Spring Football Notebook No. 9
April 05, 2017 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina continued its spring practice schedule in a different weekday venue with a full-pad workout on Bagwell Field inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The two-hour outing also wrapped up preparations for the Pirates' second intra-squad scrimmage scheduled for Friday.
Head coach Scottie Montgomery, defensive coordinator Kenwick Thompson and offensive coordinator Tony Petersen addressed the tempo on both sides of the ball, accelerating the action during a 22-minute team-on-team period that included continued emphasis on redzone conversations and stops.
"Simply put, it was a very physical day," Montgomery said. "There was a lot of hitting out there and we had guys who really wanted to put strikes together, especially out of the running back position. We also were able to do a lot of redzone work and I thought our quarterbacks did a nice job taking care of the ball."
Despite returning its top kickoff returner in Chris Love (21 for 445 yards) and punt returner Quay Johnson (9-17), the East Carolina special teams unit is searching for a placekicker and punter to replace graduated seniors Davis Plowman and Worth Gregory, respectively. Junior Caleb Pratt and sophomore Jake Verity have primarily split the placement duties so far this spring, while Verity has handled the majority of the punting chores.
"While it's still a little too early to make any final decisions, Jake is a little ahead at this point," Montgomery explained. "I expect them to continue competing in fall camp, but the pressure they put on each other has given us added flexibility and depth, which has become beneficial."
After Friday's closed contest, which will serve as East Carolina's 10th practice of the spring, the Pirates will have just four more weekday afternoon sessions remaining before completing its workout schedule with the playing of the Purple-Gold Game April 22.
NOTES: The Pirates moved up Wednesday's workout by an hour to beat the approaching weather system ... Montgomery indicated that Friday's scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, earlier scheduled as an evening tilt, will be conducted during its traditional afternoon window (4:30 to 6:10 p.m.) ... While stopping short of saying it would be an abbreviated version, Montgomery doesn't expect the play count to exceed 50 ... Junior DB Marquel King has left the program for personal reasons ... King played in all 12 games as a member of the Pirates' special team squad, but did not record any tackles ... In case you missed it - six members of the football roster also compete on East Carolina's track team this spring (DB Keyshawn Canady/sprints, WR Terrell Green/sprints, WR Quay Johnson/sprints, DB/RS Chris Love/sprints, OL Messiah Rice/shot put and OL Brandon Smith/shot put).
EAST CAROLINA'S 2017 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Friday, April 7 (4:30 p.m.-6:10 p.m.)
Remaining Workouts: April 10, April 12, April 19, April 21 and April 22 (Purple-Gold Game, 2:00 p.m.)
Head coach Scottie Montgomery, defensive coordinator Kenwick Thompson and offensive coordinator Tony Petersen addressed the tempo on both sides of the ball, accelerating the action during a 22-minute team-on-team period that included continued emphasis on redzone conversations and stops.
"Simply put, it was a very physical day," Montgomery said. "There was a lot of hitting out there and we had guys who really wanted to put strikes together, especially out of the running back position. We also were able to do a lot of redzone work and I thought our quarterbacks did a nice job taking care of the ball."
Despite returning its top kickoff returner in Chris Love (21 for 445 yards) and punt returner Quay Johnson (9-17), the East Carolina special teams unit is searching for a placekicker and punter to replace graduated seniors Davis Plowman and Worth Gregory, respectively. Junior Caleb Pratt and sophomore Jake Verity have primarily split the placement duties so far this spring, while Verity has handled the majority of the punting chores.
"While it's still a little too early to make any final decisions, Jake is a little ahead at this point," Montgomery explained. "I expect them to continue competing in fall camp, but the pressure they put on each other has given us added flexibility and depth, which has become beneficial."
After Friday's closed contest, which will serve as East Carolina's 10th practice of the spring, the Pirates will have just four more weekday afternoon sessions remaining before completing its workout schedule with the playing of the Purple-Gold Game April 22.
NOTES: The Pirates moved up Wednesday's workout by an hour to beat the approaching weather system ... Montgomery indicated that Friday's scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, earlier scheduled as an evening tilt, will be conducted during its traditional afternoon window (4:30 to 6:10 p.m.) ... While stopping short of saying it would be an abbreviated version, Montgomery doesn't expect the play count to exceed 50 ... Junior DB Marquel King has left the program for personal reasons ... King played in all 12 games as a member of the Pirates' special team squad, but did not record any tackles ... In case you missed it - six members of the football roster also compete on East Carolina's track team this spring (DB Keyshawn Canady/sprints, WR Terrell Green/sprints, WR Quay Johnson/sprints, DB/RS Chris Love/sprints, OL Messiah Rice/shot put and OL Brandon Smith/shot put).
EAST CAROLINA'S 2017 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Friday, April 7 (4:30 p.m.-6:10 p.m.)
Remaining Workouts: April 10, April 12, April 19, April 21 and April 22 (Purple-Gold Game, 2:00 p.m.)
Players Mentioned
Defensive Back
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Wide Receiver
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Punter
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Wide Receiver
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Defensive Back
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Defensive Back
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Placekicker/Punter
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Placekicker
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Offensive Line
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Offensive Line
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Placekicker/Punter
/ FootballThursday, September 10
Monday, September 07
Sunday, September 06
Thursday, September 03
