Instant Interview Replay: John Thompson

Instant Interview Replay: John Thompson

08/26/2003

ECU head football coach John Thompson joined ECUpirates.com for a live Instant Interview on Tuesday morning, Aug. 26. Following is the complete transcript of the chat session.

ECUpirates.com : Welcome, Coach Thompson, to today's Instant Interview!
John Thompson : Glad to be here and looking forward to taking your questions. This was fun the last time we did this and i'm looking forward to doing it more this season.

ecu03 : Coach Thompson, I was just wondering what your thoughts were on a two quarterback system. I know we always hear what offensive guys think about it, some like it, some hate it, but I'm wondering what a defensive minded coach like yourself thinks about it?
John Thompson : I've always felt that it could create some problems for a defense because you're dealing with two differnt personalities, two different abilities. It puts some other thoughts in your head. We don't anticipate having a two-QB system offense as such, but we have no problem playing two quarterbacks, if that makes sense at all.

swash : Coach, has the transition from Defensive Cordinator to Head Coach been an easy one for you, and what advice would you give to assistant coaches looking to make that same leap?
John Thompson : I've always felt that all you can do is do the best you can at whatever role and responsibilities that you have. When you do that, good things will happen. I have never looked over my shoulder at another job and never tried to get another job while I had the one I had. It has been an easy transition. I wasn't sure how I would handle not being in the meeting rooms and all the time I've really enjoyed the difference in the responsibility. I enjoy both sides of the ball and I really like the organizational aspects of dealing with the entire program.

Capt. Craig in Raleigh : Coach, What sort of new Pirate fan pre-game traditions would you like to start this year?--GO PIRATES!
John Thompson : The first one is the Pirate Walk. Two hours before every home game, we will unload our players bus behind the third base side of the baseball field. The team, led by the band and cheerleaders, will make the walk to the dressing room through tailgaters and Pirate fans. It'll be a great experience for our players and fans and everyone involved and should touch off a lot of emotion.

Art Hinton : Is Pierre Parker going to play defense this year? How is he progressing?
John Thompson : Pierre is a big-time player. I had a good conversation with Pierre the other day and I told him that he will end up being a tremendous defensive player here. He has been moved to defense. We plan on him playing this year. It may take him a little more time, but the guy is really talented. He can play a lot of spots. He's a safety right now but may grow into a linebacker. Pierre came to us and wanted to move to defense after a couple of days ... he put the team in front of himself.

Justin : Coach, how do you plan to contain Gino Guidugli and the UC offense?
John Thompson : Good question. When you look at them from last year, they're the No. 1 offense in the conference and conference co-champions. It starts with how you said it, Guidugli. We've got to find a way to get that offense out of rhythm. If they're able to run the football effectively, then that'd be a lot harder on us. We've got to do a good job of disrupting the run and maybe getting him out of sync with some things we do on defense. That's probably the key to the football game.

ECUAlum : Coach, in the past we have had problem with mental mistakes causing turnovers that would eventually lead to our losses. Has this issue been addressed and improved on?
John Thompson : It's been addressed for sure. We've really put this team in a lot of situations and have done our absolute best in trying to create game situations and what it takes to win the football game. You have to win the turnover margin, you've got to protect the ball to win in any game. It's hard to win a football game and it's impossible to win by turning it over. We just have to keep pounding it in them to protect the football and for the defense to get the football back. That's how you win.

pirate man : is eric graham a quality back up for brian rimpf
John Thompson : Absolutely. Eric has really gotten a whole lot better. To be as young as he is and as talented as he is, yes. I wouldn't bat an eye to put Eric in the ball game.

Frank in Knightdale : To pick your mind on defense, has the Pirate defense looked improved in training vs what you have seen in the past on tape or in person? Can we stop anyone this year?
John Thompson : Our defense made tremendous improvement in what they did on their own this summer. The player organized pass skeletons that we had really made a difference. The first day of fall camp, we were better than we were the last day of spring practice. That comes from comprehension and some of the repetitions they did in the spring. Jerry Odom and the defensive staff have done a graet job of sticking to the plan and getting our guys to understand what we want to do on defense. I'm really looking forward to watching the defense play.

RichmondVAPirate : How many shots will ECU take at the long bomb during most games, and do we have the QB and WR's to make it happen.
John Thompson : I think you've got to stretch the defense. You've got to have that possibility. If they jump up in your face, you've got to throw it over the top of them. Some of that depends on what they do, but I anticipate us at least trying to stretch that defense out a number of times.

JASON : Coach, is Mickey McCoy still on def.? i did not see his name on the two deep chart.
John Thompson : Mickey is definitely on defense. The depth chart that we released was our base package. Mickey is a nickel/dime extra defensive back that we'll employ in a lot of situations. It's probably unfair to him that we didn't release those positions. That was my call. Mickey is a vital part of our defense.

PAGE PIRATE FAN : IS DOMINIQUE HATCHER GOING TO BE APART OF YOUR RUNNING GAME? I READ IN THE ARTICLE THAT ART WAS GONE AND WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET. ISN'T HE A SENIOR THIS YEAR?
John Thompson : Yes, he will be a part of our running game and yes, he is a senior. Dom has had a good camp and we'll definitely count on his help back there.

AtlPirate : Not to get ahead of ourselves, the Bearcats are the most important, but I see that Flordia plays Miami the week before we do, will you seek any advice from your previous employer?
John Thompson : Not to get ahead of ourselves is right. All of our focus is on Cincinnati. We'll try to get all the help we can get on every opponent.

Chem from Bath : Coach, I know FG Kicking is very important for any teams success. We will be using an untested (game wise) kicker. Could you express how you feel about this position?
John Thompson : Our kickers really have improved since the spring. Shep Campbell, our graduate assistant, has done a great job with them. I've got confidence in them. All of these guys have played well. Cam is our kicker for this game. We're unsure right now of his backup. We'll make that decision in the next couple of days because it's so close. We have charted every kick, every hangtime and all their distances. The question is how we're going to do it in a game. That's why they sell tickets and have it on TV.

ECU 24 : ECU has always been famous for our gadget plays. Is that a tradition you plan to continue this season to keep our opponents off guard??
John Thompson : Absolutely not! No way would we ever use a trick play. I wouldn't want our opponents to ever worry about a trick play. We'll be very conservative. And I hope Rick Minter is reading this! (grins)

Frank in Knightdale : Now that the coaching staff settled on a QB(Desmond), what type of offensive sets will we see to utilize Desmond talents?
John Thompson : Our offense won't change between Desmond and Paul. We'll still use the same things that we've been working on and continue our same type of offense. Both guys can do a lot of things in our offense. Obviously, Des is a little more mobile. But we don't change our offense between the two.

RichmondVAPirate : Is there one particular player that has really made an impact that the average fan might not be aware of?
John Thompson : Robert Tillman has been a surprise. Defensively, Sammie Walden will factor in for us this year. Those two guys, coming into fall camp, probably weren't foremost in anyone's mind, but they'll be good players for us. They'll contribute.

ECUpirates.com : That's all the time we have this week. Thanks for joining us, Coach Thompson. Any closing comments?
John Thompson : We have really been pleased with the type of camp that we've had, the attitude of our players, the chemistry that continues to be developed. I think our team believes in themselves and each other. I feel like we've improved offensively, defensively, kicking game. What we do today and the next few days obviously is critical. But we're excited and we're looking forward to going to Cincinnati and facing this great challenge. I'm looking forward to watching these guys perform. Thanks for tuning in and I'm sorry I couldn't get to all the questions this week!

Related Videos

Footer