Spring Practice, 2009 Schedule Press Quotes
March 16, 2009 | Football
March 16, 2009
The Pirates' first spring practice session, scheduled for Monday afternoon, was postponed because of inclement weather and wet grounds. East Carolina will now open spring drills Wednesday and makeup Monday's workout Thursday.
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University Head Football Coach Skip Holtz addressed members of the media Monday morning about the release of the 2009 schedule and the start of spring drills. The following are selected comments:
On the Schedule:
"We already knew our non-conference opponents and we have three of those to start the season. We are excited about the opportunity to play Appalachian State, West Virginia and North Carolina right out of the chutes. Those are great non-conference tests for us. This year is kind of different since we have the chance to get right into the conference race with two very strong teams in our own division in UCF and Marshall."
"The back half of the schedule is also different since we do not have a real open date built in with everything. Instead, we have three 10-day periods between games in which to prepare for upcoming opponents. It will be a great stretch for us in terms of opponents we play and the national exposure that those three games will give us. Playing Memphis, Virginia Tech and Tulsa all on ESPN will provide a chance for us to showcase our university."
"I am excited to see the roadmap finally in place for what we are trying to accomplish this season. We want to get back to Memphis and play in the Liberty Bowl as the champion of Conference USA. That is always a main goal for us."
On Injuries:
"We have a fair number of injuries that we are dealing with going into the spring practice period and it is a situation similar to what we dealt with last season. We have about 17 or 18 players that are going to miss some form or fashion of spring practice."
"On the offensive side of the ball, Willie Smith and Doug Palmer are two of our guys on the offensive line that had surgical procedures done at the end of last season. Ben Herlocker, Will Towery, Josh Clark and T.J. Terrell are four other guys who will miss spring practice, and it is a shame because they haven't had the chance to really play since they have been here. Spring practice would have given them that chance to show what they can do. It will hurt them to miss all of this time but it is not of their choosing. There are four others who will have the opportunity to go through limited spring drills in Dominique Lindsay, Dwayne Harris, Alex Taylor and Josh Jordan. I am excited about the chance to work these four into our drills but know that they will still be limited in what they can do."
"On the defensive side of the ball, there are seven guys that will be limited this spring in some fashion. Jay Ross played last season with a stress fracture in his leg so we need to give him the opportunity to heal that bone. He, as well as Nick Johnson and Cliff Perryman, will be held out this spring. Chris Mattocks, Darryl Reynolds and Dustin Lineback will also see limited action due to nagging injuries from last season.
"So many of these injuries occurred during the season and a lot of them take six months or more to rehab. We were faced with the choice to have the surgeries done in the middle of the year or at the end of the season. The drawback to waiting is that those players would miss spring practice. However, the advantage from waiting was that they were able to help us in the bowl game and in winning the conference title. A lot of these injuries that we currently have will certainly set us back some, but we are confident that a lot of these players will be ready to go by the start of the upcoming year. The only big drawback is that the situation hampers us from seeing the finished product at the end of the spring."
On Winter Workouts:
"Mike Golden does a phenomenal job with our guys in the weight room. We have the mentality of getting stronger, faster and better each day and Coach Golden is a key part in that process. The winter workouts were not as productive as I would have liked, but it was not anything we could have controlled. We had injuries to deal with and a flu bug that hit the team hard. Also, the weather situation did not help things out. Moreover, the freshmen are not here yet and the seniors have already graduated so it is hard to start to formulate the big picture. Some guys did do some good things, however, like putting on healthy muscle mass and filling out a bit. We will have to work even harder this summer to generate some of the team camaraderie that has been a staple of this program in the past."
On Norman Whitley:
"There have been many rumors about Norman Whitley's status on this team. I have met with Norman on a number of occasions. I am hopeful that he can finish his career here at East Carolina and Norman is also hopeful to remain a part of this program for the rest of his career. It is a situation in which we are constantly meeting face-to-face, and when there is more to report, I will keep everyone up to date."
On Goals for the Upcoming Season:
"We have four main goals right now as a team. Phase one was the winter workouts and we are now into phase two, which is the spring practice period. This phase is very important because there are a number of guys who haven't played much for us. As always, when players graduate and move on, it opens the door for the younger players to step in and start to develop further. We will focus a lot on the individual and also put in a lot of fundamental work. Also, we hope to be able to get our depth chart in place but it will be hard with so many guys out and limited with injuries. Hopefully, it will also be a silver lining for us since all of the injuries will give some of the younger players a chance to step up."
"Another ultimate goal for the spring period is to dabble a little in your scheme on both sides of the ball. There are things in the offensive, defensive and kicking games that we have been discussing as a staff the past month or so such as improving our protection, passing routes, completion percentage, etc. A big part of that discussion is how we will deal with losing a bulk of our front seven on defense. There are also some things in the kicking game that will be done differently than in the past."
"We also will want to get a look at the 40 walk-on players that will be coming out for us. Hopefully, as in past seasons, we will find some guys that can make an impact and vie for some spots on the two-deep depth chart. We will welcome them out to the grass and see what the future holds for East Carolina football."
On the Quarterbacks:
"If Patrick [Pinkney] did not have the chance to return this season, I was really hoping that Dwayne Harris could step in and get into the mix in terms of the quarterbacks. However, he was injured last season and never got the chance to finish strong. Then, I was also hoping that Josh Jordan would be ready to step in and work with Rob Kass to strengthen us at the quarterback position even more. However, since Patrick is coming back, I am less worried now than before he was granted that extra year."
"I think there will be yet another great competition between Patrick and Rob this spring. Patrick will have to continue to earn the job and I have been really pleased with Rob's attitude. He has a positive mindset, has lost some weight and worked really hard to be a leader during winter workouts. I am anxious to see Rob continue to improve during the spring period. When Josh and Dwayne get cleared a little more to play near the end of spring, I will also be anxious to see where they stand with everything but now we just have to go with what we have."
On the Weather for Today:
"I think there is no doubt that it is going to rain today. I am just worried about the lightning and the safety issues that go along with that situation. We chose to start spring practice after the school break, so technically we can go until the Thursday after the Spring Game and have two practices. That is an option if today or any other day gets cancelled. We also have the weekends with which to work if it comes to that. I will know much more about today by the time I meet with the team at 2:30."
On Improving from Last Season:
"We need to take a look at our man and zone protection on offense. Spring practice is all about identifying your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if Dwayne Harris is going to be one of our better offensive players, we have to know how to utilize him effectively in the offensive scheme, either under center or in the backfield. As I said before, a large part of what we are trying to do is to see how the younger players are going to develop and to discern how much they have improved. I am excited to have most of the line back in guys like Sean Allen, Terrence Campbell and D.J. Scott."
"We have a very flexible offense, which is definitely going to help us. We can go into the two-back scheme and be a power running team or we can also go with no backs and be a drop-back passing squad. It is also a negative because you cannot do everything effectively all of the time. We just need to identify what will work for us in key situations."
"One of my main concerns is at the receiver position. We have a lot of talent returning in guys like Jamar Bryant, Alex Taylor and Reyn Willis but there are also many players behind them that are unproven. However, I am excited to see a guy step in like Jacobi Jenkins who works hard and has great talent and speed."
"I am encouraged by the returners that we have on defense, including C.J. Wilson, Scotty Robinson, Jay Ross and Linval Joseph. Our secondary will also prove strong with guys like Van Eskridge, Dekota marshall, Travis Simmons and Emanuel Davis. The question will be whether we can develop those guys that are coming in behind them and of course how our situation at linebacker will pan out since we have so much inexperience at that position. However, it will open the door for guys like Melvin Patterson, Steve Spence and Matt Thompson to show what they can do in the absence of Nick Johnson and Cliff Perryman."
On the Running Backs:
"Right now, there is a young man named Brandon Jackson who transferred from Kentucky and sat out last season. We will be able to get a long and hard look at him this spring in the backfield. He has played on the scout team but we haven't been able to give him much work since he did not have eligibility. Right now, you can pretty much throw everyone into the mix. We are just trying to find one guy right now that will step up and be effective for us. Right now, there are six candidates for the position but every one of the players has a question mark next to their names due to factors such as injuries, personal situations or just being an unknown commodity. We want to find the guys that will be an every-day, accountable back for us. There is a lot of talent at the position but even more uncertainty than we had a year ago, which makes it a primary concern of mine entering the spring."
On the State of the Program Entering Year Five:
"One of the mistakes you can make as a staff after you have been here for four or five years is to say that you have arrived and are established. However, every year you are going to have freshmen, no matter how long you are somewhere. I think that we have accomplished what we have wanted in terms of getting the pure numbers into the program to where you can sign maybe 16-18 players each year instead of 22-23. I feel very good about the balance that we have from class to class. We don't have to start over again each season due to a massive graduating class. I think we are starting to have a good blend of youth and experience each year and the talent level has improved tremendously from the first year we were here. A lot of our redshirt players have the potential to become stars in this program. Our offensive and defensive lines have also really improved, and I believe that is where you need to start in building a championship program. However, I want everyone to understand that you are never where you ultimately want to be. You either get worse or get better every season. I am pleased that we have been to three bowl games in the past three seasons. Now, we want to be the team that wins Conference USA in consecutive seasons and becomes a regular in the Liberty Bowl."
On Having a Winning Mindset about the Program:
"Everyone wants to win and be successful. Our players have tasted success the past couple of seasons and are beginning to walk with a little more swagger. As I said to this football team in year one, looking at the schedule we didn't expect to win many of these marquee games but now, this football program and players go into games expecting to perform well and to have a chance to win. We have always had the same goals for the program since day one, but having now accomplished a lot of them, it has definitely changed the players' mindsets."
"Now, more than ever, that mantra of `humble and hungry' is critical because of the success we have had. For the past three months, people have been patting the guys on the back and praising them. But when you look at the teams that have won our conference in the past, there are not many that have played in two-straight Liberty Bowl games. There is still a lot of history to show that the odds are against us so we have to continue stressing a competitive nature and that there is more yet on the table. Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back and say `good job last year.' Last season is over and its time to identify this year's strengths and weaknesses, which will undoubtedly be different. I know these guys will and have always proven that they are hard workers, but the question now is will we continue to have the same determination and drive that paid off in the past.
On Jamar Bryant and Jonathan Williams:
"Both of these players are practicing with us right now and at this point are on the team. However, there are many stipulations that must be met academically, physically, socially and mentally so that status could change in the next few months. They are not out of the woods yet and must perform at a satisfactory level to remain on this team in the fall."
