NC State first-year offensive line coach and run game coordinator Dwayne Ledford's college football background begins at East Carolina.

He was a defensive lineman for the Pirates from 1995-97 before switching over to left tackle on the offensive line as a senior, the position he would play in the NFL for seven years.

Ledford returned to ECU in 2008 to begin a two-year stint as a graduate assistant before getting his first offensive line coaching job at Tennessee State. Six years later, Ledford is in preparations for his second game coaching NCSU’s offensive line, and the opponent is East Carolina.

Despite being on the opposite sideline from the one he stood on for six years (four as a player, two as a coach), the feeling will not be strange, Ledford insisted. Partially because in his first year as the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator for run game at Appalachian State in 2012, the Mountaineers played in Greenville against ECU in the season opener for both teams.

“That year was a little bit different,” Ledford conceded.

Although his focus this week will also be solely directed to his unit, Ledford has a lot of positive memories as a Pirate. As a defensive lineman he helped them beat NC State in Charlotte in 1996, 50-29. That same team that won eight games, including at No. 12 Miami (31-6) in the famed Orange Bowl venue.

Ledford also recalls beating Southern Miss, 36-34, on the road as a freshman during a 9-3 season on a fake field goal, and capping that year with a win over Stanford in the Liberty Bowl. As a graduate assistant, he helped the Pirates win back-to-back Conference USA titles.

He especially cited his former strength coach at ECU, Jeff Connors, for being one of his biggest inspirations to get into coaching.

“A lot of memories there, but the thing is the memory, that’s in the bank up there, and let’s go out and write our future here right now,” he noted.

One of the biggest assets Ledford can provide NC State this week is an understanding of the Pirates' mindset going into this rivalry week. Thus it is not surprising that NCSU head coach Dave Doeren had Ledford speak to the team after Tuesday’s practice.

“The thing about East Carolina: it’s a place that prides itself on hard work,” Ledford said. “They want to go and outwork people. They play with a chip on their shoulder. They are out to prove stuff; that they want to go out and earn respect. That was during my time there. You see it every year down there."

NC State has not had much success in limited action in Greenville. The Pack is just 1-2 at ECU, including losing in overtime in 2010 after coming into the game with a 5-1 record behind quarterback Russell Wilson and linebacker Nate Irving.

The Pirates have won the last two games in the meeting, including whipping NCSU 42-28 in 2013 during Doeren’s first season with the Pack.

“It’s huge for East Carolina for the simple reason they want to play for respect,” Ledford described. “It’s an in-state game. That’s huge for everybody now. … Those bragging rights in-state. Any time while I was there you played an in-state team, you wanted that.”