East Carolina football kicks off the season as a favorite tonight against Towson, but the campaign ahead will be characterized by the Pirates mostly playing the role of underdog.
Picked to finish near the back of the pack in their division in the American Athletic Conference, and without the nationally known names of quarterback Shane Carden and receiver Justin Hardy keeping the Pirates pulsating on the national radar, ECU and sixth-year head coach Ruffin McNeill have already some faced adversity this season, and are sure to find more on their way through a treacherous schedule.
Instead of sophomore Kurt Benkert, who was heavily groomed to replace the record-setting Carden under center beginning tonight, it is junior college transfer Blake Kemp in the captain’s chair thanks to a season-ending knee injury to Benkert during practice two weeks ago.