Associated Press
The college football notebook …
GREENVILLE ó Jeff Connors is leaving North Carolina after a decade to return to East Carolina.
The Pirates announced on Friday that Connors would serve as assistant athletics director for strength and conditioning. Connors spent 10 years with the Pirates under football coaches Bill Lewis and Steve Logan before leaving for Chapel Hill in 2001.
Connors replaces Mike Golden, who joined former ECU coach Skip Holtz at South Florida. In a statement, Connors said he was “elated and proud to return to a school and town where our family experienced the best times of our lives.”
In a statement, North Carolina coach Butch Davis said the team appreciated Connors’ work and that it would rely on assistant strength coaches on staff to fill the void until a permanent replacement is found.
East Carolinaís record-setting receiver and 2010 Conference USA Most Valuable Player Dwayne Harris has been selected to participate in the Jan. 29 Under Armour Senior Bowl. He will suit up for the North Team, which is being led by Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis.
Harris, who was a first-team all-conference selection as a wide receiver and punt returner in 2010, set Pirate single-season records with 1,123 receiving yards and 101 receptions.
LSUíS QUARTERBACKS
BATON ROUGE, La. ó When Les Miles sought out a new offensive coordinator, his main goal was to find someone with a history of making quarterbacks better.
More than any other candidate, Steve Kragthorpe seemed equipped to work with quarterbacks on their mechanics and decision-making, Miles said Friday.
Kragthorpe, 45, was hired to fill a spot vacated last week by Gary Crowton, who has taken a similar position at Maryland.
“The reality of it is, I’m a guy who needs execution,” Miles said. “I just felt like (Kragthorpe) could shortcut some of the elaborate thought process that was going on and would make our guys quicker decision makers.”
SHRINE BOWL TODAY
ORLANDO, Fla. ó Former Virginia Tech standout Tyrod Taylor is ready for scouts to see his performance in todayís East-West Shrine Game.
Itís the first major college football all-star game of draft season.
The 2010 ACC player of the year threw for 2,743 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. But heís somewhat undersized at six-foot-one and 210 pounds, and scouts question whether he will be able to make a roster as a quarterback.
There were several Canadian Football League scouts on hand this week, but Taylor said he has maintained tunnel vision about his future prospects.
He says he just wants the opportunity and that his goal is to go to the NFL.