Window Of Opportunity Opened Again
September 07, 2005 | Football
Sept. 7, 2005
by Ryan Downey, ECU Media Relations Student Assistant
People love to read stories about courage and pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, but living through such things is a little different. Marcus Hands, Quentin Cotton, Guy Whimper and James Pinkney are walking examples of what happens when we face our demons down and come out on top. They do not appear in this 2005 East Carolina Football Media Guide, and weren't added to the roster until the conclusion of the second session of summer school.
Most fans see the start of the 2005 season as an opportunity to slip back into a comfortable Saturday routine and a chance to talk up their favorites around the water cooler. These players see it as a second chance.
Relishing The Chance
It's easy to take things for granted when you are young. It's even easier to take things for granted when you are a young athlete. Star athlete or not, we never realize what we have until we lose it. Two Pirates on the 2005 roster graduated from high school two years ago and have yet to experience the thrill of participating in intercollegiate athletics.
The past two years have been a journey that will end with the kickoff of the new season.
Marcus Hands, a sophomore, will be getting his first chance to play with the Pirates since enrolling at ECU last fall after spending a year at Hargrave Military Academy. The defensive lineman will add depth to the Pirates' frontline and hopes to help spur resurgence for the program. Forced to watch from the sidelines a year ago, Hands finally got a chance to take the field this summer after rededicating himself to being a "student"-athlete.
"It was real tough to watch my teammates out there doing what I wanted to be doing," said Hands. " I really wanted to join the team and come running through the tunnel. It motivated me to push myself in the classroom." Though the anguish of not playing in itself was enough to push him to succeed academically, he also received encouragement from friends Rashad Tindell and Willie Davis, who play at North Carolina and Virginia, respectively.
"They motivated me to work on my grades and talked to me a lot about being disciplined and not procrastinating," Hands said.
Hands took to the advice of his friends and made himself academically eligible for competition. Through his day-to-day interaction with his professors and fellow students, the sports studies major with a minor in criminal justice discovered that this could truly be some of the best years of his life.
"I realized that I love college and everything about it," said Hands. "Your on your own and just one step from the real world." Just like every player that puts on the pads each Saturday afternoon, Hands hopes to be playing in the NFL, otherwise he planning for a future career in teaching and coaching football at the high school level. Cotton, another first year player, is also anxious for the start of the new season.
Like Hands he has not played a regular season snap at ECU and until now was completely devoted to taking care of his academic requirements. According to the linebacker, he and the coaches would have it no other way.
"It's about academics first, said Cotton. "Coach (Rock) Roggeman stayed on me about the academics the whole year. It's a tough process, sitting out a year. It's something no athlete should go through. But when you get that second chance it's a blessing."
Cotton and Hands will both have a chance to make an impact on this season.
Perspective Gained
What's worse, never knowing how good you had it or having something wonderful taken away from you?
Senior Guy Whimper, a versatile piece of the Pirates' puzzle who started last season as a defensive end before being switched to tight end due to injuries, spent the spring semester out of school and away from the comfy confines of Greenville. He knows what he came tenuously close to loosing this past spring. The Havelock native, who will play on the offensive line this season, is primed to take advantage of the chance to move his life forward.
After a junior campaign that saw him average 11.1 yards a catch last season, he lost his eligibility and spent the spring semester out of school back home, working with his father's security company. Spending long hours guarding other people's things gave Whimper time to reflect where he was, where he wanted to be and what he needed to do to get there. "Being at home got me refocused on school and being a better teammate," stated Whimper. "Most people don't get a second chance like this." Whimper also used his time out of school to spend precious moments with his two-year-old daughter Ma`khia.
The Higher You Are The Harder You Fall
After emerging late in the 2003 season, James Pinkney broke the musical quarterbacks game the previous coaching regime had played to become the leader of the offense.
Last season he began and ended the season as the starter throwing for 2,195 yards along with 18 touchdowns and an efficiency rating of 119.11. After the season ended Pinkney found out that his performance in a given game was not the only thing that controlled his status on the field.
Before the start of the spring semester Pinkney found out he wouldn't be participating in spring practice and wouldn't be allowed to enroll in classes. Pinkney went from seeing his name in lights to looking at a mural with his image on it while he wiped down tables working as a busboy at Logan's Road House in Greenville. After spending a semester struggling in the "real world", Pinkney reenrolled during the first summer and earned his spot back on the roster. After learning what life would be like without a college degree, Pinkney plans to take advantage of the opportunity he's been afforded.
"When school starts I'm going to be doing double time," said Pinkney. "I'll be going to study hall at night and watching film during the day."
That recommitment to academics will be important for the upcoming season and next year. His leadership will be key this season and beyond as Pirate fans are expecting big things from him. Now through hard work this summer, he is in position to deliver on those expectations.
There will be ups and downs this season, but for these four Pirates, the 2005 campaign is about more than just winning football games. It's about taking advantage of and making the most of the second chance they've been given.
