Recruiting: ECU Football Adding Track Athletes

Skip Holtz is putting East Carolina on the fast track to success in more ways than one.

Despite ECU’s 1-3 start this season, the third-year head coach has orchestrated a rapid turnaround in Greenville from the dismal 2003 and 2004 seasons when the Pirates managed just three wins.

One of the strategies used by Holtz to revive the ECU program has been to recruit athletes who have a background in track and field.

Football and track have always shared a bond because the speed, explosive bursts and agility required in both sports are similar. So recruiting athletes who have excelled at both sports in high school isn’t a new phenomena.

But Holtz has, at the very least, taken the philosophy to a new level.

Consider the 26-man class ECU signed in February as an example. At least 16 of those players participated in track and field in high school, and nine of them were state-level performers.

Defensive back Emanuel Davis was the state 1-A triple jump champion in 2006, lineman Steven Baker was third in the state 3-A shot put as a junior and seventh as a senior, and defensive back Julian Carter was a finalist in the 4-A 300-meter hurdles as a junior.

Holtz is continuing to pursue track stars for the Class of 2008. ECU’s latest oral commitment came from one of the state’s top hurdlers in Jacobi Jenkins from Rocky Mount.

Jenkins, a wide receiver-defensive back for the Gryphons, placed third in the 100-meter hurdles at the state meet last year with a time of 14.40 seconds and was fifth in the 300 hurdles at 39.92.

Jenkins has utilized that speed mostly in the secondary at Rocky Mount where he’s been a two-time all-state pick. He entered his senior year with 14 career interceptions.

Despite his great speed, Jenkins actually began his football career as an offensive lineman.

“Yeah, believe it or not, when I was in the seventh grade they put me on the offensive line,’’ Jenkins said. “It was kind of crazy to tell you the truth. There were people on the line who were 100 pounds bigger than me.

“But I did start.’’

Jenkins, a 6-foot-1, 170-pounder, said he’s been recruited to play wide receiver for the Pirates. But he also hopes to continue his track career in Greenville.

“I love track,’’ he said. “I plan on doing it [at ECU].’’

Butler QB opts for Illinois: Charlotte Butler High quarterback Jacob Charest, who passed for more than 3,000 yards last season, is headed to Big Ten country to play his college ball.

The 6-3, 190-pounder fielded offers from a wide range of out-of-state programs including Akron, California, Iowa, Louisville and Oregon. The Illini loomed as Charest’s favorite for several months over Iowa and Oregon.

Oddly, the major in-state programs showed little interest in Charest. But their loss is Illinois’ gain.

Charest is off to a great start this season at Butler. He had thrown 17 touchdown passes through the first four games.

Two-minute warning: With the struggles N.C. State has experienced at quarterback this year, Wolfpack fans are anxiously awaiting the arrival of Chantilly, Va., quarterback Mike Glennon next year. Glennon, the younger brother of Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon, committed to the Wolfpack in July. He directed his prep team, Westfield, to a 28-16 win against Chantilly last Friday by completing 15 of 22 passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns. Glennon also added 50 yards rushing on six attempts. ... Fayetteville’s Dwayne Allen from Terry Sanford High was on hand at Carter-Finley Stadium last Saturday as Clemson beat the Wolfpack 42-20. Allen, one of the nation’s top tight end prospects, made the trip with several of his Terry Sanford teammates. Although committed to Georgia, Allen is still looking at other schools. ... Kinston defensive end Quinton Coples is spending his senior season at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va. The 6-7, 250-pounder told the Kinston Free Press last week he’s narrowed his choice of schools to Florida State, LSU, North Carolina, N.C. State, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. ...