University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels Prepare For Pirates
September 18, 2014 | Football
by Emily Fedewa, GoHeels.com
As far as quarterback Marquise Williams is concerned, the North Carolina football team has no choice but to respect East Carolina heading into Saturday's game in Greenville, N.C.
After ECU put on a dominating display in Kenan Stadium to defeat Carolina 55-31 last season, it was clear that the Pirates had earned that respect.
That's why it isn't hard to imagine why UNC is so motivated for this year's game against the Pirates, but Williams doesn't see Saturday as just a simple chance for revenge - he sees a chance for redemption.
"You've got to be hungry for things like this and I know many guys haven't shown their excitement, but deep down inside, I know everybody is excited for this opportunity," Williams said. "They came here (last year) and gave us a spanking... but we get the opportunity to come back and redeem ourselves."
While the desire for redemption is there, head coach Larry Fedora knows Saturday needs to be about this year and this team, instead of what happened a year ago.
It won't be easy, though. Fedora believes that the Pirates are even better this year than they were in 2013.
He said he thinks ECU has players that excel at every position from quarterback to defensive linemen to punters, and the young Tar Heels will have to be ready for it all.
"In every phase of the game, (ECU is) a good football team," Fedora said. "This is a new team. The team that (ECU) has now is better than they were last year, but we're a different team from last year, so it's going to be all about Saturday."
One point of emphasis for UNC on Saturday will be the running game. The offense has struggled to get the running game rolling through the first two games and Williams has led the team in rushing up to this point, something with which Fedora is not altogether satisfied.
For an entire offense that has started off slow in both games this season before turning it on in the second half, it will be important to establish itself early on Saturday against a strong ECU defense.
"Well, I'll tell you what, they do a good job of stopping the run," assistant head coach for offense Seth Littrell said of ECU's defense. "So we've got a big test up front and we've got to do a great job of establishing the run and doing a great job in the run game (on Saturday)."
While the offense has gained leadership this week with the return of senior T.J. Thorpe, who missed 2012 and the first two games of 2014 with a broken foot, the young offensive line just got a little younger with the loss of veteran offensive guard Landon Turner to injury and the addition of his replacement, freshman Jared Cohen.
But Williams isn't concerned about his offense or what happened last year - ECU gained his respect last September, but he and the rest of the Tar Heels are ready to see what this September has in store.
"As far as my offensive line, I'm not too worried...I'm excited to see how it's going to turn out," Williams said. "We're just going to come out hungry. We can't talk about (last year) too much because we've got to leave it in the past. We're about the future and what's going to go down on Saturday, and that's what we're most excited about."
