A week before the opening game of the season, then-starting quarterback Kurt Benkert saw his season end as he went down with an ACL tear. From that point on, the team endured a position battle that never saw one quarterback separate himself from the other. The battle between now-Northern Arizona transfer Blake Kemp and ECU offensive playmaker James Summers ultimately hindered offensive production from a unit that had lofty expectations going into 2015.
This year though, the Pirates know to plan for the worse.
“[Offensive coordinator Tony] Petersen just does a great job of coaching us all so that we all can operate this offense,” said new starting quarterback Philip Nelson.