ECU's Wilson working to improve

By KEVIN TRAVIS, Sports Editor
GREENVILLE — Some players shy away from getting an earful.
For C.J. Wilson, it’s music to his ears. The East Carolina sophomore defensive end wants to become the best player possible. If that means getting chewed out from time to time, so be it.
While Wilson didn’t do anything drastically wrong during Saturday’s scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, defensive ends coach Vernon Hargreaves wasn’t always pleased with Wilson’s execution.
“He saw some stuff I was messing up on,” Wilson said. “You want to make every wrinkle straight. We have a big schedule this year and you have to straighten up everything. Everything has to be perfect.
“Maybe I stepped a little wrong to the left or to the right and he told me about it. I just thank God for this opportunity.”
It wasn’t all bad for the former Northside High School standout. Wilson also got some encouraging and congratulatory words from his coach.
After a sack by Wilson ended a series, Hargreaves patted Wilson on the helmet.
“That felt really good that he was getting on me for something good that time,” Wilson said. “He was on my case pretty much all scrimmage trying to get me better and to do things right. It felt good to hear him say, ‘good job.’”
Does that mean Wilson was pleased with his performance?
“You can never be happy with where you’re at,” Wilson said. “You’re always trying to get better. I know I had an okay day, but I can do better. I just want to help my team any way possible.”
Wilson knows the coaches are on the players for a reason.
“I feel like we’re all together as a team,” Wilson said. “I know that (the coaches) are on me for a reason. They want us to get better because we have a big schedule ahead of us. You just have to take it and try to get better each day.”
With the season opener at Virginia Tech on Sept. 1 drawing closer and closer, Wilson said he and his teammates have some work to do.
“We still have some good areas and some bad areas,” Wilson said. “You can’t really tell (where you stand) because you’re going against yourself. We still have to straighten up some things.”
After Saturday’s scrimmage, Wilson and the Pirates had a chance to mingle with some fans during the annual “Meet the Pirates.”
“That means a lot,” Wilson said. “It’s good to see the fans coming out to support us. I heard we sold out this year and that’s a good thing. It’s nice to shake some hands and see our fans face to face.”
After getting an earful from his coach, both positive and negative comments, a simple smile and handshake meant even more to Wilson.