Instant Interview Replay: Coach John Thompson

Instant Interview Replay: Coach John Thompson

05/27/2003

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- ECU head football coach John Thompson joined ECUpirates.com for a live, online chat session on Tuesday afternoon. Following is a complete transcript of his responses.

Carson H. : How would you describe your scheduling philosophy?
John Thompson : Obviously, we're talking about non-conference here. I would hope that we would continue first to look in-state anytime we get the opportunity. It adds a lot to the state and what we want to be about here. Outside the state, I would hope that we would always play somewhat of a national game that could possibly be a top 10 program. I would also like a medium-level game, and also be able to bring a top-name opponent to Dowdy-Ficklen.

DC/MD Pirate : Will there be any changes to our home and away uniforms? Thanks!
John Thompson : We are still looking at some possible changes. We've added a couple different designs on our jerseys, but probably not even noticable unless you've studied them. I'd be curious to know what people thought about our uniforms.

T Lewis : What do you think will happen to ECU with all the conference shake-ups going on?
John Thompson : That's a question that we're all concerned about. I believe we have a tremendous amount to offer in any conference. Conference USA is a very good conference, but whatever it takes to strengthen ourself in terms of BCS or in terms of helping us attain a BCS level, we need to attack and be proactive, which we are being. Until everything else happens with the Big East and ACC, we just have to be poised and ready. It's hard to say what will happen, but I think we're at a crossroads.

Shawn : How do you feel about having the visitor's bench behind our student section? Will there be a move?
John Thompson : I have had some talks with our administrators about that. You want to take every competitive advantage that you're allowed at home. Having the sun not in our eyes, having the chains across the field, and having our student section be a distraction to our opponents all seem like competitive advantages to me. There are some things that we have to get worked out, but we'll see.

Durham Pirate : How have you and the new staff been recieved by the in-state high schools?
John Thompson : Exceptionally well. We have a great staff that loves to recruit and really enjoys meeting high school coaches and going in and being a part of the coaching family of this state and the states where we recruit. The personality and willingness of our guys to get out there have been very well accepted.

cma : Coach has you family enjoyed Greenville so far? How has the non-football adjustment been?
John Thompson : My wife and two sons really love living in Greenville.. We couldn't be happier with our school. We still haven't found a church home yet, but we're looking hard. We've got great neighbors. The friendliness and warmth of this community has been overwhelming to us. We're really happy here.

Chris Cary, NC : The ECU vs. UNC game is the biggest of the upcoming season in most individuals' opinion. Coming from a different area of the nation, how have you adjusted to the rivalries in North Carolina and how do you view that particular game?
John Thompson : I know that that is a huge game, but it is down the line. It is October 11. I don't want to slight that game in any way, but our conference opener and our season opener is what our focus is on now. I'm excited about the opportunity of both West Virginia and North Carolina coming in here. I know this sounds like coach-speak, but we play them one at a time and every game will be big.

Chesapeake Pirate : Do you have a feel for defensive progress at this early point, and what will we work on in August prior to the Cincinnati game?
John Thompson : I think our defense made progress in the spring, but we went at it with the approach of let's expose them to as much of the system as we could in 15 practices. With that said, I think our growth will be faster in August than it was in spring practice. By that I mean our guys now have a better understanding of the entire system. We've put in the whole system, now we'll come back and break it down. Everything this spring was brand new to our defense, so the learning curve was a little bit slower on defense than on offense because we were able to keep some of the same terminology on the offensive side. We weren't able to do that at all on defense.

OBX Pirate : Coach, have you had the chance to enjoy some "down east" BBQ?
John Thompson : [Laughs] I've had a lot of barbecue over the last few weeks! The Pirate Club chapters are very fond of the Downeast BBQ. It's been enjoyable. Living around Memphis for years, I thought I'd had the best barbecue, but now I know there's better BBQ than Memphis!

Wesley Adams : Coach Thompson what steps are you taking personally to ensure that ECU doesn't get left in the dust with all of this conference realignment? What do you think is best for the team?
John Thompson : First of all, we're being very proactive in gaining information and talking to as many people as we can that have an idea of what might go on. I have been in direct contact with Dr. Muse and with Mike Hamrick. We talk about it daily. At this point, it's just a matter of making sure everybody understands what we have to offer and make sure they understand the maturity and the depth, the fan base, and the quality of this program. More than anything else, we're just making sure the people that need to know are educated about what ECU is all about.

Brian C : Do you know if Marvin Townes' cramping problem has been solved?
John Thompson : Marvin had a great spring and stayed healthy. Mike Hanley [ECU head trainer] has done a great job of monitoring his progress throughout the spring. Marvin did play the second half of the spring game which was encouraging. We expect Marvin to be 100% healthy.

Pirate Pride : Coach, how has the team performed compared to the expectations you had going into the spring?
John Thompson : We, as a staff, couldn't be happier with how our guys responded to every challenge that we put on them this spring. When you look at it, this transition has been harder on the football team than it has on anybody else. They have been unbelievable. There hasn't been one time that there's been any negative attitude or any kind of 'why are we doing it this way' questions from our players. That goes all to the way our coaches teach, believe in what they're doing, and are excited about this opportunity. That bleeds through to our players. To this point, I really couldn't be happier with the way our team has done things.

malcolm : Could you comment on our place kicking plans for this coming season? Go Pirates
John Thompson : Our plans are to have good kickers. I really believe that we have the talent to get it done. We just have to get consistent. It's going to take a lot of work from the guys that we have here. But we're also going to open it up. We may bring in some new kickers to see what can happen there. As anybody will know that has watched us this spring, we were inconsistent. Some of that has to do with confidence. It's just an area that a major concern right now, but I really believe we're going to get it fixed.

Kevin, Greenville : With Art Brown, Marvin Townes, Vonta Leach, and the addition of Kevin Fain, I think we may have one of the better backfields in the country. What do you think?
John Thompson : I think our running backs are and should be one of the strengths of our team, along with our offensive line. We are capable of doing a lot of things with our backs. Vonta really proved himself this spring as not only a lead blocker but also as a capable ball carrier. Art showed a lot of toughness and Marvin showed that he can do a little bit of everything. To able to use those guys in different situations, our offensive staff will have a lot of options. We're expecting a lot of productivity from our running backs.

Sailynn : How would you rate the physical condition of your athletes and the unique aspects that ECU's conditioning program that satisfies you as a coach?
John Thompson : Jim Whitten [ECU's strength & conditioning coach] does a great job. He and Danny Wheel [assistant strength coach] really have done a great job with our guys. They've got their hands full this summer, which is their most critical time of the year. I think our guys, in terms of numbers and the way they lift and run, match up with anybody. I really like their approach and demeanor in the weight room. I think they've accomplished a lot.

Ethan : Are you still going to run a "west-coast" style offense like in the past years with Logan or more smash-mouth football?
John Thompson : I've said all along that on offense that we wanted to be a physical team but still be able to throw the ball vertically down the field. That helps both offensive and defensively. If you practice against a physical team, you're going to be more physical on defense. If you practice against a team that throws down the field, then you learn to defend the big play better.

Matt D. : Coach, After Spring Practice, do you have a feel for who the starting QB will be going into the season?
John Thompson : No. Both Paul and Desmond played well this spring and made improvements. This summer is critical for those guys. So will be August camp. We will name a starting quarterback if either one of the two separates themselves. At this point, it has not happened. We may keep it a secret, and keep it a secret from Cincinnati.

ECUpirates.com : That's all the time we have for today. Thank you, Coach, for joining us.
John Thompson : I enjoyed doing this and look forward to doing it again. Sorry we didn't get a chance to get to all the questions, but I appreciate your interest and Go Pirates!

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