The 2007 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and played their home games in Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium. The team was coached by Skip Holtz, who was in his fourth year with the program.

The Pirates have a local television contract with WITN-TV, an NBC affiliate located in Washington, NC who elects to pick up games that are not picked up by national or regional networks, and all games are broadcast over the radio on the Pirate-ISP Sports Network. The flagship radio stations of the Pirates are Pirate Radio 1250 and 930 AM and Oldies 107.9 WNCT, both located in Greenville, NC. The games are called by the "Voice of the Pirates," Jeff Charles.

Preseason

Recruiting

Schedule

Roster 2007 East Carolina PiratesQuarterbacks 4 Taylor Mazzone – Sophomore 11 Brett Clay – Sophomore 12 D.J. McFadden – Freshman 13 Joe Sloan – Sophomore 14 Rob Kass – Sophomore 15 Patrick Pinkney† – Junior

Running backs 1 Darnell Ballard – Sophomore 2 Jonathan Williams – Freshman 5 Chris Johnson† – Senior 6 J.R. Rogers – Junior 24 Dominique Lindsay† – Junior 25 Brandon Simmons – Junior 33 Justin Brockmeyer – Sopohomre 33 Norman Whitley – Freshman -- Derrick Jones – Junior

Fullbacks 39 Ben Herlocker – Freshman 43 Jason Simmons – Junior 91 Jay Sonnhalter – Senior -- David Ward – Junior

Wide receivers 7 T.J. Lee – Junior 10 Jamar Bryant† – Sophomore 17 Dwayne Harris† – Freshman 22 Michael Bowman – Freshman 28 Michael Hickman – Senior 32 Philip Henry – Senior 80 Alex Taylor – Sophomore 81 Darryl Freeney – Freshman 82 Juwon Crowell – Senior 83 Steven Rogers† – Senior 84 Javon Brumsey – Freshman 85 DeMorio Waymon – Freshman 88 Kyle Johnson – Sophomore -- Jeremy Bullard – Junior -- Anthony Green – Freshman Tight ends 3 Davon Drew† – Junior 85 Martin Tanski – Sophomore 86 Michael Byrd – Freshman 87 J.R. Kraemer – Junior 89 Will Towery – Freshman

Offensive line 54 Sean Allen – Sophomore 57 Fred Hicks – Junior 60 Andrew Farr – Freshman 62 Larry Lease – Freshman 63 Doug Polochak – Freshman 64 Travis Melvin – Freshman 65 Travis Bastin – Freshman 66 D.J. Scott – Freshman 68 Matt Butler† – Senior 69 Willie Barton – Junior 70 Doug Palmer† – Sophomore 72 Stephen Heis† – Sophomore 75 Cory Dowless – Sophomore 76 Josh Coffman† – Senior 78 Stanley Bryant† – Junior 79 Brandon Setzer – Junior

Defensive line 41 Zack Slate† – Junior 53 Scotty Robinson – Sophomore 56 Chris Atkins – Freshman 89 Craig Harper – Senior 90 Jay Ross† – Sophomore 92 Marcus Hands – Junior 93 Kwaku Danso – Sophomore 93 Maurice Mercer – Freshman 94 Willie Smith – Freshman 95 C.J. Wilson† – Sophomore 96 Mark Robinson – Senior 97 Linval Joseph† – Freshman 98 Khalif Mitchell – Junior 99 Antonio Allison – Freshman 99 Nweike Osemene – Senior Linebackers 31 Lorenzo Osborne – Sophomore 34 Pierre Bell† – Junior 40 Cliff Perryman – Freshman 42 Danny Muhwezi – Senior 44 Nick Johnson – Sophomore 46 A.J. Johnson – Freshman 47 Orlando Farrow – Senior 48 Durwin Lamb – Senior 49 Jeremy Chambliss – Sophomore 50 Quentin Cotton† – Junior 51 Fred Wilson† – Senior 55 Dalvon Mack – Junior 55 Steve Spence – Freshman 56 Juan Quintanilla – Junior 58 Austin Haynes – Freshman

Defensive backs 22 Kris Bell – Sophomore 24 Jeremy Bullock – Sophomore 26 Derek Blacknall – Freshman 27 Spencer Hampton – Freshman 27 Devon Wallace – Freshman 28 Matt Thompson – Freshman 37 Julian Carter – Freshman 38 Emanuel Davis – Freshman 40 Kurtis von Bargen – Junior

Cornerback 8 Travis Williams† – Senior 35 Jerek Hewett† – Junior 13 Travis Simmons – Freshman 21 Darryl Reynolds – Freshman 23 Dekota Marshall – Freshman Safeties 1 Leon Best – Junior 4 Van Eskridge† – Sophomore 9 Melvin Patterson – Senior 20 J.J. Milbrook† – Junior 19 Chris Mattocks – Sophomore

Punters 5 Nathan Przestrzelski – Freshman 14 Matt Dodge† – Sophomore

Kickers 30 Ben Hartman† – Sophomore

Long snappers 59 Wilson Raynor† – Junior 52 Corey Bass – Junior † Starter at position

Coaching staff PositionNameYears at ECUAlma MaterHead Coach: Skip Holtz3rdNotre Dame '86Offensive coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach: Todd Fitch1stOhio Wesleyan '86Defensive coordinatorLinebacker Coach: Greg Hudson2ndNotre Dame '90Offensive coordinatorOffensive linemen coach: Steve Shankweiler3rd(13th overall)Davidson '74Assistant head coach/Secondarys Coach Rick Smith3rdFlorida State '71Director of strength & conditioningMichael Golden2ndCentral Connecticut State '92Defensive end Coach/Special teamsVernon Hargreaves1stConnecticut '86Wide receiver Coach/Recruiting coordinatorDonnie Kirkpatrick3rdLenoir-Rhyne '82Tight ends Coach: Phil Petty3rdSouth Carolina '01Director of HS football relationsHarold Robinson3rdEast Carolina '72Defensive tackle CoachThomas Roggeman3rdNotre Dame '85Running backs CoachWardell "Junior" Smith3rdEast Carolina '97Director of operationsClifford Snow2ndCentral Connecticut State '83Staff Assistant/Defense CoachTim Carter2ndTulane '01Staff Assistant/Offense CoachPaul Troth2ndLiberty '05Administrative Assistant to Coach HoltzCourtney Bishop--Administrative AssistantAnn Coyle-East Carolina '06Administrative AssistantRyan Ormond-North Carolina '02

Game summaries

Virginia Tech

Recap: Week 1

The Pirates traveled to Blacksburg for an emotional game that marked the first football game since thirty-two students lost their lives in a shooting on the Virginia Tech campus. Prior to the game, the Hokies led the all-time series 8–4–1. The Pirates entered the game without starting quarterback Rob Kass and struggled offensively. After a costly interception returned for a touchdown by Macho Harris followed by a Sean Glennon touchdown pass, the Pirates were defeated by Virginia Tech, 17–7.

North Carolina

Recap: Week 2

The Pirates welcomed the Tar Heels to Greenville for only the second time in this series' history. North Carolina went into the game leading the all-time record 8–1–1 after a 28–17 victory in Greenville in 2003, but they would be unable to repeat. Quarterback Patrick Pinkney led the Pirates offensively and completed 31 of 41 passes for 406 yards, but North Carolina's T. J. Yates would answer by throwing three touchdowns and keeping the game close. A costly mistake by the Tar Heels set up the final drive, where after missing all prior field goals in the game, Placekicker Ben Hartman made the game-winning field goal, leading the Pirates to defeat the Tar Heels in Greenville for the first time ever, 34–31.

Southern Miss

West Virginia

Houston

UCF

UTEP

NC State

UAB

Memphis

Marshall

Tulane

Hawaii Bowl

Postseason

NFL draft picks Chris Johnson – Round 1: 24th (24th overall) – Tennessee Titans

Awards

Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year: Chris Johnson

Honors

1st Team All America Chris Johnson – Sr. KR1st Team All C-USA Chris Johnson – Sr. KR2nd Team All C-USA Chris Johnson – Sr. RB Josh Coffman – Sr. OL Zack Slate – Jr. DL C.J. Wilson – Jr. DL Van Eskridge – So. DB Matt Butler – Sr. OLC-USA All Freshman Team D.J. Scott – OL Linval Joseph – DL Travis Simmons – DB Jonathan Williams – KR Dwayne Harris – PRC-USA All Academic Team Josh Coffman Sr. RT (3.50)

Statistics

Team Team Opp Scoring 403 395   Points per game 31 30.4 First downs 246 300   Rushing 117 105   Passing 108 175   Penalty 21 20 Total offense 5011 5605   Avg per play 5.7 5.7   Avg per game 385.5 431.2 Fumbles-Lost 15–5 28–14 Penalties-Yards 104–827 71–699   Avg per game 63.6 53.8 Team Opp Punts-Yards 82-3307 61-2256   Avg per punt 40.3 37.0 Time of possession/Game 28:56 31:04 3rd down conversions 71/182 81/201 4th down conversions 4/12 11/19 Touchdowns scored 52 48 Field goals-Attempts-Long 13–23 21–27 PAT-Attempts 50–50 40–45 Attendance 249219 242242   Games/Avg per Game 6/41536 6/40374   Neutral Site Avg 1/41536

Scores by quarter

Offense

Rushing Name GP Att Gain Loss Net Avg Td Long Avg/gJohnson, Chris 13 236 1468 45 1423 6.0 17 70 109.5Pinkney, Patrick 13 79 402 96 306 3.9 1 45 23.5Lindsay, Dominique 13 66 225 20 205 3.1 5 22 15.8Harris, Dwayne 13 20 197 0 197 9.9 1 57 15.2Williams, Jonathan 10 22 153 3 150 6.8 1 35 15.0Whitley, Norman 8 6 44 0 44 7.3 0 14 5.5Simmons, Brandon 11 11 32 4 28 2.5 2 9 2.5Dodge, Matt 13 3 20 0 20 6.7 0 9 1.5Kass, Rob 10 33 101 82 19 0.6 2 15 1.9Brockmeyer, Justin 1 1 1 0 1 1.0 0 1 1.0Ballard, Darnell 1 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0.0Clay, Brett 4 3 3 14 −11 −3.7 0 3 −2.8Team 8 3 0 4 −4 −1.3 0 0 −0.5 Total 13 484 2646 268 2378 4.9 29 70 182.9

Passing Name GP Effic Att-cmp-int Pct Yds Td Lng Avg/gPinkney, Patrick 13 131.69 121–200–4 60.5 1358 11 78 104.5Kass, Rob 10 123.13 96–175–4 54.9 1164 9 72 116.4Clay, Brett 4 39.88 5–13–1 38.5 26 0 14 6.5Harris, Dwayne 13 367.33 1–3–0 33.3 80 1 80 6.2Sloan, Joseph 13 142.00 1–1–0 100.0 5 0 5 0.4Team 8 0.00 0–3–0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 Total 13 125.69 224–395–9 56.7 2633 21 80 202.5

Receiving Name GP No. Yds Avg TD Long Avg/GBryant, Jamar 13 48 704 14.7 6 80 54.2Johnson, Chris 13 37 528 14.3 6 78 40.6Henry, Phillip 13 27 279 10.3 0 20 21.5Harris, Dwayne 13 26 246 9.5 2 22 18.9Rogers, Steven 13 25 252 10.1 2 39 19.4Drew, Davon 13 19 196 10.3 2 26 15.1Crowell, Juwon 13 11 144 13.1 1 34 11.1Lindsay, Dominique 13 9 58 6.4 1 11 4.5Sonnhalter, Jay 13 7 54 7.7 0 16 4.2Lee, T.J. 12 5 83 16.6 1 34 6.9Hickman, Michael 12 4 79 19.8 0 31 6.6Johnson, Kyle 10 2 5 2.5 0 6 0.5Kraemer, J.R. 9 1 9 9.0 0 9 1.0Brumsey, Javon 2 1 5 5.0 0 5 2.5Williams, Jonathan 10 1 4 4.0 0 4 0.4Pinkney, Patrick 13 1 −13 −13.0 0 0 −1.0 Total 13 224 2633 11.8 21 80 202.5

Defense