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Pirates’ Williams, Whitley play waiting game
By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — While several East Carolina football fans are anxious to see what the freshmen running backs can do, Pirate coach Skip Holtz said Jonathan Williams and Norm Whitley will have to wait their turn.
The Pirates (1-1), who play host to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-1) at sold-out Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this Saturday, have been rather anemic in the ground game this season. ECU has just 206 yards on 68 carries, a meager 3.0 average-per-rush, in the two games.
“We’ve played some pretty good front fours (against Virginia Tech and North Carolina),” Holtz said. “We’re about to play another one. We will have played three really good defensive football teams.
“I think right now it’s just a matter of looking at the fundamentals and where we are with our offensive line and with our schemes. I’d like to be able to turn and get the ball in our tailbacks hands a little more than we are. We’re in a one-back scheme most of the time at this point just because I don’t feel like our offensive line is ready to put a saddle on as young as they are. We have some senior tailbacks, but we don’t have a veteran offensive line.”
Quarterback Patrick Pinkney leads the Pirates in rushing with 70 yards. Dominique Lindsay has run for 69 yards (3.3 yards average-per-rush.
Chris Johnson has 47 yards (2.6 yards average-per-rush).
Holtz would love to get his freshmen backs involved in the ground game, but he’s just waiting for the right opportunity.
“Both Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley are close (to running the ball),” Holtz said. “We’ve been in some close football games and it’s just hard, when you have two guys with the experience of Chris Johnson and Dominique Lindsay, to put them on the sideline to play two freshmen and then, all of a sudden, they fumble and you lose the football game.
“I know everybody is itching to see them, but we’re itching to compete, too, as a football team. I’ve got an obligation to be fair to the seniors to put the people on that field that gives us the best chance to win.”
Williams, a 6-1, 207-pounder out of J.H. Rose High School, has touched the ball twice this season, both on kickoff returns. He electrified the crowd with a 63-yarder against North Carolina and has a 39.0 average on the two returns. Williams also has one special teams tackle.
Whitley, a 5-9, 187-pounder, has also played on special teams. He put a lick on UNC safety Trimane Goddard during a return that caused Goddard to stay on the ground for a bit.
“They’re both on special teams right now,” Holtz said. “We’re trying to get them in about 20 plays a game from a special teams standpoint and see what they do. I’ve got an adage that if I can trust you with a little, I can trust you with a lot.
“If I can trust you to go in there on special teams and run down there on kickoffs and hold your gap and make a tackle; if I can trust you on punt team to go the right way on our punt block and hold your guy up, then I start getting to the point where I can trust you a little bit more to play you and to know what you’re doing.”
Holtz said he wants Williams and Whitley to earn their playing time.
“On the practice field, I want to see them be able to run with the ball high and tight and protect the football,” Holtz said. “I want to see them know their assignments and get into the huddle knowing what to do.
“I told both of them, ‘you earn it out here (on the practice field), you show it out there (on the playing field.’ They’re both close. The opportunity just hasn’t been right. They will play this year and they’re both going to be very talented backs.”
Holtz sees a bright future for Williams and Whitley.
“I think three years from now we’ll be in better shape at running back with those two being juniors than we’re in now,” he said.” I think they’re very talented; I think they’re big; they’re physical; they’re fast; they can run; they have balance.
“I think they’re going to be phenomenal backs.”
The Pirates (1-1), who play host to the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (1-1) at sold-out Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this Saturday, have been rather anemic in the ground game this season. ECU has just 206 yards on 68 carries, a meager 3.0 average-per-rush, in the two games.
“We’ve played some pretty good front fours (against Virginia Tech and North Carolina),” Holtz said. “We’re about to play another one. We will have played three really good defensive football teams.
“I think right now it’s just a matter of looking at the fundamentals and where we are with our offensive line and with our schemes. I’d like to be able to turn and get the ball in our tailbacks hands a little more than we are. We’re in a one-back scheme most of the time at this point just because I don’t feel like our offensive line is ready to put a saddle on as young as they are. We have some senior tailbacks, but we don’t have a veteran offensive line.”
Quarterback Patrick Pinkney leads the Pirates in rushing with 70 yards. Dominique Lindsay has run for 69 yards (3.3 yards average-per-rush.
Chris Johnson has 47 yards (2.6 yards average-per-rush).
Holtz would love to get his freshmen backs involved in the ground game, but he’s just waiting for the right opportunity.
“Both Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley are close (to running the ball),” Holtz said. “We’ve been in some close football games and it’s just hard, when you have two guys with the experience of Chris Johnson and Dominique Lindsay, to put them on the sideline to play two freshmen and then, all of a sudden, they fumble and you lose the football game.
“I know everybody is itching to see them, but we’re itching to compete, too, as a football team. I’ve got an obligation to be fair to the seniors to put the people on that field that gives us the best chance to win.”
Williams, a 6-1, 207-pounder out of J.H. Rose High School, has touched the ball twice this season, both on kickoff returns. He electrified the crowd with a 63-yarder against North Carolina and has a 39.0 average on the two returns. Williams also has one special teams tackle.
Whitley, a 5-9, 187-pounder, has also played on special teams. He put a lick on UNC safety Trimane Goddard during a return that caused Goddard to stay on the ground for a bit.
“They’re both on special teams right now,” Holtz said. “We’re trying to get them in about 20 plays a game from a special teams standpoint and see what they do. I’ve got an adage that if I can trust you with a little, I can trust you with a lot.
“If I can trust you to go in there on special teams and run down there on kickoffs and hold your gap and make a tackle; if I can trust you on punt team to go the right way on our punt block and hold your guy up, then I start getting to the point where I can trust you a little bit more to play you and to know what you’re doing.”
Holtz said he wants Williams and Whitley to earn their playing time.
“On the practice field, I want to see them be able to run with the ball high and tight and protect the football,” Holtz said. “I want to see them know their assignments and get into the huddle knowing what to do.
“I told both of them, ‘you earn it out here (on the practice field), you show it out there (on the playing field.’ They’re both close. The opportunity just hasn’t been right. They will play this year and they’re both going to be very talented backs.”
Holtz sees a bright future for Williams and Whitley.
“I think three years from now we’ll be in better shape at running back with those two being juniors than we’re in now,” he said.” I think they’re very talented; I think they’re big; they’re physical; they’re fast; they can run; they have balance.
“I think they’re going to be phenomenal backs.”
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