Kirkpatrick To Coach East Carolina Wide Receivers
December 20, 2004 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Donnie Kirkpatrick has been named wide receivers coach at East Carolina University according to an announcement from head football coach Skip Holtz Monday.
Before his appointment at ECU, Kirkpatrick served as wide receivers coach at Western Carolina during the 2003 and 2004 seasons which followed a three-year head coaching tenure at Chattanooga, which began in 2000.While WCU topped the Southern Conference in passing offense (239.8 ypg) in 2003, Kirkpatrick tutored Catamount receivers Lamont Seward and Michael Reeder, who both ranked among the top four receivers in the SoCon with a combined 132 catches.
Kirkpatrick orchestrated one of the top aerial attacks in SoCon history while guiding the UTC program from 2000 to 2002, ranking first in passing offense (339.1 ypg) and total offense (453.5 ypg) during his initial year in Chattanooga. The Mocs completed 289 passes in 2000, the second-highest total in league history, utilizing receivers Richmond Flowers (86-1,035) and Cos DeMatteo (75-971) who stood first and second, respectively, in the conference's pass reception rankings.
His offensive units also finished third in passing in 2001 (192.7 ypg) and second in 2002 (220.4) during that span, which followed a successful year as UTC's offensive coordinator. The Mocs' topped the SoCon in passing (326.5 ypg) and stood third in total offense (454.4 ypg) in 1999, riding the efforts of DeMatteo, who led the league in receiving (76-977), and record-setting quarterback Chris Sanders, who captured conference passing and total offense individual titles. In addition, UTC set Southern Conference single-season records that year for most pass attempts (496) and completions (300). In all, Kirkpatrick was responsible for two of the top three passing (3,730 in '00, 3,591 in '99) seasons in SoCon history.
"We are fortunate to have someone of Donnie's caliber on our staff," said Holtz. "His coaching career has been synonymous with outstanding offenses, specifically those involving an exceptional passing game. His familiarity with the state of North Carolina will also give us another boost in our recruiting efforts."
Prior to his move to Chattanooga, Kirkpatrick spent three years on Ron Cooper's staff as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Louisville (1995-97) where he initiated the development of Cardinals' quarterback Chris Redman, who finished his career as one of the top passers in school and Conference USA history. Redman, who ended his collegiate career with a league-record 12,541 yards and 84 TDs on 1,031-of-1,679 passing, threw for 1,773 yards as a freshman and 3,079 yards as a sophomore under Kirkpatrick's direction in 1996 and 1997.
Kirkpatrick, 45, also served on Cooper's staff at Eastern Michigan for two seasons, handling wide receivers in 1993 before earning a promotion to assistant head coach, quarterbacks and running backs coach in 1994 where he worked directly with former Detroit Lions starting quarterback Charlie Batch. He also spent four seasons at South Carolina (1989-1992) as the Gamecocks' quarterback coach and recruiting coordinator after obtaining his first full-time coaching position at Appalachian State in 1984, which lasted five seasons.
He earned a bachelor's degree in education from Lenior-Rhyne College in 1982 before following with a master's in secondary education from Appalachian State in 1984
Kirkpatrick is the eighth official hire for the newly-appointed Holtz, joining defensive line coach Donnie Thompson, offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler, offensive assistant coach Phil Petty, running backs coach Junior Smith, defensive coordinator Greg Hudson, linebackers coach Rock Roggeman and director of football operations Clifford Snow on the Pirates' staff.
