By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — There’s a lot to be thankful for this time of year in Pirate Nation. East Carolina’s run at retaining its Conference USA title has provided excitement for the last 11 weeks, and with each victory the school is building a case for higher bowl bid in the future.
In order for the Pirates (7-4, 6-1) to get a crack at another conference crown they must first top Southern Miss (7-4, 5-2) on Saturday when the two teams kickoff at 1:30 p.m. in Greenville.
The winner of that C-USA East showdown will advance to the title game on Dec. 5 against either Houston or SMU.
While the BCS hopes that drifted in the air early this season have long since vanished, the Pirates’ season has generally met preseason expectations thanks in large part to a receiver who has been exceeding them.
Sophomore wideout Darryl Freeney entered this season as a player who had a lot of potential, but with Dwayne Harris and Jamar Bryant slated ahead of him on the depth chart, most felt Freeney would make his impact next year.
However, Bryant (who is currently listed as questionable for Saturday with a shoulder injury) has been nicked up this season and has missed four games.
Bryant’s absence left a hole at across the field from Harris, but following Pirates’ coach Skip Holtz’s “Next man up” motto, Freeney has fulfilled his duty.
The Suffolk, Va. native has started for ECU in its last four games, in which the Pirates where 3-1 with their only loss coming to Virginia Tech, and has already become the team’s second-leading receiver with 30 catches for 492 yards (16.4 per) and three touchdowns.
“Coach always puts us in the mind set where the 2’s are playing as 1’s. The 2’s have to have the mind set that they are starters because everyday you are one play away from being a starter,” Freeney said. “So at Memphis I got my opportunity and tried to make the best of it.”
He certainly did as the redshirt sophomore caught five passes for a then-career-high 116 yards and his first TD of the year, a 31-yarder, in ECU’s 38-19 win over the Tigers.
Freeney’s production (4-50) dropped off the next week against No. 22 Virginia Tech, but so did everybody else’s on the offensive side of the ball in the team’s 16-3 loss.
The following week Freeney bested his Memphis numbers as he caught eight passes for 152 yards, 37 of which came on a TD reception to help the Pirates top Tulsa 44-17.
The 5-11, 190-pound speedster recorded his third 100-yard game in four starts in Saturday’s 37-21 victory over UAB when he caught eight passes for 108 yards and a score. That crushed UAB’s hopes at a conference title and helped set up this Saturday’s matchup with Southern Miss.
It wasn’t too long ago that the Pirates’ offense was starving for big plays, but with Freeney stepping up his game the ECU offense has become much more dangerous.
Against the Blazers Freeney caught a 59-yard bomb from Pinkney for a score, tying him for the team’s longest TD play of the season with Harris.
Harris recorded his 59-yarder on the same day, and Freeney was a big part of that play as well.
Harris caught a screen on the left side of the field with space in front of him, as well as two defenders. Freeney immediately brought one defender down, then got off the ground and sprinted roughly five yards to get the next defender and spring Harris for the score.
Holtz said Freeney entered this season rated as the team’s No. 2 playmaker at receiver, and felt his maturity has led him to his success.
“I think Freeney has always been talented, we said that last year as a redshirt freshman when we saw him catch that ball against Kentucky and get all the way down into the end zone,” Holtz said. “We know that he has speed and talent but we have just been waiting for him to mature as a football player and understand coverages and blocking schemes. … It’s not just go down there and run a curl, it’s reading two-deep, three-deep and understanding those coverages. … I think he is really growing into his talent right now.”
His maturity has not only helped himself, but everybody else on the offense as opposing teams now have to respect the pass to Harris on one side of the field and Freeney on the other, while worrying about Dominique Lindsay and the running game.
“Having Dwayne on the other side helps him because it makes it harder to identify which side you are going to roll your coverage to,” Holtz said. “Patrick likes throwing the deep ball to him, he is one of the fastest receivers we have. … All of a sudden when you have that ability to get behind people you find the defensive backs play with a lot more of a cushion and open up, which makes those underneath routes a lot more open.”
The Pirates hope Freeney can have that kind of affect against Southern Miss this Saturday, as the Eagles come to Greenville with the league’s second best run defense (116 yards per game).
“Southern Miss has one of the best defensive fronts we are going to play against, they are big, quick and athletic,” Holtz said. “Marshall rushed for around .6 yards per run and UCF rushed for one yard per carry against them, people are throwing it against them because they have to. … Having the ability to have some balance will be key for us.”