Spring Notebook No. 3 – On The Offensive
March 18, 2019 | Football
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The third day of ECU's spring practice period marked the first time the Pirates suited up in pads under Mike Houston and the new coaching regime.
On a brisk Monday morning where the temperature hovered just above freezing as the team took the field, it was clear Houston and his staff were prepping their new players for every situation, cold or hot, early or late.
Most of the players responded accordingly, while others tried to understand and fight through the new challenges.
"I am disappointed in some things today, but in the same right, I was hired to come here to teach them how to function and play right," Houston said after practice. "It was an educational day for us. I do not fault the players. If somebody has failed them in the past, that's not completely on them. We have to do a great job of fundamentally teaching them how to play the game of football."
Houston — who ramped up the intensity around the midpoint of practice with a highly-anticipated contact drill focused solely on physicality and sound tackling — emphasized basic football fundamentals over complex schemes.
The concept was simple, yet highly effective.
Both offensive and defensive personnel rotated off and on the field, sprinting to the sidelines as each whistle blew. During the drill, quarterbacks lined up in a standard single-back formation. Every time, the defense knew what was coming.
It was going to be a run play, though they never knew which gap the ball-carrier would hit.
The result was a mixed bag as running backs were either stopped by a swarm of hungry defenders or followed their blocks and picked up solid gains after making a shifty cut.
Coaches on both sides encouraged a physical approach and fundamentals, over and over again.
"We've got to learn how to thud-tackle," Houston reiterated. "We've got to learn how to bring our feet on a tackle. We've got to learn how to wrap. If we think we can just throw our shoulder and expect college football players to fall down, it won't happen."
With any new transition, everything takes time.
That said, both sides of the ball appear to be fully engaged, locked-in and absorbing all of the new changes like a sponge. It's far from perfect, but it is only the third practice, after all.
While the defense has shown steady progress and showcased speed and athleticism throughout the day on Monday, the offense has appeared comfortable, crisp and fairly fluid under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Donnie Kirkpatrick, who made his return to Greenville after working on the ECU staff from 2005-2015.
Kirkpatrick's familiarity with the program, the school and community as a whole makes his homecoming that much sweeter.
For many key players on the offensive side of the ball, there was existing chemistry with the 35-year collegiate coaching veteran.
"Deondre Farrier was a kid I recruited when I was here, I know he has talent," Kirkpatrick said. "Reid Herring was someone we recruited when I was here and I know Reid has talent. I've known Holton Ahlers his whole life, saw him play in Little League, know his whole family and he was coming to our games back when I was here. Tahj Deans is another one I know, so there's a lot of those guys that offer familiarity and that certainly makes it easier."
Still, even with the early connections, there is a new system in place and a long way to go.
"It's way too early to know how many games we will win - to me, it all looks bad at this point," Kirkpatrick said with a grin. "That's just me being a coach and I'm sure the defensive coaches would say the same thing. But there have been some really good things, and I think every day we've been out here, we have gotten better. They have brought a great attitude and that's the most important thing."
For now, the focus remains simple.
Get better, one day at a time, as a unit.
- Sean Labar
NOTES:
In addition to eight early enrollees, there are also four (4) walk-ons who are experiencing their first taste of spring action at ECU - TE Edwin Dixon, Jr. (East Duplin HS) , LB Damani Harrison (ASA College), RB Immanuel McLawhorn (D.H. Conley) and RB Barry Smith (Southwest Edgecombe).
ECU'S 2019 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Wednesday, March 20 (8-10 a.m.)
Remaining Workouts: March 22, March 23, March 27, March 29, March 30 (scrimmage), April 1, April 3, April 6 (scrimmage), April 8, April 10, April 13 (Purple-Gold Game, 1:30 p.m.)
On a brisk Monday morning where the temperature hovered just above freezing as the team took the field, it was clear Houston and his staff were prepping their new players for every situation, cold or hot, early or late.
Most of the players responded accordingly, while others tried to understand and fight through the new challenges.
"I am disappointed in some things today, but in the same right, I was hired to come here to teach them how to function and play right," Houston said after practice. "It was an educational day for us. I do not fault the players. If somebody has failed them in the past, that's not completely on them. We have to do a great job of fundamentally teaching them how to play the game of football."
Houston — who ramped up the intensity around the midpoint of practice with a highly-anticipated contact drill focused solely on physicality and sound tackling — emphasized basic football fundamentals over complex schemes.
The concept was simple, yet highly effective.
Both offensive and defensive personnel rotated off and on the field, sprinting to the sidelines as each whistle blew. During the drill, quarterbacks lined up in a standard single-back formation. Every time, the defense knew what was coming.
It was going to be a run play, though they never knew which gap the ball-carrier would hit.
The result was a mixed bag as running backs were either stopped by a swarm of hungry defenders or followed their blocks and picked up solid gains after making a shifty cut.
Coaches on both sides encouraged a physical approach and fundamentals, over and over again.
"We've got to learn how to thud-tackle," Houston reiterated. "We've got to learn how to bring our feet on a tackle. We've got to learn how to wrap. If we think we can just throw our shoulder and expect college football players to fall down, it won't happen."
With any new transition, everything takes time.
That said, both sides of the ball appear to be fully engaged, locked-in and absorbing all of the new changes like a sponge. It's far from perfect, but it is only the third practice, after all.
While the defense has shown steady progress and showcased speed and athleticism throughout the day on Monday, the offense has appeared comfortable, crisp and fairly fluid under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Donnie Kirkpatrick, who made his return to Greenville after working on the ECU staff from 2005-2015.
Kirkpatrick's familiarity with the program, the school and community as a whole makes his homecoming that much sweeter.
For many key players on the offensive side of the ball, there was existing chemistry with the 35-year collegiate coaching veteran.
"Deondre Farrier was a kid I recruited when I was here, I know he has talent," Kirkpatrick said. "Reid Herring was someone we recruited when I was here and I know Reid has talent. I've known Holton Ahlers his whole life, saw him play in Little League, know his whole family and he was coming to our games back when I was here. Tahj Deans is another one I know, so there's a lot of those guys that offer familiarity and that certainly makes it easier."
Still, even with the early connections, there is a new system in place and a long way to go.
"It's way too early to know how many games we will win - to me, it all looks bad at this point," Kirkpatrick said with a grin. "That's just me being a coach and I'm sure the defensive coaches would say the same thing. But there have been some really good things, and I think every day we've been out here, we have gotten better. They have brought a great attitude and that's the most important thing."
For now, the focus remains simple.
Get better, one day at a time, as a unit.
- Sean Labar
NOTES:
In addition to eight early enrollees, there are also four (4) walk-ons who are experiencing their first taste of spring action at ECU - TE Edwin Dixon, Jr. (East Duplin HS) , LB Damani Harrison (ASA College), RB Immanuel McLawhorn (D.H. Conley) and RB Barry Smith (Southwest Edgecombe).
ECU'S 2019 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Next Workout: Wednesday, March 20 (8-10 a.m.)
Remaining Workouts: March 22, March 23, March 27, March 29, March 30 (scrimmage), April 1, April 3, April 6 (scrimmage), April 8, April 10, April 13 (Purple-Gold Game, 1:30 p.m.)
Players Mentioned
Quarterback
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Outside Receiver
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Inside Receiver
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Quarterback
/ FootballSaturday, September 12
Thursday, September 10
Monday, September 07
Sunday, September 06
