Pinkney Hoping To End Career With 13th Game This Season
September 21, 2006 | Football
Sept. 21, 2006
By Jody Jones, Associate Director of Media Relations
More often than not second chances are earned, not given. East Carolina senior quarterback James Pinkney is making the most his opportunity after earning his way back onto the football field prior to his junior season.
At the end of his sophomore year, Pinkney was ruled academically ineligible, but instead of quitting school altogether he opted to re-enroll in summer school and take a job busing tables at a local restaurant.
Pinkney regained his eligibility at the end of the second summer school session and returned to the practice field where he earned his spot as the starting quarterback again.
"Its something that I'll always regret that I let happen," stated Pinkney. "It let me know that I have to do everything just like everybody else and stay in line just like everybody else. Its something that I definitely learned from and something that made me a stronger person."
Despite missing spring practice under first-year head coach Skip Holtz, Pinkney returned to the field to direct Holtz' offense last season, passing for 2,773 yards; second only to Jeff Blake's 3,073 passing yards in 1991.
The Delray Beach, Fla. native ended his junior campaign already ranked third on the school's all-time passing list behind David Garrard (9,029) and Marcus Crandall (7,198) with 5,390 yards.
Despite the fact of having had the unenviable task of learning three offenses under three different offensive coordinators, Pinkney has managed to thrive without the luxury of stability.
"It makes me feel good to know that people recognize me in the company of those guys, but I haven't put up the wins they did and that's really what I'm trying to do this year," explained Pinkney.
It is likely that Pinkney will overtake Crandall on the list, but fall short of Garrard's record, however the one thing that he seeks above all else this season is a bowl game.
"There is nothing that I can achieve individually that will replace going to a bowl game this season. I've been here for five years and haven't been to one."
That's something that every college player wants to experience and that is my main goal," he explained.
While he is humbled by inclusion of his name alongside the ECU quarterbacking greats, that isn't what motivates him to perform. His desire is to simply be the best.
"I never want to do something and just be mediocre at it. I want to be the best I can be and that's what drives me to get better."
Pinkney has shown steady improvement throughout his career. Last season his passing yards were up as were his total number of completions and completion percentage, while his interception numbers were down. Still Pinkney aspires get better and do more.
"For this upcoming year I did everything I could physically and mentally to make myself better off the field and in the meeting rooms."
Looking back over his career, Pinkney admitted that he didn't always have that attitude.
"I feel like I took some years for granted," he explained. "Coming into this season I've discovered that you can't take anything for granted, even coming in as a freshman and so I try to pass that along to my teammates."
Pinkney almost never made it to ECU as a freshman. A highly recruited quarterback from Olympic Heights High School in Palm Beach County, he originally committed to Iowa State after his first visit to the Ames' campus.
After making a visit to the ECU campus and chatting with former Pirate head coach Steve Logan, Pinkney changed his mind and decided to sign with the Pirates.
"He talked to me like a son and treated me more like family," explained Pinkney. "It's a lot closer to home and nowhere near as cold as Iowa State would've been."
As a freshman he played in five games before earning the starting nod against USF, completing 16-of-34 passes for 146 yards with a touchdown pass. It was first of 27 consecutive starts entering the Memphis game.
Pinkney used the final three games of 2003 to solidify himself as the starter heading into the 2004 campaign, where he stepped into the limelight for the first time in the season opener at West Virginia, completing 26-of-52 passes for 322 yards and three touchdowns. It was his first of three 300-yard career-passing games.
He passed for a career-high 355 yards against Rice last season, eighth most passing yards in a game at ECU.
It didn't take long for Pinkney to emerge into a Division I-A quarterback, racking up 2,195 yards as a sophomore with 18 touchdown passes, fifth-most single season touchdown passes in school history. He passed for over 150 yards seven times during the year, providing a positive spin on an otherwise dismal year.
The Pirates rode Pinkney's arm to a 10-point victory over Army on October 30. Pinkney completed 26-of-36 passes for 285 yards and three touchdowns as ECU tallied a season-high 38 points. He was named Conference USA Player-of-the-Week for his efforts.
He also tossed three touchdowns the following week in a 10-point loss to Houston.
After enduring a turbulent sophomore campaign, Pinkney responded to turn in a career year in 2005 completing over 60 percent of his passes and passing for nearly 2,800 yards.
In the season opener against Duke, he completed a school record 81.0 percent of his attempts (17-of-21) for 235 yards with a touchdown strike to earn his first of three Conference USA Player-of-the-Week honors during the season.
The following week against Wake Forest, Pinkney recorded his first of three 3-touchdown passing games of the season. He ended the season with 34 career touchdown passes, ranking behind only Garrard, Blake and Crandall on the ECU career list.
His development as a quarterback and grasp of the new offense installed by coach Holtz, helped transform the Pirates from a two-win team in 2004 to a team that missed being bowl eligible by a single game.
After he helped the Pirates end a three-game losing streak by defeating Rice, Pinkney led ECU to its first road win since 2003 rallying it past SMU in Dallas, 24-17. He rushed for the game-winning touchdown from one-yard out with 7:11 remaining. It was his third of three rushing touchdowns on the day.
His performance evened the Pirates' record at 3-3 and kept hopes alive for a postseason bid.
Three consecutive losses ended the Pirates hopes of a postseason game, but didn't dim the spirits of Pinkney and his teammates to finish strong as he led them to wins over Marshall and UAB to end the season.
In the final game of the season, Pinkney personally guided the Pirates to a come-from-behind win over UAB, tallying 333 yards of offense and throwing two touchdown passes and rushing for another to put the game away early in the fourth quarter as the Pirate defense held UAB on its final two possessions.
These are all moments that Pinkney cherishes, not because of the outcome, but because of those who were apart of them.
"When my career is over here the thing I'll remember the most is my teammates," he said. "The people that I go to work and battle with everyday will be the best memories I have."
The thing that he wants to carry away with him the most is his degree. His mother has always stressed education and he wants nothing more than to walk across that stage and receive it for her.
"She has always been my biggest fan during the good times and bad," Pinkney said. "She has always been there for me and kept me in school and off the streets."
He hopes to take advantage of the opportunity he has received to play college football and share his knowledge and experience by getting into coaching someday with aspirations to become an athletic director.
Over the past four years, the Pirate faithful have seen him endure and persevere through difficult times. He has matured through adversity and grown into one of the leaders on this year's team and has accepted the responsibility that come with being a leader. His team-first attitude has spread throughout the locker room and he hopes to spread his career into a 13th game in 2006.
