East Carolina Pirates: Bringing Home Some Hardware

East Carolina outside linebacker Montese Overton has been named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team. Overton, a local product, was named to the team despite being limited to playing in 8 games because of injuries.

Montese Overton made the most of his time on the field. In his first season as a Pirate, Overton accumulated 29 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and managed to break up a pass.

Overton’s best game came against Southern Mississippi. He compiled 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and even recovered a fumble, after which he managed to skedaddle 16 yards to pay dirt. His performance against the Golden Eagles was good enough for him to earn Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week.

His first game for East Carolina came against the South Carolina Gamecocks. He recorded 5 tackles and brought down the Gamecock quarterback for his first sack. 2 weeks later Overton was involved in 8 tackles against the UNC Tarheels.

Montese Overton was the sole representative for the Pirates on the All-Freshman team. East Carolina has a real player in Overton. With continued coaching and playing time , the Pirates line backing corps will be in good hands.

In other Conference USA award news, ECU junior running back Vintavious Cooper was awarded Conference USA Newcomer of the year for 2012. Cooper is the first Pirate to gain over 1,000 yards in 3 seasons. He is also the first Pirate to win the award sine 2010 (Dominique Davis). During the 2012 season, Cooper rushed for more than 100 yards on 4 occasions, while scoring 7 touchdowns on the ground. He also grabbed 26 passes for 224 yards and another score.

Congratulations to these two Pirates. Their continued development is crucial to maintaining the success of the East Carolina program. Coach McNeil has continued the winning tradition which has been established at ECU and with the football program heading to a new conference in the near future, McNeil has them prepared for continued good fortune.

God Bless!

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