By By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Though East Carolina lost its Conference-USA opener to Southern Miss on Saturday, Dwayne Harris was a bright spot.
The freshman from Stone Mountain, Ga., showed just how versatile he is during the 28-21 setback. Harris, who has lined up at quarterback, running back and receiver, made plays wherever he was at on the field.
And that’s exactly what he’s supposed to do.
The 6-0, 199-pounder led the Pirates (1-2, 0-1 C-USA) with four catches for 55 yards. That included a 20-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Pinkney in the third quarter that got ECU on the scoreboard.
It was the first touchdown of Harris’ young college career.
Harris added three punt returns for 18 yards and one carry for five yards. He even made a tackle.
Though he put up some solid numbers, Harris wasn’t happy in the media room following Saturday’s loss.
Harris now has six receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown, eight carries for 27 yards and five punt returns for 36 yards (7.1 average) this year.
He’ll undoubtedly add to those totals throughout the season as Holtz sees the youngster as a multiple-threat weapon.
Harris will get his first crack at that when the Pirates play at No. 4 West Virginia (3-0) at noon on Saturday. He said the Pirates will have to quickly forget about the loss to Southern Miss and focus on the Mountaineers.