Instant Interview Replay: Rick Stockstill

Instant Interview Replay: Rick Stockstill

08/21/2003

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- East Carolina University offensive coordinator Rick Stockstill joined ECUpirates.com for a live Instant Interview on Thursday, Aug. 21. Following is a complete transcript of his responses.

ECUpirates.com : Welcome, Coach Stockstill. Thanks for joining us today.
Rick Stockstill : Glad to be here and I'm ready to take your questions.

Newport News Pirate : Coach Stockstill - welcome to ECU. Have you found it easier to mold your offensive plan around the athletes that you have avialable - or have the players adjusted to your schemes???
Rick Stockstill : A little bit of both. As far as terminology, we've tried to keep it as close as possible to what it was last year. In the passing game, we've adjusted to what was here. In the running game, it was more of an adjustment from them to us.

David : How has the injury to Art Brown affected preparations for the coming season?
Rick Stockstill : Disappointing to lose a player like Art, but we've got a lot of confidence in Marvin and the young backs that came in this year. So in the long run, I think we'll be fine in the backfield.

Matt Money : Stock - Must be the Money....How has the transition been from Clemson to ECU...my big bro taking care of you? You are missed at Clemson.
Rick Stockstill : It was not the Money, it's the field surfaces are so much better here (grins)!

Kingman : Please comment on our Tight End situation.
Rick Stockstill : I think Kort is adjusting fine. Right now, he's better in the passing game than the run game because he's still learning a new position, but will be fine. Josh Coffman is going to be really good once he learns the speed of the game and gets a little stronger.

Piratelooksat26 : What is the % of Running Plays/Passing plays going to be this Year?
Rick Stockstill : That will all depend on the game itself. We will try to go into each game with a balanced attack and then, depending upon the flow of the game and the score of the game, we'll determine the amount that we run or pass.

Larry Phillips : What will be the offensive key to beat Cincinnati ? TORA TORA TORA
Rick Stockstill : No turnovers. Score one more point than they do.

Anthany : Since you have spent a lot of time with Woody Dantzler, why do you think that the Cowboys never try him at QB. Heck, he only passed for 2000 and ran for 1000.
Rick Stockstill : I think Woody could play QB in the NFL. The reason he probably hasn't gotten a chance is because of his height.

PATRICK KINSTON NC : WILL VONTA LEACH BE ABLE TO BE A BANGER FOR 12 DIV 1 FOOTBALL GAMES? MY CONCERN IS WILL HE BE LIKE THE BACK AT NC STATE LAST YEAR, HURT AND NOT AS EFFECTIVE LATER IN THE YEAR.
Rick Stockstill : I think that he can. Vonta is a very physical player who is in good condition and has great strength. It's very difficult for any player to make it through a 12-game season without some setbacks and hopefully Vonta will be able to.

brbmba : Do you see any of our new WRs making an impact this year?
Rick Stockstill : Probably not. They all have some talent but need to be redshirted. One possibly would be Iverick Harris, but he was here on campus last year.

Kingman : I spoke at length this Spring with your Dad. Have you converted him to a Pirate ? Will he make it to the games this year ?
Rick Stockstill : I'm sure he will make it here for a few of the home games.

Zack : Have any of the players told you you look kinda like Corey Schmidt
Rick Stockstill : He wishes he looked like me!

Matt : Will the Quarterback Contraversy hurt this team?
Rick Stockstill : There is no quarterback controversy on this team.

Pillager : Coach do you forsee any offensive "impact freshman" besides Tillman? If so, who can we keep an eye out for?
Rick Stockstill : Josh Coffman and Kevin Fain, although he's not a freshman but still a newcomer.

WES - Greenville,NC : With Art Brown out of the mix now beside Townes, who will be a good running back? What are the chances that Demarcus Fox will see a lot of PT?
Rick Stockstill : Right now, Damarcus is a starter at receiver. Robert Tillman and Kevin Fain are getting a lot of reps at running back and will play a lot.

Steve : Is there any possibility of using a QB rotation similar to what Georgia uses with Greene and Shockley or do you see the offense sticking with primarily one QB?
Rick Stockstill : I've got a lot of confidence in our quarterbacks and I think that you'll see both Paul and Des play in every game.

Jeff Curtis : Coach Rick, Who do you think was the greatest Receiver to ever play at Clemson and Do you think Danny Ford is one of the greatest coaches of all time. WE have now become ECU fans since your arrival
Rick Stockstill : The best receiver to ever play at Clemson and never scored a touchdown will probably be Jeffrey Skizo. Danny Ford was a great coach considering the talent that he had.

RichmondVAPirate : Besides Copper, who on this team has made big plays in practice.
Rick Stockstill : Damarcus Fox and, at one point or another, all our running backs, and the quarterbacks have all made some nice throws.

CCoggins : How does East Carolina compare to Clemson for fan support that you have seen so far?
Rick Stockstill : I think the two programs are very similar in terms of fan support. Both Clemson and ECU fans travel very well and are very loyal to their teams.

Z-Town : Can you discuss the relative strengths and weaknesses of our QBs? Any chance Pinkney sees the field along with Paul and Des?
Rick Stockstill : James Pinkney is having a very good camp so far and I would have no reservations of James playing this year. The weakness of our quarterbacks is that we're not very mobile. The strength is that they've both played in games and work extremely hard and study hard. They have a good understanding of the offense and realize what we need to do to be successful. I feel we can win with either one of them.

Kingman : Do you think we (Pirate faithful followers) will see some surprises (schemes, personnel, etc) on Labor Day ?
Rick Stockstill : All I hope the Pirate faithful followers see is the Pirates winning the game!

brbmba : Sakeen Wright at WR...how is he progressing? If I am DB, I would hate to see T Cop and Sakeen coming across the middle. That's a couple of big WRs.
Rick Stockstill : Sakeen is adjusting okay but has been sick the last couple of days and has missed some practice. But I think as the season goes and he feels more comfortable out there, he'll get more snaps.

ecudx : Who throws the best "deep ball" out of our 3 QBs, or is there little difference in that department?
Rick Stockstill : I would say Paul throws a better deep ball because he has a little stronger arm.

bubbak : With Art Brown out for the year, do you see Vonta Leach getting more carries in the backfield? He is a very physical, punishing runner.
Rick Stockstill : Yes, but not to the point where you will see him carrying the ball 15-20 times a game. I think if we can get Vonta 10-12 touches a game, that would be very good.

brbmba : Is Pierre Parker staying in the defensive secondary or are there plans for him to contend for the QB role next year?
Rick Stockstill : Right now, Pierre is on defense and unless something unforeseen happens, that's where he'll stay.

brbmba : It appears that RB and OL are your primary focus for next year's recruiting class...can you elaborate on how this is progressing?
Rick Stockstill : I think we have a staff that works very hard at recruiting. We have a great base that we recruit from, so I feel confident that we will be able to fulfill our recruiting needs.

charles : Do you prefer Eastern NC BBQ or that hash that they serve in west of I 95
Rick Stockstill : I'm an eastern North Carolina man.

Randy Holt : Coach, thank God you and the new staff are hear!!! My question, maybe not your area, but I have watched our receivers of late drop many balls that should have been routine. When a pass was up for grabs so to speak, we made what appeared to be half harted effort at times. What I would like to know and I'm sure a lot of others too, are we now teaching our guys to aggresively attack a pass as if to say this is mine at all cost. I want to see less balls on the ground this year. Can you coment toward that and about our receivers in general. Thanks, Go Pirates!
Rick Stockstill : A receiver has to have the mindset that he's going to catch every ball thrown and outwork the DB for the catch. The really good receivers compete in practice, in games, in the backyard, wherever, for the ball. We are doing a better job of that in practice and, if we'll continue, we should be better during the season.

Jeff Curtis : Coach Rick, Those of us that have followed you over the years have always thought you would make a super Div-1 head coach. Is that one of your goals
Rick Stockstill : I think it's a goal of every assistant coach to someday run his own program. And yes, that is definitely one of my goals, to hopefully one day be a head coach.

ECUpirates.com : That's all the time we have for today. Thank you for taking time to visit with us today, Coach.
Rick Stockstill : My family and I are very excited to be here and are very grateful for this opportunity. I look forward to meeting everybody and am excited about the upcoming season!

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