Steve Franklin Posts

Rice quarterback Chase Clement and wide receiver Jarrett Dillard were recruited by former coach Ken Hatfield to be pieces of the puzzle in Hatfield's run-first option offense.

So much for that theory.

A month ago, the Clement-to-Dillard connection became the most prolific quarterback-wide receiver combination in NCAA history, when the tandem hooked up three times in a 77-20 pounding of North Texas. The three scores left the duo with 41 touchdown connections in their careers, surpassing the mark of 39 shared by Louisiana Tech's Tim Rattay and Troy Edwards, and Hawaii's Colt Brennan and Devane Bess.

"It's definitely an honor," Clement said. "We were recruited to play in an option offense, so no, I never expected to break an NCAA record for passing. Jarrett is a great receiver and he knows how to get open and we were able to develop a great chemistry a few years ago. We worked hard, and it's great to share an amazing record like this with a great friend like Jarrett."

The Owls' duo got off to a flying start this season and they haven't showed any signs of slowing, as they continue to shatter school, conference, and NCAA records.

East Carolina running back Jonathan Williams' legal problems continue.

On Tuesday, hours after news broke about Williams being arrested on Oct. 5 for resisting a police officer, the ECU running back was back in the custody of Greenville police, this time facing two charges for assault with a deadly weapon.

Police allege that on Sunday, the Pirates' leading rusher was involved in an assault at a house party in Greenville. It is alleged that Williams used a beer bottle to strike a male victim in the back of the head, and also struck a female victim in the arm with a beer bottle.

He turned himself into Greenville police on Tuesday evening, and was released on a $2,500 unsecured bond. He faces a November 19 court date for his latest arrest.

ECU coach Skip Holtz didn't become aware of Williams' Oct. 5 arrest until Tuesday. Williams was not at practice the last two days and Holtz would only release the following statement.

"We have just been made aware of the situation and we are certainly going to gather facts from an internal standpoint and let the judicial system take its course," Holtz said. "Any charge filed against an ECU football player is something that we take very seriously, but since this is a legal matter, any further comment on our part would be inappropriate at this point.

East Carolina running back Jonathan Williams is facing criminal charges for the second time in the last six months.

A report surfaced Tuesday that Williams, the Pirates' leading rusher, was arrested on Oct. 5 by the Greenville Police Department for resisting an officer after a domestic call.

He was released on a $1,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 5.

The arrest comes on the heels of Williams' DWI arrest in early April.

It didn't take long for East Carolina quarterback Patrick Pinkney to go from early Heisman hopeful to sideline cheerleader.

The Pirates' senior quarterback was the talk of college football after completing better than 78 percent of his passes in leading East Carolina to wins over No. 17 Virginia Tech and No. 8 West Virginia to open the season. But, after three straight losses in which Pinkney completed just 52 percent of his passes, the Pirates' gunslinger has traded in his purple helmet for a clipboard and ball cap.

Pinkney got the start versus Memphis on Saturday, but after two ineffective series was lifted in favor of junior Rob Kass with ECU trailing 7-0.

Although East Carolina coach Skip Holtz said before Saturday's game that the Pirates will likely platoon the two quarterbacks, Pinkney did not see the field again after Kass got the hot hand.

Kass was at the helm of all five Pirates scoring drives and threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns in the second half , as ECU scored 23 unanswered point after intermission to rout Memphis, 30-10.

Afterwards, Holtz said that Pinkney and Kass will continue to split playing time as the season progresses.

"Right now, we'll go back and break down the film and evaluate it," Holtz said. "I suspect we'll give them both looks, then after three or four series, we'll go with whoever has the hot hand."

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden remains mum on exactly when he plans to hang up his whistle and clip board and turn the reigns of the Seminoles' program over to offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher.

While speculation begins that this could be the farewell tour for the coaching legend, who recorded his 378th head coaching victory against N.C. State on Thursday, Florida State's players are left in the dark about Bowden's impending retirement decision.

"I have no idea when he'll step down," sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder said. "I think as long he is healthy and he feels like he can be out here, he'll be out here. I don't know if that will be this year, next year or five years down the road."

The 'Noles' players still see a fire burning inside of Bowden, and as long as he's got that, they believe he'll be patroling the sidelines in Tallahassee.

Have the Seminoles finally snapped out of their offensive funk? Is Florida State about to become the offensive juggernaut that it was in the 1990s?

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden thinks the 'Noles are heading in that direction.

"They are doing a remarkable job," said Bowden of his offense, after the Seminoles amassed 392 yards of total offense and scored more than 25 points for a third a straight game, in their 26-17 win over N.C. State on Thursday. "Jimbo, (Christian) and the offensive staff, they're all doing a terrific job right now."

Bowden has been particularly impressed with the play of sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder, who struggled severely in Florida State's only loss of the season -- a 12-3 thumping by Wake Forest on Sept. 20 -- but has since rebounded to throw for 532 yards and rush for 212 more, in leading FSU to three straight wins.

FanHouse correspondent Steve Franklin covers East Carolina football for the Washington Daily News, so from time to time, Steve will deliver in-depth gridiron reports from the South. In his first installment, Steve talks to talented UConn running back Donald Brown, who was the lone bright spot in the Huskies' road loss to UNC.

Folks around Storrs, Connecticut began to take notice of Donald Brown when he first stepped onto the football field donning the blue and white of the University of Connecticut in August of 2006.

In his collegiate debut, as a redshirt freshman, the Huskies' running back toted the ball 18 times for 118 yards and quickly became a fan favorite of UConn followers.

Two years later, the rest of the college football world is finally figuring out what those from the Nutmeg State have been saying for the past year and a half: Donald Brown is one of the best college football players in the country.

"Wow, that kid is good," said University of North Carolina defensive tackle Marvin Austin after Brown rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown in the Tar Heels' 38-12 victory on Oct. 4. "He's a great back. Definitely one of the best we've seen. He runs hard and he's quick. He's the total package."

The leaves are beginning to fall, the weather is starting to cool, and hunters across the nation are starting to get the itch.

Deer season is fast approaching in most Northern states.

So how do you attract that big buck you've long sought? That prize kill to brag to all your friends about? Today, we'll explore the different calls that hunters use to attract the 'big one.'

The grunt call: When using a grunt tube you are trying to reproduce a communication sound that all deer make. Usually the deer makes a soft contact grunt to tell another deer "Hey come check this out". A heavier, louder grunt can be made by bucks when fighting over an estrus doe, or when fighting over their territorial rights. Most hunters use a grunt tube to try and bring in a dominant buck in the area. Be careful. The deer will move in looking and scent checking for the source of the noise. If he doesn't spot you or smell you, your chance at a buck just increased. You can also use the buck grunt to try and stop a buck that is moving through your shooting lanes, or to bring one in a little closer so that you can get a shot.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is encouraging hunters to harvest elk in the western part of the state this fall.

Free-roaming elk have immigrated across the boarder of Kentucky into the hills of Western Virginia -- and the VDGIF is trying to stop the elk from settling inside the state.

From 1998-2002, the state of Kentucky released 1,500 elk into the wildlife as part of an elk restoration project. Today, there are more than 6,500 free-roaming elk in the state of Kentucky, and more-and-more are wondering into Virginia.

American Rob Douglas' world record didn't stand for long. Neither did the one set by France's Sebastien "The Catman" Cattelan.

Two weeks after Douglas sailed into the record books at the Luderitz Speed Challenge by kitesurfing across the ocean off the coast of Namibia at 49.84 knots, France's Sebastien "The Catman" Cattelan trumped the mark at 50.26 on Friday. But then on Saturday, Alexandre Caizergues flew through a run at 50.57 knots, rewriting the record books again.

The new record is still subject to ratification by a sitting of the World Speed Sailing Records Council.