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Harris is a potent playmaker for Pirates
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By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
Dwayne Harris is quick and elusive. He has great vision and awareness. And he’s dangerous in the open field.
So this season, East Carolina’s coaching staff has made it a point to get the ball into Harris’ hands.
“The coaches told me after the Boise State game last year that I needed to step up and take on a bigger role this year,” Harris said. “They told me they wanted to get the ball into my hands 10 to 15 times per game and see if I could make plays. That’s what I am trying to do.”
In 2007, Harris made a name for himself as one of Conference USA’s elite punt returners, racking up an average of 8.1 yards per return en route to being named to Conference USA’s All-Freshman team.
While special teams were his knack, he also made an impact on the offense as one of the team’s most versatile players. During his freshman campaign, Harris lined up at wide receiver, running back, and at time quarterback.
He finished his inaugural season at ECU with 782 all-purpose yards, second among all Pirates behind all-everything running back Chris Johnson. Harris reeled in 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, rushed 20 times for 197 yards and a score, and completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamar Bryant.
“We want to get the ball into Dwayne Harris’ hands,” Coach Skip Holtz said. “He’s special with the ball under his arm.”
This year, the explosive wide out has stepped into the full-time wide receiver role vacated by Steven Rogers.
And he’s already made a tremendous impact on East Carolina’s offense.
In the season opener against Virginia Tech, the sophomore from Georgia, corralled four passes for a career-high 68 yards, and also carried the ball four times for 32 yards to help lead the Pirates past the Hokies.
Then last week, he had another career day in leading East Carolina past No. 8 West Virginia. Against the Mountaineers, Harris hauled in a career-best eight catches and matched his career-high with 68 receiving yards.
His 12 receptions rank eighth in Conference USA this season.
“Dwayne does so much for our offense,” senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney said. “We need to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands and he’s one of our best.
“He can do so much with the ball,” Pinkney added. “When you have a player like him, it makes everyone’s job easier because you know he’s going to make big plays for us.”
A lot of Harris’ receptions have come on swing passes in the flats and wide receiver screens. Harris says those are his favorite routes.
“I like to get out in open space and try to make people miss,” Harris said. “I feel like if I get out there in a one-on-one situation, nobody can stop me.”
So far, nobody has been able to stop the fleet-footed wide receiver. And if Harris’ predictions are right, nobody will stop him in the future either.
“I’m only going to get better,” Harris said. “I’ve only started three games, and I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement. If I keep working hard, I think I can be a lot better.”
Now there’s a scary thought for the rest of Conference USA.
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Green Wave say ECU may be better than Alabama
By STEVE FRANKLIN
Sports Writer
Tulane opened its season last Saturday against one of the nation’s elite programs, standing toe-to-toe with No. 13 Alabama before a pair of punt team blunders led to Crimson Tide touchdowns in a 20-6 loss.
This week, the challenge doesn’t get any easier for the Green Wave as No. 14 East Carolina visits the Louisiana Superdome on Saturday.
“I’ve said to one person, I think East Carolina might be better than Alabama,” Tulane coach Bob Toledo said at his weekly press conference. “They beat a really good Virginia Tech team. Beat them at their own game, blocking a punt. And they beat a really good West Virginia team this last week. They have not surprised me.
“When we started the season I told a lot of people that in my mind they were the best team (in the conference) this year,” Toledo continued. “I think they’ve got probably the most players returning and they’ve got the best group of players as a whole returning. So it doesn’t surprise me that right now they’re ranked 14th in the nation. If I were a betting man, I would’ve told you they were going to probably win those first two games and they have. They’re experienced. They’re extremely physical. They’re very athletic. I just think they’re an outstanding team.”
Green Wave quarterback Kevin Moore, who made his first collegiate start against Alabama, said that after viewing tape of East Carolina, he’d have to agree with his coach.
“They’re a scary team,” Moore said. “They’ll be one of the best teams we play all season. East Carolina has an unbelievable defense. They’re fast and physical and they make a lot of plays.
“They are playing fantastic football right now,” Moore added. “The ranking next to their name is very well deserved.”
Freshman tailback Nathan Austin is particularly impressed with East Carolina’s defensive front seven.
“They’re going to be tough to run against,” Austin said. “They’re big and physical up front and their linebackers fly around and make plays. Alabama was a good team, but in my opinion East Carolina looks better. They’re more physical than Alabama, and they’re a lot more aggressive. I doubt we’ll see a better defense than East Carolina’s this season.”
Offensively, the Green Wave have been particularly impressed by ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney who has completed 80.4 percent of his passes this season.
“ECU has a lot of explosive playmakers on the offensive side of the ball,” Green Wave senior linebacker Jordan Ellis said. “It starts with their quarterback. Patrick Pinkney is a playmaker and he can hurt you in a lot of different ways. We will have our hands full trying to stop him this weekend.”
While Tulane is very appreciative of what East Carolina and coach Skip Holtz have done over the last two weeks, they won’t be laying down for the Pirates just because they’re the No. 14 team in the country.
The Green Wave haven’t beaten a top 25 team in 26 years and they’re excited about the opportunity to get a crack at the Pirates.
‘I think it’s great for Conference USA to have a team ranked in the top 25,” Moore said. “It gives us a little more recognition and it also gives us someone to gun for. We’ll be up for this game. It’s going to be a great challenge for our program.”
So this season, East Carolina’s coaching staff has made it a point to get the ball into Harris’ hands.
“The coaches told me after the Boise State game last year that I needed to step up and take on a bigger role this year,” Harris said. “They told me they wanted to get the ball into my hands 10 to 15 times per game and see if I could make plays. That’s what I am trying to do.”
In 2007, Harris made a name for himself as one of Conference USA’s elite punt returners, racking up an average of 8.1 yards per return en route to being named to Conference USA’s All-Freshman team.
While special teams were his knack, he also made an impact on the offense as one of the team’s most versatile players. During his freshman campaign, Harris lined up at wide receiver, running back, and at time quarterback.
He finished his inaugural season at ECU with 782 all-purpose yards, second among all Pirates behind all-everything running back Chris Johnson. Harris reeled in 26 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns, rushed 20 times for 197 yards and a score, and completed an 80-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jamar Bryant.
“We want to get the ball into Dwayne Harris’ hands,” Coach Skip Holtz said. “He’s special with the ball under his arm.”
This year, the explosive wide out has stepped into the full-time wide receiver role vacated by Steven Rogers.
And he’s already made a tremendous impact on East Carolina’s offense.
In the season opener against Virginia Tech, the sophomore from Georgia, corralled four passes for a career-high 68 yards, and also carried the ball four times for 32 yards to help lead the Pirates past the Hokies.
Then last week, he had another career day in leading East Carolina past No. 8 West Virginia. Against the Mountaineers, Harris hauled in a career-best eight catches and matched his career-high with 68 receiving yards.
His 12 receptions rank eighth in Conference USA this season.
“Dwayne does so much for our offense,” senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney said. “We need to get the ball into our playmakers’ hands and he’s one of our best.
“He can do so much with the ball,” Pinkney added. “When you have a player like him, it makes everyone’s job easier because you know he’s going to make big plays for us.”
A lot of Harris’ receptions have come on swing passes in the flats and wide receiver screens. Harris says those are his favorite routes.
“I like to get out in open space and try to make people miss,” Harris said. “I feel like if I get out there in a one-on-one situation, nobody can stop me.”
So far, nobody has been able to stop the fleet-footed wide receiver. And if Harris’ predictions are right, nobody will stop him in the future either.
“I’m only going to get better,” Harris said. “I’ve only started three games, and I’ve still got a lot of room for improvement. If I keep working hard, I think I can be a lot better.”
Now there’s a scary thought for the rest of Conference USA.
—————
Green Wave say ECU may be better than Alabama
By STEVE FRANKLIN
Sports Writer
Tulane opened its season last Saturday against one of the nation’s elite programs, standing toe-to-toe with No. 13 Alabama before a pair of punt team blunders led to Crimson Tide touchdowns in a 20-6 loss.
This week, the challenge doesn’t get any easier for the Green Wave as No. 14 East Carolina visits the Louisiana Superdome on Saturday.
“I’ve said to one person, I think East Carolina might be better than Alabama,” Tulane coach Bob Toledo said at his weekly press conference. “They beat a really good Virginia Tech team. Beat them at their own game, blocking a punt. And they beat a really good West Virginia team this last week. They have not surprised me.
“When we started the season I told a lot of people that in my mind they were the best team (in the conference) this year,” Toledo continued. “I think they’ve got probably the most players returning and they’ve got the best group of players as a whole returning. So it doesn’t surprise me that right now they’re ranked 14th in the nation. If I were a betting man, I would’ve told you they were going to probably win those first two games and they have. They’re experienced. They’re extremely physical. They’re very athletic. I just think they’re an outstanding team.”
Green Wave quarterback Kevin Moore, who made his first collegiate start against Alabama, said that after viewing tape of East Carolina, he’d have to agree with his coach.
“They’re a scary team,” Moore said. “They’ll be one of the best teams we play all season. East Carolina has an unbelievable defense. They’re fast and physical and they make a lot of plays.
“They are playing fantastic football right now,” Moore added. “The ranking next to their name is very well deserved.”
Freshman tailback Nathan Austin is particularly impressed with East Carolina’s defensive front seven.
“They’re going to be tough to run against,” Austin said. “They’re big and physical up front and their linebackers fly around and make plays. Alabama was a good team, but in my opinion East Carolina looks better. They’re more physical than Alabama, and they’re a lot more aggressive. I doubt we’ll see a better defense than East Carolina’s this season.”
Offensively, the Green Wave have been particularly impressed by ECU quarterback Patrick Pinkney who has completed 80.4 percent of his passes this season.
“ECU has a lot of explosive playmakers on the offensive side of the ball,” Green Wave senior linebacker Jordan Ellis said. “It starts with their quarterback. Patrick Pinkney is a playmaker and he can hurt you in a lot of different ways. We will have our hands full trying to stop him this weekend.”
While Tulane is very appreciative of what East Carolina and coach Skip Holtz have done over the last two weeks, they won’t be laying down for the Pirates just because they’re the No. 14 team in the country.
The Green Wave haven’t beaten a top 25 team in 26 years and they’re excited about the opportunity to get a crack at the Pirates.
‘I think it’s great for Conference USA to have a team ranked in the top 25,” Moore said. “It gives us a little more recognition and it also gives us someone to gun for. We’ll be up for this game. It’s going to be a great challenge for our program.”
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| Lawrence anxious to get on the field |
