Editor's note: East Carolina quarterback Patrick Pinkney has overcome injuries as a sixth-year senior and has led the Pirates to their second consecutive Liberty Bowl after back-to-back Conference USA championships. Pinkney has thrown for a career-high 2,738 yards this season along with 14 touchdowns. Pinkney leads East Carolina into the Liberty Bowl to face Arkansas at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The following question-and-answer session took place Dec. 11 in a telephone conversation with WholeHogSports.com.
WholeHogSports.com: When you watch Arkansas on film, what's the first thing that sticks out about them to you?
Pinkney:It's a stacked team. It's the Southeastern Conference, hard-nosed, good offense and a good defense. It's going to be a tough challenge, but we know we have a good team at East Carolina and we're going to play hard. When the time comes, we have the opportunity to win it.
WholeHogSports.com: You're in your sixth year at ECU after dealing with injuries. I'm sure you hear some jokes from your teammates, perhaps calling you "old man," right?
Pinkney: Oh, definitely. You know you're going to hear that one. It's the main one I hear, but it's all love. We're a big family here and I think that when I first got here we didn't have that great togetherness, that family atmosphere. And when Coach (Skip Holtz) came, he brought that togetherness. I feel like that's why we've been successful every year and we're in the right direction. We're winning games and championships because of that togetherness.
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WholeHogSports.com: Has Coach Holtz been the glue there, the key there the last two years?
Pinkney: You start with Terry Holland, our athletic director. You start up there and he brings Coach Holtz in. There's a lot of good coaches, but when you've got a players' coach and a coach that's a great leader, you're going to have a lot of success. That's why we've been so successful. He's taken us to a whole other level.
WholeHogSports.com: Are you aware that Conference USA teams are winless in the Liberty Bowl when facing an SEC team?
Pinkney: Definitely. We represent Conference USA and that's the whole thing. We want to win a championship and you have to have that mentality when you go to a bowl game. You don't just want to go, you want to win it. When it comes to your last game, you don't want to be a loser, you want to be a winner. Our main goal is to go there and win it. It's going to be a tough task playing Arkansas.
WholeHogSports.com: A lot of people on the national scene weren't really giving you guys a chance against Houston. What was it like that week going into the Conference USA Championship?
Pinkney: We were undefeated in conference at home. When you come to play at our place, it's going to be a tough task. It's not going to be a run-over. We just had that mentality that we had a goal to accomplish and we were one step away. Now we've won a championship. We left it all on the field.
WholeHogSports.com: Your half-brother Aaron Curry was drafted by Seattle in the last NFL Draft. Do you have any NFL aspirations of your own?
Pinkney: Oh, definitely. That's every college football player's dreams. I've got a great resume. I got the chance to win a lot of games and beat a lot of BCS teams. Last year, at Virginia and Virginia Tech and we almost beat Kentucky last year in the bowl game. I'm not worried about that right now. After this bowl game, I'll sign with an agency and do a combine here and do the best I can.
WholeHogSports.com: You're not necessarily a highly-recruited guy out of high school, but you've obviously have turned a lot of heads. Does that put a chip on your shoulder?
Pinkney: That's the motivation. ... A lot of people have talent that aren't recognized and you get those big games, that's a way to showcase your talent -- you can play with anybody. That's what I've been doing every year since I've been here. I know that I have the opportunity just like any quarterback to get to the next level.
WholeHogSports.com: What's it like going against these hyped quarterbacks like Houston's Case Keenum and now Ryan Mallett?
Pinkney: That's the whole fun part. You get that chance to open people's eyes and say, 'He's a pretty good quarterback.' That's what makes me love this game so much because you have the opportunity to let people know who you are as a player and I take full advantage of it.
It's fun to compete with the other quarterbacks, but if you don't compete with yourself more, you won't be as successful as you want to.
WholeHogSports.com: Is it safe to say this is the biggest game of your career?
Pinkney: Definitely. The last one is always your biggest game.