Pirates Conduct Media Day, Turn In Second Workout
August 05, 2006 | Football
Aug. 5, 2006
Media Day Press Conference | Photo Gallery
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After conducting its annual media day activities indoors during the late morning hours, the East Carolina Pirates returned to high heat and humidity levels at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex for a three-hour afternoon practice in shorts and helmets.
The session, which followed a one-hour mid-morning walk-through, marked the Pirates' second workout of fall camp. East Carolina will enter its next stage of preparation Sunday by progressing to shoulder pads before putting on full gear Tuesday afternoon.
Head coach Skip Holtz remained upbeat about the influx of new talent and the summer physical enhancement of his returners after guiding the Pirates through the introductory, but fundamental-based team and individual workout.
"I've been impressed so far with the athleticism of our signees," Holtz said. "I'm also pleased with the strength and growth gains that our returners have made. We've added a lot of girth which I hope will help us do something we had a hard time doing last year - preventing a yard on defense or getting a yard on offense on a third-and-one play."
In addition to Saturday's practice, East Carolina also welcomed approximately 30 media members representing 20 different agencies to the Murphy Center for Media Day '06. Newspaper, radio and television personnel from local and regional outlets in North Carolina and Virginia joined a pair of national correspondents for interviews with requested players and members of the coaching staff. A total of 20 players were made available for the opening segment of interviews which began at 11:00 a.m. at Harvey Hall.
NOTES: At the conclusion of the season-opening press conference, there was a check presentation from The Drew Steele-Skip Holtz Golf Classic to Boyd Lee of the Greenville Recreation and Parks Department for the sum of $165,000 ... The Classic was created to create funds for the area's Special Populations Program to meet the needs of the growing community ... A total of $15,000 was designated directly to the Special Populations while $150,000 established the Drew Steele Endowment ... Sunday's Practice Time: 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.; Season Opener: Sept. 2 vs. Navy (5:30 p.m.)
EXCERPTS FROM SKIP HOLTZ' MEDIA DAY PRESS CONFERENCE
Things I looked for as camp began: "When you get on the field for the first time it's extremely exciting, not only for me, but the returning players, newcomers and everyone else. Coming into practice yesterday, there were a couple things we were looking for. One, we wanted to evaluate our newcomers that were stepping onto the field for the first time. The size, speed, weight and athleticism of the incoming class really impressed me because when you go out there normally, you can pick out the freshmen when they walk onto the field. They are the guys who aren't as muscled up, who aren't as big and maybe not as quite developed. This group stepped right in and they mixed right in. Secondly, we wanted to see how much improvement the guys returning made during the off-season. I was really impressed with the improvements guys on this football team made this off-season with the weight gain. (Strength coach) Mike Golden has done a phenomenal job with this football team. They are
bigger, stronger and faster. The last thing that we look for when we go out there, especially early, is to see how much carry over there is from last year. Just the way that these guys are communicating with each other, talking with each other. A year ago on the first day we were trying to tell James Pinkney what a right formation was. This time we're
breaking the huddle, going to the line and running plays. On the down side, a couple guys needed some IVs to replenish some fluids last night because it was a little bit warm out there yesterday. So, with that said, I felt like these players accomplished a lot just making it through practice with this heat."
On injuries: "The last time we were on the field during spring practice, Aundrae Allison, Chris Johnson, Pierre Bell and Drew Sutton were not out there with us. When we took the field yesterday, they were all healthy and practicing. In fact, you would never know they were hurt. Chris Johnson has gained weight and is now up to 200 pounds. Aundrae Allison looks great - running without a knee brace. Pierre Bell's foot is doing great and I thought Sutton did a real nice job of snapping the ball. It's nice to have a guy like Sutton, who weighs right around 300 pounds and is a senior, with some experience at that position. It's great to have those guys back, but we're also missing a couple of guys. Shauntae Hunt is recovering from knee surgery that he had after spring practice. Fred Hicks just had his knee scoped, but should make a full recovery. It's something that had really been bothering him over the course of the summer, so they went ahead and scoped that last week. He should be back in another week or so."
On challenges that ECU faces this season: "I think the biggest thing right now as we get into this is ... there is talent here. When I walked off that practice field yesterday, I noticed a lot of talent out there. For example, I just looked at the defensive end position and all of a sudden I started to realize that there is a lot more talent here now than there was a year ago. But with that talent, we've got to make sure that our youth and inexperience don't hurt us."
On the back-up quarterback situation: "If the season started tomorrow, Brett Clay would be the No. 2 quarterback but there still is a very good battle going on at that position for the back-up job. I think all three quarterbacks are very capable in Brett Clay, Rob Kass and Patrick Pinkney. Those three are continually competing for the back-up spot there. The biggest question for us is how do we get them game experience. What you don't want to have happen is put them on the field early when maybe some of their mistakes cost you a game. So as we try to put this together, we've got to find a way to get the other young players experience as the year goes on."
On the battle for starting positions: "There are a number of battles that are going on as we come to camp. I think a lot of the starters are pretty much set. There is an awful lot of competition going on at the running back position with Brandon Fractious, Dominique Lindsay and Chris Johnson. The young guy that has really grabbed everyone's attention is Norman Whitley. Norman has a lot of talent and quickness and is doing a lot of good things on the field. On the offensive line, I think the starting five are petty much set. The back-up five is where there is a lot of competition. D.J. Scott, Doug Palmer and Sean Allen have the chance to work their way onto the two-man depth chart. At the receiver positions, it's still the guys who played a year ago, but with a little bit more experience. On the defensive side of the ball there is great competition at linebacker. We've talked all spring about the adjustment of the three junior college players. I've never been around three junior college players so well-rounded. Pierre Bell has pretty much solidified the starting linebacker position since last year but he's coming back from an injury. The defensive line is where the inexperience could rear its ugly head. They are very talented but a lot of them haven't played a lot of football."
On the overall feeling about the upcoming year: "When you look at it from top to bottom, I'm really excited about this season. I'm excited about the talent and attitude of this team and about the leadership that has emerged. These guys are hungry for success, which was evident by all the hard work they put in over the summer. However, we need to be much more disciplined as a team to compete against our schedule. We need to come out of the shoot smoking. We need to come out strong, fast and polished offensively. We have some challenges with our schedule and our inexperience, but at the same time, I am really pleased with the talent and attitude of this football team and how hard they are working."
