Spring Football Notebook No. 5
March 29, 2010 | Football
March 29, 2010
GREENVILLE, N.C. - With East Carolina's first full intra-squad scrimmage only five days away, first-year head coach Ruffin McNeill is searching for more consistency in the Pirates' focus, execution and fundamentals after a sluggish fifth workout of the spring practice period Monday. The 150-minute session, conducted inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex, opened the Pirates' second week of work and served as the third in full pads.
ECU will have nine more days remaining that will feature contact work, including two intra-squad scrimmages and the Purple-Gold Game scheduled for April 17.
"I thought we might have taken a step back today," McNeill said. "Our focus and concentration levels were not as I would have liked and the fundamental and execution aspect could have taken another step up as well, but that is what the spring is for. We’re trying to develop our personality as a football team and the good thing is that we still have some days to go. However, with 10 days left, we have to make the most of them."
Similar to past full-pad practices, the Pirates closed the workout with 20-minute pass skeleton drills and a 25-minute team session that featured the top three levels of ECU's current positional rosters on the artificial surface of Hight Field. Some highlights of the team-on-team work were a pair of receptions by running backs as Norman Whitley was on the receiving end of 17-yard shovel pass from Rio Johnson and Jonathan Williams grabbed a 14-yard toss from Brad Wornick.
Prior to engaging in the aforementioned seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 work, McNeill emphasized special teams play for 20 minutes during the middle of practice - a little bit of a deviation from past years where it was covered either at the opening or closing moments of a workout. With the departure of punter Matt Dodge and kicker Ben Hartman, McNeill and special teams coordinator Mark Nelson are trying to identify replacements in both positions as well as address return and return coverage execution.
"I’ve seen improvement, especially in the protection and coverage areas in the packages Mark has installed," McNeill said. "We have some inconsistencies in the punting game, but that’s to be expected at this point. The kicking department is developing, so I'd still call it a work in progress."
NOTES: Junior college transfer Diavalo Simpson, who signed with the Pirates as an offensive lineman in December after playing at East Mississippi Community College, has experienced action on both sides of the ball so far this spring ... He spent the majority of Monday's practice at the defensive tackle position ... DT Josh Smith missed his second-straight workout because of an upper leg injury.
EAST CAROLINA'S 2010 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Wednesday, March 31 (3:15 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.)
Remaining Workouts: April 2, April 3 (scrimmage), April 5, April 7, April 9, April 10 (scrimmage), April 12, April 14 and April 17 (Purple-Gold Game, 2:00 p.m.)
Remaining General Public/Open Practice Date: April 14
