East Carolina Pirates NCAA Football News

We start moving East with the NCAA Crystal Ball, taking a look at Conference USA this week.

Coach: Skip Holtz . Staff In 2008: 9-5 overall, 6-2 in Conference USA . Beat Tulsa in the C-USA championship game; lost to Kentucky in the Liberty Bowl.

On a Friday in late January, word from the NCAA arrived. The good news indicated that East Carolina quarterback Patrick Pinkney was granted a sixth year of eligibility, which enhanced the Pirates' chances for a possible second straight Conference USA championship.

Wooten will leave North Carolina but isn't sure which school he'll attend next. He knows, however, that he wants to handle all of the kicking for a program in the Football Bowl Subdivision, something he wasn't going to be able to do at North Carolina .

As the season draws closer with each passing day, you can feel the anticipation of college football fans nationwide.

It's not necessarily a guarantee, but Dakota Marshall has something in mind when it comes to his East Carolina football team's tough 2009 schedule.

In the pass-happy, point-per minute Conference USA, you better be pretty good to keep pace with an opponent.

Whether it was lack of preparation or just a simple case of overconfidence, the 2008 Mountaineers traveled to East Carolina University and matched its lowest scoring total since a 41-3 loss to the University of Miami in 2001 in a 24-3 loss to the Pirates.

Tight end Davon Drew agreed to a three-year deal that includes just less than $140,000 in guaranteed money with the Ravens, the team announced Thursday.

The Ravens haven't declared tight end a state of emergency yet, but they are keeping a cautious eye on the position.

There were several NCAA Division I schools in pursuit of Thomas Johnson linebacker Jeremy Grove.

Considering Davon Drew has only been a tight end for three years, it is easy to see why his rise to the Ravens as a sixth-round draft pick is all the more impressive.

Conference USA Spring Prospectus: No. 1 East Carolina poised to claim rare back-to-back league championships posted by Iliana LimA3n on May 19, 2009 11:01:49 AM When quarterback Patrick Pinkney was granted his millionth year of eligibility, East Carolina tightened its grip on the top spot in Conference USA.

Top returners: QB Patrick Pinkney , DE C.J. Wilson, FS Van Eskridge, WR Dwayne Harris , LB Nick Johnson, LG Terence Campbell, C Sean Allen, RG Cory Dowless, RT D.J. Scott, CB Travis Simmons, OLB Jeremy Chambliss, K Ben Hartman Key losses: TE Davon Drew , RB Brandon Simmons , DE Zack Slate, LB Pierre Bell, CB Leon Best 2008 statistical leaders ...

Tme for a Tuesday take. If you plant tomato seeds this spring, would you pass judgment on the plant in ten days? No, you'd give it months.

Former East Carolina defensive tackle Khalif Mitchell has signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, the team announced Thursday.

Broncos: Tackle Stanley Bryant of East Carolina agreed to terms with Denver on a free-agent contract yesterday.

The Baltimore Ravens have selected ECU Tight End Davon Drew with the 13th pick of the 5th round.

While C-USA could have its share of player dismissals, defections and off-season incidents during the same time frame, I'm going to take a run at early predictions, anyway.

Davon Drew wasn't sitting in the green room at Radio City Music Hall, wearing a suit and mugging for television cameras.