The Harrell Huddle – Memphis Week: ECU Stays in First Place After a Wild 31-27 Win

Dowdy-Ficklen turned into pure chaos on Saturday night, and Blake Harrell loved every second of it. ECU survived Memphis, survived the zebras, survived a late fumble, and survived a legit Top-25 caliber opponent to stay tied for first place in the American Conference.

And like always, Coach Harrell came in firing heaters..

Opening Message From Coach Harrell

"That's worth a big 'Hell Yeah,' right there. How about that? How awesome. Can't say enough good things about our players, the resiliency they had throughout the night and just the way they fought. Things didn't go our way in the first half, and they came back and kept going at it. And, thank you to everyone in that stadium tonight. There's so many people that make this thing go and, for everybody's efforts, Bret at Sup Dogs, everybody's efforts to sell those extra tickets in the stadium tonight, to get the students here, to get the students to the fourth quarter. And you know, that was so special. And we had a little bit of a lull there, in the second half, you see, look up there, and you see those students kind of rallying, and that's the way our football team rallied in the fourth quarter and second half there, and that was so special.

"One of our favorite sayings, it's not about you, it's not about me, it's not about I, it's about us. And it is not just that locker room. Us is Pirate Nation. Us is what we do together as a program, what we do together as a community, and what we do together as Pirates. And that's, you can't have a better proof of that tonight, and just the way we played down the stretch. Payton Mangrum makes a huge play that… he's kind of a backup guy. Has a role all year, a four-core special teams, Mr. Do-it-all, and then didn't play a whole lot in the first half. Yannick (Smith) goes down, and then his number's called, and he makes a heck of a catch there in the fourth, end of the game. And Katin Houser had a turnover before that drive, he comes back, didn't phase him one bit, goes right down the field, puts us in the end zone on the winning game drive. So many good things happened tonight, and such a huge game, and the Pirates are still going to wake up first place in the morning, tied for first place. And that's a pretty good feeling."

On the Boneyard Taking Shirts Off and Sparking the Stadium

"I was thinking about taking my shirt off too. If I thought that would have helped, I would definitely take it off and wave it around. That was awesome. I mean, thank you to those students, how amazing they are and just the way they rally together. What a special place."

On Winning a Close Game for the First Time All Season

"You got seven wins, and, I think all of them are all by double-digits until tonight. You needed to win a close one, because, you're a good football team. But until you win a close one, then you become a great football team. And I think we did that tonight. We didn't see one guy flinch out there. We got the ball back with 2:30, maybe 2:39 on the clock. And even the defense, they had the turnover, then hold them to a field goal. And you're talking about a team that's 40 oof 41 in the red zone, scored a bunch of touchdowns, and nobody flinched. Nobody has been in that situation all year, and they just went right at it, went right to work, and ended up getting the win out of it."

On the Team’s Leadership and Halftime Response

"We talked all week long about our preparation, and yeah, we respect Memphis, and they're a good football team and all those things, but it's all about our preparation, how we do things, our effort, our energy. We talked about that at halftime. Okay, we're one play away from it being a 10-10 ball game. Hadn't played our best football, but it really wasn't about Memphis. It was about how we go attack the second half, our effort, our energy, and just doing those things to out-execute them."

On Yannick Smith’s Injury

"Yeah, he got hurt early in the game, and just couldn't finish it out. So we'll kind of re-evaluate him tomorrow and kind of see where we're at there. So hopefully he bounces back pretty quick. Yannick, he's a tough kid, always a positive kid. Obviously missed him tonight at times, but we can't wait to get him back out there."

On His Conversation With Katin Houser After the Fumble

"I believe in Katin. You don't have to get on Katin and have a conversation with him. He puts that thing behind him and goes right to work. My better conversation with Katin was when we come off the field after the game, and I just hugged him up, and bunch of those guys, and got a chance to hug him up, tell him I love him, appreciate him, and just so proud of him."

On Mike Wright Stealing the Entire Show

"I'm surprised Mike Wright's not in here asking questions. Yeah, he will be soon. Yeah, Mr. Do it all Mike Wright. He just led the fight song in there. He punted tonight. He gets a pick tonight. He's a receiver, he's at running back. He's played quarterback for us. He does everything. And I say this about Mike, and we say about a lot of people, like, he's a really good football player, but he's an outstanding young man, and you get a chance to sit down and talk with him and hear him. You feel that, and it's not fake, it's real. And he's as good as there is. Really appreciate him."

On How They Found Out Wright Could Punt

"We discovered that about Wednesday. I'll be honest, like, I don't think our punt game has been really good. Kind of hanging it in the middle of field, or we do this or do that. And I said, 'Hey Mike and Anthony, because Anthony did punt in high school. Said, Mike, you punted?' He said, yes, Anthony said yes, we got out there, Mike, punts the first one. I say, Anthony, don't even need to punt. Go back to the offensive field. And it's not pretty. I mean, it's a worm burner down there. Looks like my golf shot. Nah, this looks way better than my golf shot. But it's a worm burner down through there, and it goes about 45 yards.

"Now, if somebody doesn't want to come rush the punt, and they don't, and we have the edges, then we'll just take off with Mike Wright. Memphis kind of played safe defense. Didn't get a return. And they obviously have a dangerous return man. I mean, Sutton Sutton Smith is really good football player. He's returned a kick for a touchdown. He had the 86-yard run in the first half. He's back there returning punt, so just trying to keep the ball of his hands. You know, I'd put the ball in his hands a lot more if I was them."

On Zion Wilson’s Senior Day Dominance

"Senior day for Zion Wilson, a guy that walks in this program as a walk on and earned everything he's got. What our program is about is earning everything, and Zion Wilson's about that. Earns the right to be on money, earns the right for playing time, earns the right to be a starter, earns the right to be making plays out there. And just so proud of him and just his resiliency. I mean, at one time we moved him to the offensive line, then moved him back. He's kind of been back and forth, and he certainly found a home this year, and doing a really great job, and just super proud of him."

On the Field Rush and Goalposts Coming Down

"Special, those goal posts come downm like that's pretty special. It's just awesome. I mean, I can't say enough or put into words of what this place is. And, just seeing those students come on the field, hey, that's who we are. Let's celebrate this thing. And I don't know how long it's been since we had a big win like that, in Dowdy-Ficklen on Senior Day, or in November, and have been this situation in the conference. And we certainly are proud of it. We obviously got a big one next week down at UTSA, who I think is 25-0, in there in conference play in the dome. But tonight, we're going to celebrate this, or maybe pop open a cold beer. I don't know."

On What He’ll Remember Most

"The young men, and the way they fight for this university, the way they fight for Pirate Nation, and just the love they have for each other. They're such a joy to be around, like when we go to dinner, and this is something simple, just you hear the noise, and just them communicating, having a good time and laughing up with each other. And that's just showing you how much they enjoy each other. And that's what our team is about, and that's what we're about."

On Defending Memphis QB Brendon Lewis

"You think he's gimpy, and then he takes off for about 30 yards down the middle of the field. I mean, he's a really good quarterback. I mean, Brendan Lewis is a ball player. Third different school now, and made a lot of plays, and probably threw it for over 2,500 yards now, and probably ran for about 800 now, but he's a ball player, and just trying to, put pressure on him, but at the same time, actually, don't let him get out of the pocket and take off down the field. So you kind of had to pick and choose.

"And he did a good job. I mean, he really did. At the end of the day, we found a way to make a play or two to to get a stop. And I thought, beginning of the third quarter, we did a good job of some three-and-outs and getting the ball back to the offense. And we turned the tides there a little bit. But end of the game just, the red coverage down there, and making him move the pocket. And then those guys up front, you could get block, and Memphis starts to move the pocket, and the DL could give up on it. But those guys, JD, Zion, Jasiyah Robinson, Preston, Carr, Ryheem Craig, there's a bunch of seniors in that group too, that's fighting their tails off on Senior Day. They keep chasing the ball and keep playing great effort. And that was so awesome to see."

On London Montgomery’s 27 Carries

"We just want to run the football. It just, he just happened to be the guy in there. We're rotating those guys London, Marlon, TJ, just kind of rotating those guys in there. And you know, he's doing a really good job fighting his tail off and all three of them are, and just really proud of them and the way they developed as running backs throughout this season."

On What the Win Means for the Amercian Confernce Race

"Well, I think it shows like, there's a bunch of tiebreakers out there, and I don't study that crap. So I worry about the next game. I'll worry about, at this point, enjoying this one tonight, and then beating UTSA, and that's all I'll ever worry about. And some tiebreakers go to the rankings. Well, I think a win like this shows the voters out there that shouldn't just be one vote in the Top 25, there should be several. And these guys beat USF, who was a top 25 team. Did they get beat today, by the way? (Yes). Good. Somebody had to fall out first place there. And I don't mean it like that, like anything against Coach Golesh or those guys. But USF was in the Top 25. These guys have been in the Top 25. It's about who you beat. I mean, I know these guys a week ago were Top 25. Now we beat a basically Top 25 team. Yeah, they weren't this week, but they were last week, and they beat South Florida, who was in the Top 25 this week. So what's that say about us, about our football team, and what we can do moving forward? And we talk about playing your best football. Let's play our best football in November. It's the voters always looking at like, hey, sometimes what you had early in the season, but let's look later in the season, when the football really matters, when conference championships are really on the line, and that's what it looks like, to me. And at the same time, I don't worry about all that crap. I worry about UTSA right now, and maybe going and popping a cold one right now."