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UK Football: East Carolina impresses UK defensive coach Brown

December 21, 2008|LARRY VAUGHT

LEXINGTON - Even though East Carolina does not have a marquee offensive player, Kentucky defensive coordinator Steve Brown says that makes for a unique star system for the Pirates.

"They do have stars in the sense that they all have the ability to make plays," said Brown as he prepares to face East Carolina on Jan. 2 in Memphis, Tenn., in the Liberty Bowl. "You think you can shut down this running back, then another one comes in and pops a big run.

"Against several opponents this year, they had different guys all play equal roles as far as production. And they all have one goal in common - win the game. To me, that's what you want from your stars."

Quarterback Pat Pinkney leads the offense. He's 205-for-327 passing for 2,379 yards with 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions. His top target has been Dwayne Harris, who has 58 catches for 654 yards and one score. Drew has 38 receptions for 575 yards and three scores and five other players have 15 or more receptions.

"They have an athletic quarterback. The quarterback does a good job getting on the edge because he can run well and they run the quarterback run game with him," Brown said. "He throws the ball fairly well. He is just a winning quarterback in the sense that he protects the football. He doesn't do things to beat them, and that has been key to their success."

The Pirates average 128.3 yards rushing per game and have two backs - Jon Williams and Norman Whitley - averaging more than 50 yards per game.

East Carolina averages 3.4 yards per rushing play and 7.1 yards per pass play.

"They do a lot of good things. One thing they do is that they are an aggressive team - period. They run the ball very well and they have three or four backs they play a lot that are all different style runners, but are all very productive," Brown said. "We have to make sure we get in the weight room and get ready because it is going to be a physical game."

Brown says any team that can beat West Virginia and Virginia Tech like East Carolina did during the season can compare well to most Southeastern Conference teams.

"They do a great job of ball control. They are just a good, solid team," the Kentucky defensive coordinator said. "Their line is very well coached and very, very physical. They are like SEC lines. They change things and do a good job of keeping you off stride. They will be a major, major test for our defense and hopefully our guys understand how good they are even if they don't have that one big-name star."

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