A.L. Brown's Allison is a Pirate

From The Salisbury Post:

Aundrae Allison almost boarded a plane bound for Tulsa. Then he nearly had his bags packed for Marshall.

But when East Carolina named Donnie Kirkpatrick as its receivers coach, the 6-foot-2, 190-pound Allison elected to accept a scholarship offer from the Pirates.

Kirkpatrick is the passing-game guru who orchestrated records as offensive coordinator at Louisville and head coach at Chattanooga. Most recently, Kirkpatrick elevated Western Carolina's aerial game as an assistant.

"Coach Kirkpatrick came to my house and said they needed a go-to guy," said Allison when reached by phone. "I wanted to stay in-state all along, and they lured me to East Carolina when they told me they were bringing in the West Coast offense"

Allison, who answers to "Touché," has been out of the headlines for more than three years.

He performed brilliantly as an A.L. Brown senior in 2001, catching 55 passes for 1,078 yards and 12 touchdowns. He ran back four punts and a kickoff for TDs and was named to the Shrine Bowl team.

But obstacles surfaced, and academic shortcomings knocked Allison off Brown's basketball team in January of 2002.

Allison had been pursued heavily by ACC schools and had verbally committed to UNC, but instead was forced to go the junior-college route.

Allison eventually resurfaced at Georgia Military College, starred on the football field and improved his academic qualifications.

Allison was in solid enough academic standing to transfer to ECU, and he has enrolled for the spring semester.

"I've been going to school in Greenville for about two weeks, and I love it," Allison said. "There's a huge difference in every way between here and junior college."

The Pirates were delighted to get Allison into school ASAP because it means he'll be eligible to participate in spring practice.

Allison, who is strong, fast and runs excellent routes, said he is impressed with both new ECU head coach Skip Holtz and Kirkpatrick.

"Coach Kirkpatrick calls me about every other night, talking to me about plays," Allison said. "We open with Duke, and I can't wait.

"I'm ready to make an impact."