By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — One of East Carolina’s primary goals on offense is to rush for 200 yards per game.
So far, no dice.
The Pirates have yet to turn in a 200-yard rushing performance in the 2008 season, after reaching the milestone six times a year ago.
The Pirates are the 80th ranked rushing offense in the country, averaging 131.2 yards per game, after averaging 182.9 a year ago to rank 36th in the nation.
So far, the Pirates have split time between senior Brandon Simmons and sophomores Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley.
Simmons leads East Carolina with 226 yards on the season. Williams has rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns, while Whitley has 123 yards on just 16 carries (an average of 7.7 yards per carry).
Simmons has started all five games at tailback, and is slated to get the start again this week at Virginia.
But according to Smith, Williams is likely to get the majority of the touches against the Cavaliers because of his big play ability.
Williams found himself in the doghouse earlier this season because of fumbling issues, but Smith thinks they’ve got that problem taken care of.