS:

East Carolina inside linebacker Xavier Smith spoke with reporters via Zoom after the Pirates were defeated by Central Florida on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in the season opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. (AUDIO ONLY)

XAVIER SMITH:

Join Al Myatt and Kevin Monroe for the Bonesville Pregame Podcast as East Carolina prepares for a noon kickoff on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium against American Athletic Conference rival Central Florida.

With decades of experience as a sports journalist, Myatt has been an anchor columnist for Bonesville since the site’s founding in 2001. Monroe, color analyst for the Pirate IMG Sports Network and a former ECU player, is contributing to Bonesville for the 13th straight year.

Myatt and Monroe analyze the Pirates and their opponent ahead of kickoff each week. Their Pregame Podcast is posted the day before game day.

 

East Carolina football coach Mike Houston spoke with the news media via Zoom after a rainy practice on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020, as the Pirates continued preparing for the season opener with American Athletic Conference rival Central Florida.

Houston said Thursday’s practice would be the last regular session of the week and that the focus would change to game situation simulations on Friday.

Houston commented on a number of individual players. He said that junior running back Darius Pinnix Jr. has had “a great preseason” and will be “a big part of the game plan for game one.” He indicated that freshman quarterback Ryan Stubblefield has accepted the challenge of deploying his significant athletic abilities to play wide receiver this season and that center Fernando Frye, a graduate student, has displayed leadership abilities and become “the general of the offensive line.”

In his second year at the helm of the Pirates, Houston expressed sorrow that only 50 tickets are allocated for players’ parents to attend the opener in 50,000-seat Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The tickets will be issued to the parents of upperclassmen. “You’re going to have parents miss the first game of their son’s career next Saturday,” he said. “… It’s hard for me when one player’s parents can be there and another player’s can’t. That’s just a tragedy.” University officials announced earlier this month that the opener will be closed to the public due to COVID-19 concerns.

In the absences of a throng of fans, there will likely be some enthusiastic cheering from the sidelines. Houston said that health officials will “test all 118 players three times next week. … So we expect all 118 — minus the current one positive (COVID-19 test) we have — to be on the sideline in some capacity for the game next week.” The player that will be absent due to the positive test was not identified.

Houston also responded to a question about the election season. “This summer we registered all of our players to vote,” he said. “… All of our players are either registered here to vote in Pitt county or by absentee ballot back home. … We’re making sure to have election day as an off day so that all of our coaches and players can participate.”

ECU and UCF will face off at noon on Sept. 26 (TV: ESPN+).

(CLICK PLAY BUTTON ON MEDIA PLAYER BELOW TO PLAY AUDIO OF HOUSTON’S PRESS CONFERENCE.)

 

East Carolina football coach Mike Houston spoke with the news media via Zoom after practice on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020, as the Pirates continued preparing for the season opener with Central Florida. The American Athletic Conference rivals will face off at noon on Sept. 26 (TV: ESPN+) at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The full-pads workout encompassed drills involving the offense and defense and devoted significant attention to the coverage teams and kicking game. Live field goal/field goal block work was the focus near the end of practice.

Houston indicated that many players previously quarantined or isolated under COVID-19 guidelines have either resumed practice or are progressing through the return-to-play protocol. He said there is one player still out of action after testing positive for COVID-19. The player, who was not identified, is not expected to be available for the opener, said Houston. (AUDIO ONLY).

 

East Carolina football coach Mike Houston spoke with the news media via Zoom after the Pirates capped off preseason camp with a scrimmage on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020. Houston said the  scrimmage was not scripted and was conducted as a full-pads game simulation governed by an experienced officiating crew that included six American Athletic Conference officials.

The scrimmage consisted of 77 offensive plays and about a dozen special teams plays before lightning in the area brought a halt to the action, said Houston. The coach noted that there were “some big plays for both sides and some busts for both sides.”

Houston indicated he was pleased with the progress of the defense since the last scrimmage. The defense recorded 13 tackles for loss and freshman linebacker Eric Doctor provided a highlight when he intercepted a pass and returned it 40 yards for a touchdown.

Regarding the performance of the offense, Houston praised the receivers and said “all of our quarterbacks played decent.” Junior Holton Ahlers started and played three series. Redshirt freshman Alex Flinn and true freshman Mason Garcia combined to direct the final ten drives. The offense piled up 427 total yards on the day.

In the closing moments of the press conference, Houston made it clear the team’s focus will now turn to preparations for the Sept. 26 season opener with Central Florida at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. “Looking forward to two weeks from tomorrow,” he said. “We’ll actually be talking about games.”

University officials announced earlier this month that the opener will be closed to the public due to COVID-19 concerns. (AUDIO ONLY).