Spring Break
Liberty Bowl Blog
Addison Harvey
Issue date: 12/4/08 Section: Sports
Staff writer Addison Harvey is on the road with the Pirates as they prepare to face Kentucky in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on January 2nd.
12/31
Day 4 in Memphis:
Tuesday was another very busy day for the Pirates in Graceland. Both ECU and Kentucky partook in an awards luncheon for the Liberty Bowl. This year the luncheon was hosted by Conference USA, which took place in the Hilton Hotel in Memphis, where the Pirates are staying for their trip.
The hotel is located on the outskirts of town in the East Memphis business district. The hotel is roughly a 20-minute car ride to Beale Street or any distractions. So, the Hilton was a good choice for Coach Holtz, his staff, and players.
The team then had a normal practice at 3:00 p.m. at the University of Memphis football complex. The practice went well and the team seems focused on one thing and one thing only: beating Kentucky.
One of the many bonuses of a bowl game is that any player that is academically eligible can travel to the bowl game. This gives the opportunity for many of the younger players and walk-ons an opportunity to experience a road game for the first time in their career.
Some of the players that have bright futures for the Pirates who are traveling for the first time in their career are Andrew Bodenheimer, Justin Venable, and Allen Crowder.
Andrew Bodenheimer is a freshman wide receiver from West Forsyth High School, in Clemmons, NC. Bodenheimer is 6-feet-3 and has great hands. He looks like he could develop into a legit possession receiver for the Pirates.
Justin Venable is a defensive back from Southeast Guilford High School in Climax, NC. Venable is listed at 6-feet-1, though I think he is a few inches taller than that. He has great instincts for the football and his size will be a big advantage when going against taller wide receivers. Expect Venable to be playing safety for ECU in the future.
Allen Crowder is a talented defensive end Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, NC. Crowder is very quick and is developing good technique under the tutelage of defensive line coach Rock Roggeman.
After practice finished, the team had two options; they could either attend the rodeo that was in town, or go watch Shaquille O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Most of the team and faculty decided to attend the basketball game. I decided to pass on the rodeo and go watch the Suns take on the Grizzlies.
I was disappointed to hear that Suns starting point guard Steve Nash would not be playing because of back spasms but the game did not disappoint. The game was a lot of fun and there were a lot of promotions for the Liberty Bowl on the Jumbotron and on the court.
One of the more interesting promotions was a two-ball shoot-off with Davon Drew and Pierre Bell representing ECU going against two players from Kentucky. The outcome was not in the Pirates favor with a 19-4 rout by Kentucky. Hopefully the loss was not an omen of bad things to come for the Pirates.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
12/31
Day 4 in Memphis:
Tuesday was another very busy day for the Pirates in Graceland. Both ECU and Kentucky partook in an awards luncheon for the Liberty Bowl. This year the luncheon was hosted by Conference USA, which took place in the Hilton Hotel in Memphis, where the Pirates are staying for their trip.
The hotel is located on the outskirts of town in the East Memphis business district. The hotel is roughly a 20-minute car ride to Beale Street or any distractions. So, the Hilton was a good choice for Coach Holtz, his staff, and players.
The team then had a normal practice at 3:00 p.m. at the University of Memphis football complex. The practice went well and the team seems focused on one thing and one thing only: beating Kentucky.
One of the many bonuses of a bowl game is that any player that is academically eligible can travel to the bowl game. This gives the opportunity for many of the younger players and walk-ons an opportunity to experience a road game for the first time in their career.
Some of the players that have bright futures for the Pirates who are traveling for the first time in their career are Andrew Bodenheimer, Justin Venable, and Allen Crowder.
Andrew Bodenheimer is a freshman wide receiver from West Forsyth High School, in Clemmons, NC. Bodenheimer is 6-feet-3 and has great hands. He looks like he could develop into a legit possession receiver for the Pirates.
Justin Venable is a defensive back from Southeast Guilford High School in Climax, NC. Venable is listed at 6-feet-1, though I think he is a few inches taller than that. He has great instincts for the football and his size will be a big advantage when going against taller wide receivers. Expect Venable to be playing safety for ECU in the future.
Allen Crowder is a talented defensive end Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, NC. Crowder is very quick and is developing good technique under the tutelage of defensive line coach Rock Roggeman.
After practice finished, the team had two options; they could either attend the rodeo that was in town, or go watch Shaquille O'Neal and the Phoenix Suns take on the Memphis Grizzlies. Most of the team and faculty decided to attend the basketball game. I decided to pass on the rodeo and go watch the Suns take on the Grizzlies.
I was disappointed to hear that Suns starting point guard Steve Nash would not be playing because of back spasms but the game did not disappoint. The game was a lot of fun and there were a lot of promotions for the Liberty Bowl on the Jumbotron and on the court.
One of the more interesting promotions was a two-ball shoot-off with Davon Drew and Pierre Bell representing ECU going against two players from Kentucky. The outcome was not in the Pirates favor with a 19-4 rout by Kentucky. Hopefully the loss was not an omen of bad things to come for the Pirates.
This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolinian.com.
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