Pirates Turn In First Full-Pad Spring Workout
March 10, 2005 | Football
Spring Notebook No. 3
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- After two non-contact orientation sessions, first-year head coach Skip Holtz and the East Carolina Pirates opened their spring practice schedule in earnest Thursday by working two hours in full pads at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex.
Holtz guided ECU's first full-pad practice after pair of introductory workouts in shorts and helmets Monday and Wednesday. The contact session was the first of 12 which will be conducted in full gear, including a pair of scrimmages and the Purple-Gold Spring Game on April 16.
"I'd say it was a spirited first day in pads," Holtz said. "There was plenty of hitting out there and we got an awful lot of work done. In fact, we found ourselves having to control the tempo a little or else we would have had a full-blown scrimmage. Now, we simply have to learn how to practice together.
"Defensively, I was encouraged with the intensity and the amount of work they got done," Holtz continued. "They were flying around the ball well, but what really impressed me was the emergence of senior leadership coming from guys like Jamar Flournoy and Richard Koonce."
Despite the addition of equipment, Holtz and his staff spent the majority of the session keying on the crispness of fundamentals while continuing the installation process of the Pirates' new offensive and defensive schemes. ECU also worked through various team sessions towards the end of the practice period which was highlighted by an enthusiastic and animated three-on-three drill which featured hotly-contested matchups between East Carolina's offensive and defensive lines, wide receivers and defensive backs, running backs and linebackers on a shortened field.
"Things were a little slower on the other (offensive) side of the ball," Holtz added. "We have work to do on the offensive line and at the quarterback position because we simply don't have a lot of experience and depth there. Yet, on the other hand, I was pleased with some of the things I saw out of our running backs and wide receivers."
Holtz also utilized the opening week of spring drills to initiate various personnel moves within his offensive and defensive units, the most notable being Flournoy's shift from linebacker to safety.
Thursday's practice preceded a 10-day spring break layoff for the Pirates, who will return to open their second week of workouts Monday, March 21 and start preparations for the ECU's first full intra-squad scrimmage scheduled for Friday, April 1 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
