The Harrell Huddle: ECU Riding Momentum Into Senior Day vs. Memphis
East Carolina head coach Blake Harrell met with the media on Monday morning following ECU’s 48-22 Homecoming win over Charlotte, a victory that pushed the Pirates to 6-3 overall and 4-1 in the American Conference, officially securing bowl eligibility.
The energy inside TowneBank Tower matched the buzz that surrounded Greenville all weekend, and Harrell made it clear that while getting to six wins was one of the team’s goals, the Pirates aren’t close to finished yet.
A Weekend to Remember in Greenville
Harrell opened his press conference with genuine appreciation for the environment surrounding ECU’s Homecoming weekend.
“What a great homecoming weekend. And I think just the buzz all weekend, not just on campus or at the stadium on Saturday, but just all weekend. We went down spoke at Freeboot Friday, and it started there. It was great to have just so many Hall of Famers back and obviously, the three inductees, we had the letterwinners. David Garrard was on campus, saw that we had three former players in the NFL on the sidelines, and in Shavon Revel, Ja'Quan McMillan, and Julius Wood were there. So great to have all those guys back, our guys that were seniors last year in the Military Bowl. They got their ring Saturday, and I think it just started for me in the Pirate Walk. The Pirate Walk was as crowded as I ever seen it. And Shane Carden and Justin Hardy and Dwayne Harris, all jumped up there with us, and just to have those guys and be able to walk down that and they were all three talking about they didn't get to experience that as players. So I think sometimes we forget how blessed and how fortunate we are to have something like that. And just thank you to the fans and everybody who made that happen, the City of Greenville and everybody in Pirate Nation. And huge shout out to Chancellor Rogers and Jon Gilbert for everything they continue to do and pushing this program to the forefront and making it the top in the conference, but just a really good weekend, and it ended up with a win number six, and bowl-bound and a win over Charlotte.”
Harrell added that while reaching six wins was a key milestone, it’s not where this program plans to stop.
“One of our goals is to reach a bowl game, which we are now eligible for that, but it is not the single goal of this program. I thought we did a good job starting fast and getting out to a good lead. You got a touchdown by London (Montgomery) early on, they jumped offsides on a field goal attempt. So we had to move the ball up there before the second touchdown. Katin Houser found Anthony Smith in the back of the end zone. And then TyMir Brown, think he just got mentioned for honorable mention player of the week defensively, had a pick six, and then Katin kind of put the last touchdown in there, to go up 28-0.”
On Player Development and Energy
Harrell was quick to recognize the individual performances that helped define Saturday’s win.
“Had some really good performances by a lot of young men, I think that played with great energy and great effort and great edge. Josh Benton had his first sack, came in on the predator package there on a big third down, got a sack. Up front, JD Lampley and Zion Wilson continue to play physical and the way we want to play, just really proud of them. I think one of my favorite plays of the game was Kojo (Poku). Jayvontay Conner catches the ball over the middle, and you see Kojo just pursuing down the field and and takes two defenders out, and just kind of sets the tempo of who we want to be. But I thought him and Kyle Long and Darius Bell, all three up front, continue to chase the ball and give us really good effort.”
Special teams success also stood out, with Harrell highlighting both coverage units and the continued excellence of Nick Mazzie, who hit a 50-yarder in the win.
“The kickoff team, I think they had nine kicks on the day. Coverage-wise, all of them that we kicked off from a normal distance. There we had the one where we kicked off at our own 20. But they did a really good job. I think the two they returned, they had one inside the 10, and they tackled them at the 15. There was a penalty on it, and then the other one was inside the 20. So great effort on that. And then Nick Mazzie in the kicking game continues to be special back there. I think he's Special Teams Player of the Week. This week had a 50-yarder. And that's a distance we feel good about him, even backing up a little farther.”
Executing the “Plan to Win”
ECU has leaned on its six-part “plan to win” throughout the season, a formula that includes turnovers, explosive plays, red zone efficiency, rushing margin, field position, and discipline. Harrell said his team nailed all six against Charlotte.
“But the plan to win, our plan to win and do six things. I thought we won all six. It's the turnover battle. So we obviously had TyMir's pick. And then Jackson Barker recovered a fumble as well. We got to do a little better taking care of the ball offensively, as we did have a turnover there, but we won that. The explosive play battle. Thought we did a good job pushing the ball down the field, both in the pass game, and thought we had a few big runs there as well. Won that. Won the red zone. We scored on 100% of our red zone attempts. I think in the stats, it is going to show up as the last one we didn't score on, but that's the one we took a knee on. So we're 100% there, and then won the rushing battle, I think 183 to 40. Field position, won that. And the one I think we've came the furthest on this season and grown the most is our penalties. We only had one penalty, and that was a silly celebration there in the end zone, which I told him in the meeting this morning. I said, we get up 28-0. Bring the ball to me, maybe I'll spike it, and I'll get the penalty.”
Harrell acknowledged that while the performance was strong, there’s still room for growth in finishing games.
“We talked about our expectations and our standard and how we've raised the bar in our locker room, and we got to keep continuing to, you get up 28-0, keep putting the foot on the gas, and that's what we got to improve on. Thought we got to do a better job on conversion downs. Offensively, we didn't do as good this week as we've done throughout the season. Gave up some big plays defensively, relaxed a little bit there. So those things are just things we got to keep attention to detail on, even when you have a lead like that.”
Previewing Senior Day vs. Memphis
Next up, ECU faces Memphis at home for Senior Day, a 4 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPNU. Harrell knows the Tigers will pose a major challenge.
“I'm excited to be back home this weekend and back in Dowdy. We just talked about one of our goals is make a bowl game. Another one of our goals is protect Dowdy, protect our house. And I think that takes everybody. We're 4-1 at home this year. We have won four games and trying to make it number five. And I think that's going to take everybody to get it done. We talked about everybody in our locker room - offense, defense, special teams, scout team, everybody, but I think that's all the Pirate Nation. We're facing a good Memphis team, a Memphis team who's 8-2, they've been in the top 25, they're preseason favorites to win the American Conference, led by Ryan Silverfield. I think he's won over 50 games there, and he's done it all levels… So doing a great job over there.”
“These seniors have made this a meaningful game this coming Saturday in Dowdy-Ficklen at our place, a conference game where you have a tie at the top there. And without those young men, we don't do that. And I think there's 28 of them or so. And those guys, because of what they poured into, not just throughout their career, but into this season, has been pretty special and just very appreciative of what they've done for Pirates this season.”
On ECU’s Growth Throughout the Season
“You see us grow every single week. I think that's where you want to be. You don't want to play your best ball in September. You want to be playing your best ball in November. And I think we continue to grow and push in that direction… These guys, they love ball, they love the work, and they love each other, and if they'll do that, we will get better every single week.”
On Katin Houser’s Progression
“If you compare him to last season, when he first came in to where he is now, it's night and day. I texted his mom last week just told her how proud I was of Katin's growth, not just on the field, but off the field too, the way he leads our football team, the way he carries himself, the confidence he's playing with… I think he's doing a really good job of making decisions, continuing to lead our football team.”
On the Importance of the Crowd
“Yeah, I heard Brian (Bailey)'s paying for all the popcorn in the second half, and Stephen (Igoe), you're buying all the beer in the second half. But I think we talked about, it takes everybody, and we talk about energy, and that's not just our locker room, but for this Saturday, that's every fan in Dowdy-Ficklen and packing that thing out and bringing that juice and bringing that energy and just being a difference.”
“We got a chance to have a meaningful game in November, in Dowdy-Ficklen. What else can you ask for as a fan? And the thing is, you can be a impact on the game. You can affect the game with your energy, your noise and packing that thing out. And people get upset that some somebody might leave the game early 28-0. Hey, I was a college student one time. If my team was up 28-0, I might have slid out and tried to take a nap before the night to get ready to go for round two. But I certainly don't think that'll be the case this week. I think you have people staying around for all four quarters because it's going to be a dang good football game.”
On Xavier McIver’s Health
“Xavier's still not ready yet, just kind of seeing where he's at, we got to do what's best for Xavier and do what's best for our football team. Told some folks this yesterday, like, my job is take care of our football team and take care of our players and make sure their health and safety is first and foremost. And we got to make sure his health and safety is at the forefront of this thing… So we got to explore those options, and at the end of the day, make the best decision for him and our football team.”
On Winning the Rushing Battle
“Yeah, I think we had 183 the other day. They're averaging 187 and just talked about the plan to win right there - win the rushing battle, and that's really a full team thing. If our defense can slow them down running the football, try to make them one dimensional, and if our offense can continue to pound the rock, I think you know that's a key to success for us. If we can't do those things, it's gonna be a tough day.”