Game Program Feature: A Family On And Off The Field
September 02, 2014 | Football
Originally printed Aug. 30, 2014 in the First and Goal football game program
By Malcolm Gray,
Director of Athletic Media Relations
Since returning to his alma mater in January of 2010 to become East Carolina's 20th head football coach, Ruffin McNeill has built a program on a single word, family. Before and after each practice the team breaks their huddle uttering the word family in some form or fashion, and this is something that truly hits home with Zeek Bigger, Maurice Falls and Brandon Williams.
Listed as three of the four starting linebackers heading into the season opener against North Carolina Central, the trio are more than teammates and friends - they are family.
"It's pretty special to find out that your best friends are actually related to you," Falls said after hearing the news that Bigger and Williams were his cousins. "Zeek and I have known each other since we were little playing basketball together. I met Brandon when he and Zeek came to ECU in 2011, and clicked from the beginning becoming best friends."
All three hail from roughly the same area in the western-part of North and South Carolina. Bigger attended Ashbrook in Gastonia, while Falls went to rival high school South Point, both located in the Tar Heel state. Williams is from just across the state line in nearby Rock Hill and went to Northwestern High School before spending a year at Hargrave Military Academy.
Through their great-great grandmother, Bigger and Falls are related from the Thompson family in Gastonia. Falls' connection with Williams comes from his father's side with the Gilmore and Robbins families, while Bigger and Williams are kin via family members from Oak Ridge, S.C.
"Since we first met back in 2011, we have been like brothers to one another," Bigger said. "We are very close and hang out with each other everyday. Brandon and I live together, and Mo is always around our house. To be honest, I knew there was something special between the three of us from the start. It was something I really couldn't explain, but once we found out that we were all cousins, things just started making since."
Over the past three seasons, the trio have combined for 217 tackles, 6.5 sacks and 15.5 TFL's in 89 career games while helping the Pirates to consecutive post-season bowl appearances, which included a 37-20 win over Ohio in the 2013 Beef `O' Brady's Bowl.
"I'm hoping this will play out to be a special season for us," Williams said. "I really love playing with both of those guys and it gives me goose bumps when I think of the special bond we share. We each bring something different to the table when we are on the field. Zeek is a hard-nosed, hard hitter. Mo is more of a finesse player and I think of myself as an attacker."
Following a stellar prep career for John Devine at South Point, which resulted in three consecutive conference titles and a state championship in 2009, Falls was the first to arrive at East Carolina enrolling in January of 2010, just days after McNeill took over the Pirate program. After initially redshirting in 2010, he appeared in 10 games in a reserve role and made his lone start against Marshall in the season finale registering a pair of sacks.
Fast forward nearly three years, and 25 games later, Falls enters his senior season as the starting "will" linebacker and has been named to the initial Dick Butkus Award Watch List, which is given out annually to the nation's top linebacker. During his three-year career he has tallied 43 stops (18 solo), while adding 4.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
But Falls just hasn't succeeded on the gridiron, he has made a name for himself in the weight room and is currently pursing his second undergraduate degree in business information technology after earning his bachelor's degree in sports studies in May of 2014.
Standing at 6-3 and weighing in at 247 pounds, Falls has been clocked at a 4.47 40, sports a 36-inch vertical leap, while boasting a 425-poung bench and 645-pound back squat - all of which landed him on Bruce Feldman's (Fox Sports) Top 20 `Freaks' in college football list for 2014.
"It's really hard to believe this is my senior year," Falls added. "Time has flown by and it's been a lot of fun. Going into my fifth year with Ruff, it has just been amazing. He has preached `family' since he first got his and to a lot of us, he is a father figure and is the most genuine person I know. Ruff's door is always open to talk, not just to the football team, but anyone who wants to sit down and talk. There is a reason that the Pirate Nation respects and loves this man, and it's because of the passion he has for East Carolina."
Both Bigger and Williams came to Greenville as part of Coach McNeill's second recruiting class in 2011. Bigger, who redshirted in 2011, experienced action in all 13 games in 2012 recording 18 tackles (nine solo) mostly as a member of the special teams unit.
A year ago he earned honorable mention All-Conference USA accolades after standing third on the team with 77 stops in 13 contests, 10 of those as a starter at one of the two inside linebacker positions. He has 26 career games under his belt, posted multiple tackles in 17 games and has tallied 95 career tackles.
"Personally I have been waiting for this opportunity a long time," Bigger said of the thought of starting next to Falls and Williams. "One of the main reasons I came to ECU was because of Maurice. We had talked about this opportunity while I was a senior in high school and I have felt right at home from day one."
Williams was the only one of the three to experience action as a true freshman after his redshirt was removed in 2011 against Houston. He played in five consecutive games that season recording nine tackles with one TFL before injuring his knee against Southern Miss, which sidelined him for the final three contests.
After appearing in 10 games as a sophomore, mostly as a member of the special teams unit, Williams was a key reserve on a defensive unit that held six of 12 opponents to 100 or less rushing yards and six opponents to 17 or fewer points during his junior campaign.
In his first career start, which came against Atlantic Coast Conference member Virginia Tech, Williams booked a career-best 12 tackles against the Hokies in a 15-10 defensive battle at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The following week he registered seven stops in the Pirates' 55-31 victory over North Carolina in his second-straight start and went on to tally 69 tackles (28 solo) ranking fifth on the unit.
"Last year might have been the most fun I have ever had on the football field," Williams said. "We had a magical season beating North Carolina and NC State both on the road, and bringing home a bowl win for the Pirate Nation. And this year is setting up to be something special as well, both on a team and personal level. Being able to play my final college season with my two best friends, who happen to be family."
