By By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — Good things can sometimes emerge from bad situations.
When senior linebacker Quentin Cotton went down with a knee injury during the opening half of the Pirates’ Sept. 13 game against Tulane, it opened the door for some of East Carolina’s young linebackers to get into the rotation.
It’s an opportunity that redshirt freshman Cliff Perryman has taken full advantage of.
On Sunday, Perryman will be making his third career start for the Pirates after impressing ECU’s coaching staff in games against N.C. State and Houston.
He made only two tackles in his first two games, but Perryman was so impressive in his first action of the season, that in early October, he replaced second-year starter Jeremy Chambliss in the Pirates’ starting lineup for their contest against Virginia.
In his first start, he came up with three tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-a-loss.
Against Memphis, he turned up his game another notch, as he came up with a career-high five tackles.
Overall, the freshman from Richmond, Va. has appeared in five ball games and has made 10 tackles.
While Perryman appreciates the praises of his teammates, he says he’s still got a lot of learning to do.
Perryman says he’s become a much better linebacker over the last month and a half, and it’s a trend that he hopes to continue.