Spring Football Notebook No. 10
March 28, 2007 | Football
March 28, 2007
Spring Depth Chart No. 1 in PDF Format
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina resumed its spring practice schedule in earnest with a full-intensity workout in pads Wednesday afternoon on Hight Field inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex before lightning and hail ended the Pirates' day 25 minutes early.
ECU Assistant Athletics Director for Medical Services Mike Hanley and head coach Skip Holtz ordered the field cleared around 5:30 p.m. prior to the arrival of the storm which, at times, featured quarter-sized hail. Coupled with their light corrective work in shorts and helmets Monday afternoon, Wednesday's session was enough to put the finishing touches on the Pirates' preparation efforts for their second official intra-squad scrimmage scheduled for Friday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
"You always hate to lose valuable time anytime we're out here in pads, but I thought we got in what we needed to today in order to be ready to go Friday," Holtz said. "I think we're all looking forward to having another chance to compete in game-like conditions, especially in a more traditional scrimmage compared to what we did a week ago."
Holtz and his staff also completed their evaluations and released ECU's first public depth chart Wednesday afternoon prior to player meetings and the shortened workout.
In addition to the first scrimmage evaluation, injuries and position changes played a role in the development of East Carolina's initial formal two-deep of the spring. The Pirates' defensive unit currently has at least five players who are being kept out of contact drills because of injuries or rehabilitation work, including linebackers Quentin Cotton, Pierre Bell and Orlando Farrow, tackle Khalif Mitchell and defensive back Stacy Walls. Offensively, ECU is missing a pair of tight ends in Jay Sonnhalter and Martin Tanski, and lineman Terence Campbell.
"As is the norm, the first depth chart is based primarily on performances during last week's scrimmage," Holtz explained. "The only certainty is that it will probably change as early as this Friday. It's an ongoing process or work in progress, so there aren't many who are really entrenched at one spot at this point."
Holtz' off-season and spring position changes are also visible within the listings as junior Brandon Setzer (DT to OT), senior Michael Hickman (RB to WR) and redshirt freshman Dwayne Harris (QB to WR) hold down spots on offense while sophomore Van Eskridge (OLB to FS) earned a placing at a defensive position he has not experienced action at during regular season play.
Similar to last week, Holtz indicated all levels of East Carolina's depth chart will be used and evaluated during this week's contest, which is tentatively scripted for a minimum of 90 plays.
After Friday's scrimmage, which will serve as the Pirates' 11th practice day of the spring, ECU will have just three more afternoon sessions remaining before completing its workout schedule with the playing of the Purple-Gold Game April 14.
