Pirates' Lee out for season

GREENVILLE - East Carolina wide receiver T.J. Lee had surgery Sunday to repair a broken leg and will miss the remainder of the season, Pirates coach Skip Holtz said Monday.

Lee, a senior from Raleigh, suffered the injury while returning a kickoff during the fourth quarter of ECU's 19-16 overtime win over Marshall on Saturday.

Lee started four games and caught nine passes for 136 yards this season, but his biggest moment came when he blocked a punt and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown in the Pirates' season-opening win against Virginia Tech on Aug. 30.

He caught a career-high four passes for 61 yards against Marshall, and he was beginning to emerge as a return threat on special teams.

Holtz said Lee came to him last week offering to play defense or increase his role on special teams - whatever the coach needed.

"I hate it because T.J. has come along so far," Holtz said, referring to Lee's loss as "a huge blow."

Lee joins a list of seven other ECU players who are listed as out, most notably Quentin Cotton. The star senior linebacker was lost for the season in the third week.

"To see, all of a sudden, it all taken away from (Lee), those are the stories, like the Quentin Cotton story, that just break your heart," Holtz said.

With Lee's injury, freshman Darryl Freeney moved up a spot on the depth chart behind sophomore Dwayne Harris. 

Speeding things up

Even short-handed, the first-place Pirates (6-3, 4-1 Conference USA) visit Southern Miss on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles (4-6, 2-4) own a 25-8 advantage in the all-time series, which has taken on rivalry status over the years.

An ECU victory would keep the Pirates in command of the league's East Division. A loss would make a first-ever appearance in the Dec. 6 conference championship game less of a foregone conclusion.

The Pirates, who lead the league in scoring defense with 21.2 points per game allowed, have held their last three opponents to an average of 12 points per game by using a simplified, conservative approach on defense.

The quick-strike Golden Eagles are fifth in C-USA in scoring offense, averaging 31.9 points per game. That, Holtz said, is likely to change how the Pirates operate when they have the ball.

"They can score some points," he said, "and so obviously you can't play it as close to the vest offensively and kind of run it, punt it away and count on your defense." 

Pretty with Pink

Senior quarterback Patrick Pinkney made a case Saturday for keeping his job. With newfound protection that had been largely absent in recent weeks, he completed 26-of-37 passes for a season-high 287 yards and a touchdown.

But Holtz is keeping junior backup Rob Kass in the mix. He said the quarterback he chooses from week to week will be the one who gives his team the best chance to win against a particular opponent, and that neither player should be concerned with job security.

"I don't want them looking over their shoulder," Holtz said. "I don't want them squeezing the ball because they've got to make a throw, because they're afraid they're going to get pulled. I want it to be a situation where we put the quarterback best suited to turn and handle the situation at the time (into the game)."

Pinkney, who hit nine different receivers Saturday, played the entire game for the first time since a 35-20 loss at Virginia on Oct. 11. 

Honored roles

Pirates defensive back Emanuel Davis and kicker Ben Hartman were rewarded by the league on Monday for their efforts against Marshall.

Davis, a redshirt freshman who picked off two of the Thundering Herd's first four passes, was named C-USA's Defensive Player of the Week. He is tied for the league lead with four interceptions.

Hartman, a junior who drilled a 27-yard field goal to end the game in overtime, received special teams honors. He missed a 42-yarder at the end of regulation but redeemed himself with the fourth game-winning kick of his career.

"I would've loved to have seen him make the first kick," Holtz said. "But it made it much more dramatic to do it the way we did it." 

David Hall can be reached at (252) 559-1086 or at dhall@freedomenc.com.