By By PETER WILLIAMS
Staff Writer
Rob Kass is down, but not out.
The ECU quarterback who was suspended for the season opener last week because of a DUI arrest, is back on the team but he’ll have to earn the starting position by working from scratch, Pirate head coach Skip Holtz said Monday.
Patrick Pinkney earned the right to start in Saturday’s 6 p.m. game against the Tar Heels and Kass may be as low as fourth in the depth chart.
Pinkney connected of 14-of-25 passes for 115 yards and rushed for another 48 Saturday against Virginia Tech, one of the top defenses in the country. Brett Clay, who started at quarterback went 2-for-6 for four yards.
Holtz took little solace that his team was beaten by a team that was ranked ninth in the country on its home turf in an emotional game that included a memorial for Tech students and teacher killed by a gunman in April.
The next step on that learning road will be against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Heels hold a 8-1-1 series advantage on the Pirates. The last time ECU won was more than 30 years ago. The Heels may be coming off a 3-9 season, but have a new coach in Butch Davis and have a win under their belt.
Davis, a former NFL coach, runs a pro style offense which concerns Holtz.