Spring Football Notebook No. 6
March 31, 2010 | Football
March 31, 2010
GREENVILLE, N.C. - Head coach Ruffin McNeill and his East Carolina football program continued its spring practice schedule Wednesday afternoon with another two-and-a-half hour workout. The session, conducted inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex, was the Pirates' sixth overall and fourth in full pads.
Wednesday's practice also officially opened preparation efforts in earnest for ECU's first intra-squad scrimmage of the spring, which is scheduled for Saturday morning at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
"I felt really good about today," McNeill said. "Initially, I thought Monday was a minor step back, but after watching film, I did see some marked improvement, but it just wasn't consistent. I saw both sides of the ball have some positive things happen today, but more importantly, I saw the team bounce back. I'm very proud of the progress and the mentality of the group right now, too."
While the Pirates completed the workout with their customary 11-on-11 team session, Wednesday's 44-play, 27-minute period featured more emphasis on redzone and goal line efficiency on both sides of the ball compared to previous days. Quarterback Josh Jordan connected with receiver Dayon Arrington on a six-yard scoring pass on a fourth-and-goal play, while the ECU offense was also able to break off some long runs. Receiver Michael Bowman turned in a 35-yard touchdown scamper and running back Jonathan Williams delivered a 19-yarder to lead the offense. Defensively, newly-converted cornerback Jacobi Jenkins and safety Derek Blacknall recorded interceptions.
With injuries forcing the absence of two 2009 depth chart regulars - end Josh Smith (upper leg) and tackle Michael Brooks (knee) - the early spring version of East Carolina's current top defensive line has a combined 27 games of experience under their belts, 170 shy of last season's foursome of Scotty Robinson, Jay Ross, Linval Joseph and C.J. Wilson. Maurice Mercer (end/17 games), Antonio Allison (tackle/10), Jimmy Booth (tackle/0) and Matt Milner (end/0) have been working under the direction of ends coach Mark Nelson and tackles coach Marc Yellock, and McNeill is measuring their and the entire line's progress so far.
"We have some young guys getting reps right now and you want them to step up and take advantage of the opportunity," McNeill explained. "At our Pro Timing Day, I saw four good-looking guys running for the League. I wish we could have them back. On the other hand, I'm anxious to see what kind of progress we make. We also have a few guys who are banged up and on the MASH unit right now, so I’m looking forward to getting this whole regime together."
NOTES: McNeill announced the addition of wide receiver Randy Bolton to the Pirates' spring roster Wednesday ... Bolton, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound freshman from Chesapeake, Va. (Western Branch HS), was already a member of the East Carolina track program as a hurdle specialist before being invited to participate in football spring drills ... Without classes on the ECU campus in observance of Good Friday, McNeill indicated the Pirates would conduct an earlier practice with an 1:15 p.m. start.
EAST CAROLINA'S 2010 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Friday, April 2 (1:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m.)
Remaining Workouts: 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
