ECU Football Preseason Camp Notebook #14
August 17, 2005 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. ? After enduring a workout in record-breaking temperatures Tuesday, East Carolina took advantage of plenty of cloud cover and a later starting time for its three-hour practice Wednesday evening at the Cliff Moore Practice Facility.
Head coach Skip Holtz pushed back the session two-and-a-half hours in anticipation of severe weather which was forecast for the Greenville area earlier in the afternoon. In addition to cooler temperatures, the workout also afforded the Pirates the opportunity to practice under the lights for the first time during preseason camp.
"We had a really physical practice and got better tonight," said Holtz. "It's so encouraging for me to work with our guys because they're so hungry and committed. We worked hard with spirit and enthusiasm, and we practiced like a pretty good football team."
ECU opened the workout with traditional individual drills before moving quickly to team sessions in preparation for its second scrimmage of camp scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. After conducting passing exercises which matched No. 1 wide receivers against No. 1 defensive backs, the Pirates turned their attention to kickoff coverage work before completing situational drills. East Carolina emphasized first and second down work Wednesday (first-and-10, second-and-10 in the redzone) after keying on third down efficiency a day earlier.
"We've got a lot of guys who are still fighting for positions," Holtz explained. "Saturday's scrimmage will hopefully answer some the personnel questions we have as a staff. We need to move on to the next phase and begin preparations for Duke this Monday and be ready to go, in my mind, by August 26. We'd like to be in a position to use game week as a polish period."
NOTES: True freshman OL Jonathan Battle missed his second consecutive workout with a right wrist injury ? Junior quarterback James Pinkney connected with junior receiver Will Bland on a TD pass during redzone work while senior safety Mickey McCoy highlighted the defense with an interception ? ECU's offensive unit scored on four of six opportunities during three-down goal line drills at the six-yard line ? Pinkney and true freshmen quarterbacks Brett Clay and Rob Kass all tossed scoring passes (receivers Michael Hickman, Aundrae Allison and Kyle Johnson) during the practice-capping session while true freshman running back Dominique Lindsay added a 6-yard TD rush while competing with the second unit ? The No. 1 and No. 3 defenses recorded stops ? Conference USA officials announced a time change for the Pirates' road contest at Memphis Oct. 22 ? To accommodate a national television audience on CSTV, the Pirates and Tigers will now kickoff at 3:30 p.m. (ET) inside Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium ? The national broadcast will be the second for ECU (vs. Duke, Sept. 3) in 2005 ? Thursday's Practice Time: 3:00 p.m. ? 5:55 p.m.; Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Duke (1:00 p.m.)
TICKET INFORMATION
2005 East Carolina Football tickets are currently available online at www.ECUPirates.com or at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office (adjacent to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium) from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Reserved season ticket packages can be purchased for $125.00 (reserved), $100.00 (faculty/staff), $100.00 (economy plan) and $75.00 (graduate plan) while single game tickets can also be obtained for $25.00 (adults) and $15.00 (12 and under). To reserve your seats, please call (252) 328-4500 or 1-800-DIAL-ECU.
