Pirates Get Mixed Reviews in First Scrimmage
August 13, 2003 | Football
First-year head coach John Thompson put his team to the test in a variety of situations, including goalline, two-minute, and extensive kicking plays.
The two-hour scrimmage was expected to give the ECU coaching staff a basis of evaluation, especially at positions such as quarterback where there is a tight battle for the starting role.
Junior signal-callers Paul Troth and Desmond Robinson each had ups and downs. Troth, who started with the first-unit offense, had a stretch of incompletions midway of the scrimmage and finished 6-of-22 for 57 yards and one interception. Robinson struggled early, but a strong finish netted him an 8-of-17 performance for 83 yards and one touchdown. Redshirt freshman James Pinkney was the only other QB to see action and went 5-for-8 for 37 yards.
"They both did some good things and some bad things," offensive coordinator Rick Stockstill said. "Early on, Paul was solid and, toward the end, Dez had some nice drives in the two-minute [drill]. They've got to get a lot more consistent for us to have a chance to be successful this year."
Despite the fact that its two most experienced backs -- senior Art Brown and junior Marvin Townes -- did not play this afternoon, the Pirate running game showed a variety of weapons and looked to be a strong point for the offense. True freshman Robert Tillman led all runners with 78 yards on 15 carries, including one explosive run for 30 yards. Junior college transfer Kevin Fain also was impressive with 55 yards on 12 carries. Junior Dominique Hatcher was the workhorse for the first-unit offense for most of the day, getting 15 carries and tallying 53 yards. Senior Vonta Leach, expected to be the starting fullback, rumbled for 31 yards on just five carries.
The receiving numbers were balanced with no receiver having more than four catches. Junior Edwin Rios led the group with four grabs for 22 yards. Redshirt freshman Kevin Roach and Tillman had three receptions each, while redshirt freshman Will Bland had the long play of the day as he was on the receiving end of a 39-yard TD pass from Robinson.
The coaching staff got a glimpse of each of the five kickers on the roster and the group responded by making six of seven field goal attempts. The long kick of the day belonged to freshman walk-on Joey Ijjas, who hit a 39-yarder. Broadwell was the first kicker on the field today and booted two field goals from 19 and 34 yards.
Defensively, the Pirates tallied seven pass breakups, five sacks, and numerous tackles for losses. True freshman Pierre Parker, who recently moved from quarterback to defensive back, had the day's lone interception. Sophomore linebacker Eric Terry batted down a pass and was part of two sacks.
"For the first scrimmage, it was okay, but nothing to beat your chest about," Stockstill said. "There were some good things and some bad things that we can get corrected. I thought our effort was pretty good and that's what you look for as a starting point. We've got to get some people more consistent and executing better, but that will come. We're playing some young guys in the backfield, but we've got a ton of talent. I think it's very inconsistent for a first scrimmage, but about what you would expect. We've got plenty we can improve on."
The Pirates will get their chance to show improvement in a similar-style scrimmage this Saturday at 4 p.m. The scrimmage will be open to the public and will preceed the annual Meet the Pirates dinner and autograph session, set to begin at 6:30 p.m. at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
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Individual Statistics
RUSHING -- Tillman 15-78, Fain 12-55, Hatcher 15-53, Leach 5-31, Veal 3-11, Robinson 9-3, Pinkney 2-3, Troth 5-(-3).
PASSING -- Robinson 8-17-0 83, Troth 6-22-1 57, Pinkney 5-8-0 37.
RECEIVING -- Rios 4-22, Tillman 3-15, Roach 3-12, Copper 2-24, Bland 1-39, Heath 1-27, Good 1-14, Hayden 1-12, D.Fox 1-11, Pender 1-8, Leach 1-6, Fain 1-1.
FIELD GOALS MADE -- Ijjas 36, Rauch 35, Broadwell 19 34, Steinbacher 29, Baglio 17.
FIELD GOALS MISSED -- Baglio 24.
