Signing Day Press Quotes
February 06, 2008 | Football
Feb. 6, 2008
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media Wednesday afternoon about the 2008 Football Signing Class. The following are selected comments:
Opening Comments:
"Today we have been able to put the fruits of everyone's labor onto paper. It has been an uneventful day with no major surprises. We came in with 18 student-athletes to sign and we signed those 18. I am really excited about this class that we have coming in. When you sit down and look at this class, there are so many positives about it because we filled many of our football team's needs. However, they are not necessarily needs that we have for next season.
"I think there have been many factors that have made this class possible. There is a lot of excitement and enthusiasm with this program right now and we have received a lot of support from the Pirate Nation. We were able to sell out season tickets. Every young man that came on this campus saw that. We were hoping to sign 22 and we signed 18. That is a great batting average. Those players saw the great leadership of Chancellor Ballard and Coach Holland as well as the togetherness, talent and leadership on this football team. That went a long way in helping us land those players.
"Overall, this class is smaller that what we have signed in the past. There is a lot of beef in this class. It is hard to make a national splash with them because there are so many offensive and defensive linemen. I felt that those were the players we needed to bring in to continue to establish the program. Again, we made our emphasis in the state of North Carolina. Out of the 18, 11 are from North Carolina, three from Florida and one each from South Carolina, Georgia and Louisiana. This was not a class where I felt we needed to go wholesale. We steered away from the junior college players and tried to stay within the high school ranks. There is only one junior college player in this class, T.J. Harper. We need his help on the offensive line because of graduations and issues that we had. If he comes in and does what we need him to, we can redshirt a guy like Sean Allen who has been a two-year player for us.
"If I had to wrap this class up in one statement, I would say that this is a program class. We are at the point where we are not necessarily recruiting to plug holes for next year. When we signed a young man like Dominique Lindsay, he had to come in and fill an immediate need. Now, we are looking to replace a great tailback like Chris Johnson this spring, but there will be a heck of a battle among the players that are already here. This class will answer some long term questions that we have. I feel great about their character and quality of students that they are. They will be able to grow together and be a backbone of what we try to do in the future. Next year is the first time we will be able to play with mainly juniors and seniors. This class will help us take the next steps forward. In recruiting, we ask if a player is as good as or better than what we have now. If he is, then that is the player we go after. While they may not receive the high rankings from the tabloids, we know that they will be with us for the next four or five years and can prove themselves to us."
On Josh Clark:
"Josh is from North Carolina and I believe will be a developmental player for us. I really like the way that he runs and moves. He is 250 pounds now and has a great frame on him. His father is a coach and he understands the game. I believe Josh has a bright future."
On Dalton Faulds:
"Dalton Faulds comes to us from Florida. He played at Nease High School, a very successful program. He is 275 pounds now but when he gets his body weight up to about 300, he has the chance to be a real aggressive difference maker for us on the inside."
On Logan Kudlinski:
"Logan Kudlinski is a big 6-5 tackle who is only 265 pounds right now but runs very well. I am looking for him to develop and be a real force for us."
On C.J. Brown and Grant Harner:
"Both of these players have a huge upside for us. They are both coming in here with athleticism and already have the size in place."
On Dayon Arrington:
"Arrington is the one player that I see having the best chance of seeing playing time next season. He is 6-3 and a big, physical receiver. He comes in the most physically ready to play at his position."
On Joe Womack:
"Joe has been in camp with us the past two years. He has played quarterback but we will use his athleticism at the wide receiver position."
On Jacobi Jenkins:
"I think Jacobi has a real chance to be a great wide receiver. He has been a defensive back but he has great speed and athleticism. We really liked what we saw when he had the football under his arm."
On Josh Jordan:
"We came into this thing not positive that we were going to sign a quarterback. D.J. McFadden would like to move from the quarterback position to wide receiver so we felt that we needed a quarterback for the future. I thought Coach Fitch did a great job of evaluating his film, making the decision that Josh was the one he wanted. Josh is more of a prototype quarterback. He threw the ball around in the spread offense a lot as a senior and we are excited to see what he will bring to the table."
On Mike Brown:
"Mike is very skilled and athletic, playing in the state championship game with Reidsville and the Shrine Bowl. It will be hard for him to get on the field with the two seniors we have in the tight end position."
On Robert Jones:
"I think Robert Jones is an absolute steal. He has a great frame on him and is a great young man. I told him that he has a heck of a reputation to uphold around here with his name being Robert Jones and we are expecting great things out of him in the future."
On Anthony Garner:
"Anthony is a very quick interior lineman. He is more of a noseguard type player but I think he is very physical and has a chance to be a great player down the road."
On Allen Crowder:
"Allen is another North Carolina product who has played the defensive end position but when you look at his size, strength and athleticism, he has a great opportunity to be a great interior player for us as well."
On Max Joyner:
"Max is from Rose High School. I think he has good toughness and speed for a safety but we signed him because he loves this program, bleeds purple and gold and as he builds up his frame, has the chance to be great at the linebacker level."
On Justin Venable:
"You can make a whole list of what Justin has accomplished in high school. He is a great athlete as well as a great baseball player. In camp, we were really impressed with him as a player and a person. He will have a great career here."
On Rahkeem Morgan:
"Rahkeem is an athlete whom we will play in the secondary. He was a quarterback in the western part of the state and had a lot of success at Asheville. He will bring a lot to the table as a defensive back."
On Leonard Paulk:
"We recruited his brother, who ended up going to South Carolina. I couldn't be more impressed with Leonard in terms of the way he carries himself and his work habits. He may not make an immediate impact as a freshman but when he gets his feet on the ground, he will be a great player at East Carolina."
On Adrian Jones:
"Adrian has been a quarterback, running back and can be a defensive back. He is so quick and athletic at what he does."
On Immediate Playing Time For These Freshmen:
"I think true freshmen play because upperclassmen give them the opportunity. If some of these young men come in and play, it will be because some of the people that are here are not doing what they need to do to keep the game at a high level. I think Arrington has a chance to come in physically and be a contributor next year. Then I look at guys like Womack and Jenkins who are learning new positions who may be a little farther behind. We are going to ask players that are already here to step up. At the quarterback position, it will be hard for Josh Jordan to step in because Kass, Clay and Pinkney will have another year under their belts. We redshirted 19 of 22 true freshmen last season. I would prefer to redshirt most of them this year."
On The Overall Feeling Of This Class:
"This class has created a lot of excitement with the staff. When you look at the chemistry and quality of this class, these are the type of players that we need in this program. I didn't want to bring in the guys who have to play as freshmen because they can get disgruntled and unhappy. We want players that are here for the long haul."
On These Freshmen Pushing The Current Players:
"I think there is so much competition between the players that are already here so I don't know if this freshman class will make that push. We won't know that until we get here in the fall. It depends on how fast they can learn our system. We are at the point now where we have so much competition because we have more talent and depth than we have ever had."
On The Attractiveness Of A Winning Program To A Recruit:
"You can look at some teams that have not been doing as well as they have traditionally but are having great recruiting years because recruits feel they can go into that type of program and perform right away. That is definitely attractive to a freshman. At the same time, it is also attractive to have a chance to develop as part of a winning program. The main thing each recruit told me when I asked what he liked most about his visit was the attitude of this team and the togetherness they display. Our players enjoy being around one another and there aren't too many cliques among them. To me, recruits with this attitude are more important than the guys who say they have to be a four-year starter. That is why I called this class a program class. These players will develop on the field and with Coach Golden in the weight room. The most important thing we tried to do was to be honest with this class while falling within their expectations."
