Pirates Emphasize Team-On-Team Work
August 16, 2006 | Football
Aug. 16, 2006
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After working through record-setting heat during the majority of the first 10 days of preseason camp, East Carolina took advantage of plenty of cloud cover and a later starting time for its nearly three-hour practice Wednesday evening at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex.
Head coach Skip Holtz pushed back the session two hours which allowed the Pirates to conduct the 11-on-11 scrimmage-type practice under cooler conditions and closely match the 5:30 p.m. start time of ECU's opener at Navy.
The Pirates opened the workout with brief individual drill and special teams (punt return and punt coverage) periods before moving quickly to an extended team-on-team session, which featured plenty of contact but no tackling, in preparation for their second scrimmage of camp scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
"It is critically important for us to get work in that live environment, especially with many of our inexperienced guys," Holtz said. "We need to see the chains out there. We need to see people moving in front of you in different schemes and alignments in simulated game conditions. The idea was to incorporate a true scrimmage feel but in a thud mode, without the tackling.
"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 Navy."
NOTES: Holtz lauded the play of sophomore quarterback Patrick Pinkney during Wednesday's practice, noting he "had a good day moving the team and the chains" ... Patrick Pinkney and redshirt freshman Rob Kass took the majority of snaps under center for the second and third units ... Converted junior center Fred Hicks, who was moved to the offensive line prior to the start of spring drills, was officially added to the 105-man preseason roster Wednesday ... Hicks was medically cleared (knee injury) to rejoin the program and will be allowed to engage in contact work Monday ... Senior Robert Lee was one of 30 placekickers selected to the 2006 Preseason Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award Watch List, which is presented by the FedEx Orange Bowl, according to a release by the Palm Beach County Sports Institute Wednesday ... Thursday's Practice Time: 3:00 p.m. - 5:55 p.m.; Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Navy (5:30 p.m.)
