“Everybody is shocked,” said senior linebacker Zeek Bigger, just hours after the news was released to the public. “Everybody loved Ruff. Ruff is what we came for. Ruff is who we played for. Ruff and his coaching staff believed in a lot of people and he believed in us and brought us here. He’s changed the whole atmosphere and everybody loved him.”
A quick peak on any ECU player’s social media page backs that claim up. Some of the brightest stars of the McNeill era, including Shane Carden, Justin Hardy, Isaiah Jones and Lamar Ivey, all took to Twitter to express their shock and disbelief at the news.