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© St. Petersburg Times, published October 18, 2002
SCOUTING REPORT
East Carolina (2-3) has been poor on the road, losing squeakers at Duke and Wake Forest and allowing a staggering 536 rushing yards in a 37-17 loss at West Virginia. The Pirates have been strong at home, however, beating Tulane and Army by a combined 83-44 to get off to a 2-0 start in Conference USA.
On offense, ECU graduated the record-setting duo of quarterback David Garrard and running back Leonard Henry. The 59 points against hapless Army aside, the offense has struggled, and ECU ranks 112th out of 117 Division I-A teams in total offense. Sophomore quarterback Paul Troth has completed 73 of 136 passes (53.7 percent) with 5 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. The offensive line averages 306 pounds.
On defense, ECU is paced by defensive tackle Damane Duckett, a 6-foot-7, 300-pound junior who is considered a strong NFL prospect. Two redshirt freshmen start at inside linebacker, leading tackler Chris Moore (56 tackles) and Josh Chilsom, an Armwood High graduate whom USF recruited. ECU ranks 84th nationally in total defense, allowing 384.8 yards a game.
The Pirates have six straight wins against teams from Florida, four against Central Florida and two over Miami, in 1996 and '99. ECU has been to three straight bowl games and five in coach Steve Logan's 10 seasons.
The topic is USF running backs. For speed and quickness, Quinton Callum comes to mind. Explosiveness, and DeJuan Green comes up. Tackle-breaking strength, and Clenton Crossley is your man.
Vince Brewer? He's the other guy, the quiet, oft-overlooked member of the Bulls' four-man running back corps. He is slower than Callum, less dynamic than Green and less powerful than Crossley. Whatever Brewer might lack in speed/strength, he makes up for in instincts and intangibles. Brewer, 5 feet 10 and 210 pounds, seldom fumbles, he reads blocks well, picks up blitzes and follows assignments.
He can run the ball a little, too. The junior from Bartow leads the Bulls with 214 yards and a 5.1 average per carry on 42 attempts. Brewer has great feet, balance and a knack for making the first guy miss, and his increased role has helped invigorate the ground game. In the first four games, USF rushed for an average of 85.8 yards. Since Brewer entered the starting lineup the past two games, the Bulls have averaged 152.5.
"Is our profile bigger? I have no idea. I've been sitting in a trailer for the last three days watching film. I haven't really talked to anybody. I've been pretty, um, what's the word, recluse? Is that a word? I think it might be. Where you're just kind-of hibernating. That's about all my life is right now, watching film and hibernating, and then taking a nap on the couch maybe for 15 minutes, those power naps everybody talks about to kind-of recharge your batteries. ... That's about all I've been doing."
-- JIM LEAVITT, USF coach, when asked Tuesday if the profile of the program was at its highest point after beating Southern Miss.
This season, ESPN.com and CBSsportsline are ranking the top 10 teams outside of the six BCS conferences (and Notre Dame). USF, ranked as high as sixth in the ESPN poll after beating Northern Illinois 37-6 on Sept. 7, has been unranked since but reappeared this week after beating Southern Miss.
-- Compiled by Pete Young.