Holtz, Pirates Open Spring Football Practice
March 02, 2006 | Football
March 2, 2006
2006 ECU Football Spring Media Guide in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Second-year head coach Skip Holtz and the East Carolina Pirates officially opened the 2006 spring practice period with its initial workout Thursday afternoon at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex.
Holtz, who led ECU to its highest win total since 2001 last season after guiding the Pirates to a 5-6 mark, led his 95-member roster through a two-and-a-half-hour workout in unseasonably warm temperatures. The session, the first of 15 scheduled practices, will culminate with the playing of the Purple-Gold Spring Game April 8 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
"It was great to get back out here and start the 2006 season," Holtz said. "I know we've all waited a long time for this day to get here, and then to be blessed with the weather we had, it couldn't get any better. I was pleased with our work ethic and thought we got a lot of things accomplished for a first day."
The Pirates will return seven starters on offense, six on the defensive side of the ball and welcome back a total of 42 lettermen off a team which also recorded a 4-4 Conference USA mark, turned in one of the top 10 offensive performances in school history and stood among the nation's top 20 in pass defense.
Headlining the list of returnees are 14 seniors who were members of the season-ending depth chart in 2005, including quarterback James Pinkney who turned in ECU's fourth-best passing season in program history. Pinkney, who will enter the 2006 campaign trailing only Houston's Kevin Kolb, Notre Dame's Brady Quinn and Florida's Chris Leak in consecutive signal-caller starts with 25, completed 222-of-366 passes for 2,773 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior.
The Pirates also welcome back a pair of All-Conference USA performers in senior wide receiver Aundrae Allison (first-team) and junior defensive end Marcus Hands (third-team), but both will miss spring contact work because of knee and shoulder injuries, respectively.
In addition to continued fundamental work, Holtz' primary goal during the workouts will center around filling four offensive openings and five defensive slots.
"As it is every year, our whole goal at the end of the spring is to establish a depth chart to where we put our best 22 on the field to give us the best chance to win," Holtz added. "There are a lot of positions where I can say I know where we are in terms of starters and backups, but with that said, there are several positions that are wide open."
In addition to the return of Allison, Pinkney and offensive linemen Eric Graham and Matt Butler, East Carolina also brings back three more skill position starters in tailback Chris Johnson and wide receivers Kevin Roach and Phillip Henry who all played a role in helping the Pirates to a 393.5 yards-per-game total offense average, which ranked among the top 10 in school history. On the ground, Johnson topped ECU in rushing for the second straight season with 684 yards on 176 carries while standing second among all receivers with 35 catches during his sophomore campaign.
A trio of seniors - defensive end Shauntae Hunt, cornerback Kasey Ross and safety Pierre Parker - were all among the top 10 tacklers a year ago and are expected to help key a Pirate defensive unit which ranked among the nation's top 20 in pass defense a year ago by allowing just 184.9 yards per contest. In addition to Hunt, Ross and Parker, ECU also welcomes back junior tackle Mark Robinson, sophomore tackle Brandon Setzer and Hands as returning starters.
The Pirates return all but short snapper Michael Yartin off its special teams squad, including record-setting senior kicker Robert Lee and senior punter Ryan Dougherty. Lee was a Lou Groza Award semi-finalist who missed just two kicks all season (30-of-30 PATs, 17-of-19 FGs) while Dougherty is a two-time Ray Guy Award Watch List nominee who will enter his last season ranked fourth all-time in both C-USA career punts and career punting yards. In addition, deep snapper Wilson Raynor is back after a freshman campaign that was error-free in 58 attempts.
Seven players will miss the entire or part of the spring practice session with injuries, five trying to come back after undergoing surgeries last fall or over the winter (OL Drew Sutton, OL Stephen Heis, OL Lance Neisz, LB Pierre Bell and DE Hands).
After Friday and Saturday practices to close the opening week, the Pirates will return to work next Monday, Wednesday and Thursday before taking a full week off for Spring Break beginning Friday, March 10. East Carolina will return to its traditional weekly three-workout schedule Monday, March 20, and has scrimmages scheduled for Friday, March 24 and March 31 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium prior to the playing of the annual spring game.
After planning on spending its first two practice sessions in shorts and shells, Holtz indicated ECU would conduct its first full-pad workout Saturday.
"I would consider the first two practices as polish days," Holtz said. "We'll start playing real football Saturday."
