By Staff
ECU Sports Information
GREENVILLE — East Carolina University’s request for a sixth year of eligibility for quarterback Patrick Pinkney was granted by the NCAA Friday, Pirate head coach Skip Holtz confirmed.
That means Pinkney, who missed the entire 2005 season due to a shoulder injury and subsequent multiple surgical procedures, will return as a senior in 2009.
Pinkney, who has played a key role in the Pirates’ combined 17 victories and pair of bowl appearances in back-to-back seasons, led East Carolina to a Conference USA championship in 2008 — the program’s first league title since 1976.
He opened 13 of 14 games last fall and completed 223-of-363 passes for 2,675 yards and 13 touchdowns, which included a season-high 296-yard effort against Kentucky in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.
Pinkney also established a new school single-game completion percentage standard with a 19-of-23 (82.6) performance against Virginia Tech Aug. 30 to guide ECU to a 27-22 win before turning in a 22-of-28 effort a week later against West Virginia during the Pirates’ 24-3 triumph.
A year earlier, his 406-yard performance in a 34-31 victory against North Carolina Sept. 8 stands as the second-highest single-game passing total in program history — falling just eight yards shy of David Garrard’s school-record 414-yard effort against Memphis in 1998.
For his career, Pinkney is currently fifth in the ECU record books with 4,033 passing yards and sixth in completions with 344. In 27 overall games and 18 starts, he has also delivered 24 touchdown throws while suffering just 11 interceptions in 563 total attempts.
In addition, Pinkney has rushed for 356 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 169 carries during his Pirate career, which spans back to the fall of 2004 but didn’t include any varsity competition until three years later.