Tim Beck on ECU: Respect for Pirates Ahead of First Meeting Since 2022

East Carolina and Coastal Carolina are set to clash for the first time since the 2022 Birmingham Bowl when they meet this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET inside Brooks Stadium. That night in Birmingham, ECU rolled to a 53-29 win, and while much has changed since then, the matchup still carries plenty of intrigue.

At that time, Tim Beck had just been introduced as Coastal Carolina’s next head coach and watched the bowl from the sideline while an interim staff led the Chanticleers. Now two years later, Beck is firmly at the helm of the program, preparing to face an ECU team led by Blake Harrell—who was the Pirates’ defensive coordinator in that same bowl game before being elevated to head coach.

This weekend will mark the first time Beck and Harrell square off as head coaches, though the two have shared a field before. Back in 2022, Beck was NC State’s offensive coordinator opposite Harrell’s ECU defense in the season opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. Beck’s résumé also includes stops at Ohio State, Texas, Nebraska, and Kansas before taking over at Coastal, where he guided the Chanticleers to an 8-5 record in 2023 capped by a Hawaii Bowl win. Last year, Coastal went 6-7, falling to UTSA in the Myrtle Beach Bowl.

Through two games this season, Coastal Carolina sits at 1-1 after a blowout loss to UVA (48-7) in its opener and a bounce-back shutout win against Charleston Southern (13-0). Now both the Pirates and Chanticleers enter Saturday’s matchup with identical 1-1 records.

Before the game, Beck met with the media to share his thoughts on ECU:

On what concerns him with East Carolina

"They're a good football team. They're well-coached. They play really fast. They play hard. Offensively, they're going to run the football. They're going to RPO you. They're going to try and get you to commit to the run, then throw the ball behind you with RPOs. Then just when they think they've lulled you to sleep, they're going to throw one over your head. They've got really fast receivers. Defensively, they're a multiple front. They're aggressive. They move guys around. They get off blocks and run well. They are good in the secondary. They're long. It's a good football team. So we welcome the challenge. It's going to be a great game Saturday."

On if Katin Houser reminds him of UVA quarterback Chandler Morris

"Yeah, he's very similar. He makes really good decisions. He's smart. He knows just when he needs to run it. He won't run it all the time. But he knows when he needs to run it to keep drives alive. I've been very, very impressed with him. Ever since they inserted him a year ago, I think they've only lost one or two games. He's really got them rolling offensively."

On if this is a turning point game for Coastal

"I'm anxious to see our guys go out and play. Because now you're looking at a football team, you learned from the first game, and you keep learning, then you see where you're at. This is an excellent opponent we're playing. I have a tremendous amount of respect for them and how they play the game, and what Coach has done. And it is a stepping stone, I view it as a stepping stone, to get into conference play. I don't know that it makes or breaks your season by no means. But it is a stepping stone and a chance for us to elevate and get better taking us into our conference."