ECU picked to finish 2nd in C-USA East

From Staff Reports East Carolinian

July 25, 2007

Greenville, NC (CSTV U-WIRE) -- A year after finishing second in the East Division of Conference USA, ECU was picked to finish second in the division in 2007 by the league's 12 head coaches this week.

The Pirates, who made their first bowl appearance since 2001 when they played in the inaugural Papajohns.com Bowl in 2006, picked up 48 points only trailing Southern Miss.

The Pirates, who were picked to finish sixth a year ago, return 73 percent of their letterman and nearly 60 percent of their starters this season. Senior running back/wide receiver Chris Johnson was a first team All C-USA selection as a return specialist last season and was chosen to the preseason list as a kick returner in 2007. He is joined by junior defensive lineman Marcus Hands, a preseason all-conference member.

Southern Miss was picked to finish second in the East Division in last year's poll, but behind freshman running back Damion Fletcher, the Golden Eagles finished the year 6-2 in the league and advanced to the second annual C-USA Football Championship game. USM fell 34-20 to Houston, but rolled to a 28-7 win over Ohio in the GMAC Bowl. The bowl win was the team's third straight and Southern Miss closed out its 13th straight winning season with a 9-5 record, the schools fourth nine-win season since 1997.

Junior wide receiver Jarrett Dillard of Rice was chosen as the league's preseason Offensive Player of the Year after establishing Rice single-season receiving records last season. Dillard caught 91 passed for 1,274 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2006. The 21 TD catches also set a C-USA record and he enters the 2007 season with an overall streak of 15 consecutive games with a TD catch, just three off the record of 18.

Reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Year Albert McClellan of Marshall was picked as the preseason favorite to repeat as the conference's top defensive player. He led C-USA in sacks (11) and tackles for loss (19), while registering 77 total tackles in 2006.

The 2007 C-USA Football season kicks off on Thursday, August 30 when Tulsa travels to Louisiana-Monroe in a game that will be televised by ESPN2 at 6 p.m. CT. Nine more games will take place on Saturday, September 1, with five of the contest set to air on national television. ECU's opener against Virginia Tech will be televised by ESPN at noon, and SMU will take on Texas Tech on Monday, September 3 on ESPN to round out the full slate of opening weekend games.