East Carolina Enters Last Week Of Spring Drills
April 03, 2006 | Football
April 3, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina officially began its last week of spring workouts under the guidance of second-year head coach Skip Holtz and staff with a two-hour session Monday afternoon at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex.
The Pirates returned to action in shells after conducting their second intra-squad scrimmage of the season Friday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. After turning in its 13th practice of the spring period Monday, ECU has just one more workout scheduled for Wednesday before closing camp with the Purple-Gold Game Saturday.
"I thought we made some more progress Friday," Holtz said after reviewing the game tape over the weekend. "We've still got a ways to go to get where we want to be but there were many positives to build on, both offensively and defensively."
Holtz indicated he adjusted the program's depth chart Monday morning to reflect some of the more impressive performances from Friday's contest. One of the most notable changes was the promotion of redshirt freshman Brett Clay to the sole understudy position behind James Pinkney at quarterback after sharing the status with Patrick Pinkney last week.
In addition, Holtz shuffled personnel on the No. 2 offensive line with the insertion of freshman transfer Andrew Farr at right tackle, redshirt freshman Stephen Heis at right guard, junior Fred Hicks at center, redshirt freshman Joshua Stahl at left guard and senior Lance Neisz at left tackle. On the other hand, he also said that some players solidified their standing after Friday's scrimmage such as second-team defensive tackles Wendell Chavis and Dontre Brown, along with top reserve safeties Herman Best and Chris Mattocks.
"It's all about making plays," Holtz explained. "While I was pleased with the intensity, enthusiasm and the physical part of it, this is the stage of the spring where you look for execution and people who consistently make plays and a difference out there. As I've said before, this is a work in progress and changes are part of it."
After opening Monday's session with its traditional individual drills, ECU quickly moved to an extended team segment and spent the remainder of practice working on blocking assignments deep within the Pirates' playbook and different defensive coverages and alignments. In addition, Holtz also spent time covering situational tendencies again, such as clock management, down and distance and red-zone efficiency.
After Wednesday's full-gear practice, East Carolina's coaching staff will conduct a player draft to select roster positions for the Purple-Gold Game, which is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. kickoff inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Tickets, which are priced at $5.00 for the contest or $10.00 with the addition of a plate of bar-b-que from the Pirate Purple/Gold Pigskin Pigout Party, can be purchased at the ECU Athletics Ticket Office or by calling (252) 328-2300 locally or (800) DIAL-ECU outside the Greenville area.
