ECU Turns In First Full-Pad Workout
August 05, 2008 | Football
Aug. 5, 2008
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After turning in four introductory sessions to open preseason camp, East Carolina finally put on full gear for the first time in the 2008 campaign and responded with an atypical sluggish two-hour practice inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex Tuesday afternoon.
The Pirates worked through temperatures that reached into the mid-90s and heat indices that pushed near the century mark during the workout. Despite the heat and added equipment, head coach Skip Holtz didn't shift blame for his disappointment with his squad's lack of intensity and sharpness to the weather.
"It was the first day in pads and, to be honest, it was the first day I have been disappointed with the energy, effort and enthusiasm that we had," Holtz said. "We were dragging and it was sluggish. There wasn't a lot of emotion or excitement. I don't know if they're mentally tired without having a break going right from summer school and into camp. Physically they might be beat up and sore. I don't know what it was but today wasn't one of our better efforts and it's going to take a whole lot better work than this if we've got any chance to compete against Virginia Tech and West Virginia in the first two games of the year.
"The heat wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be," he added. "I was really expecting more humidity. But we've got some guys, who after five days, are down a lot of weight. We have guys who are down six or seven pounds. That starts to impact your enthusiasm and emotion. It's hard to come out here everyday and play at that level. The first four days are exciting in the fact you're in camp and you're fired up. Today was a little bit of a mental and physical letdown for some of them. I was not as pleased as I have been the first four days."
The Pirates will work in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets during the scheduled two-hour morning session before returning to full gear in the evening practice to complete another phase of preseason camp. In addition to Wednesday's double action, ECU also plans to turn in a pair of workouts on Monday, August 11 and Monday, August 18.
NOTES: After completing their first two-a-day practices Wednesday, the Pirates will begin preparing for the preseason camp's first intra-squad scrimmage scheduled for Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium ... The contest, closed to the public, will be followed by the first off day of the preseason Sunday ... Four players missed a part or the entire workout Tuesday because of injuries or rehabilitation work ... DE Marcus Hands (shoulder), DT Linval Joseph (back) and DB Devon Wallace (knee) sat out the session while OL Josh Clark (back) opened drills before being forced to the sidelines ... Wednesday's Practice Times: 8:30 a.m. - 10:35 a.m. & 8:05 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.; Season Opener: Aug. 30 vs. Virginia Tech (12 noon) in Charlotte, N.C. (Bank of America Stadium).
