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Pirates get in first licks of season
By STEVE FRANKLIN, Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — For the first time in nearly four months, the popping of pads and clanging of helmets echoed across East Carolina University’s campus on Tuesday.
Four days into preseason camp, the Pirates held their first full contact practice of the 2008 season Tuesday afternoon, as the mercury level inched toward the century mark..
Since April 16, when lightning and heavy rains forced coach Skip Holtz to cancel the second half of the annual Purple-Gold spring game, the Pirates have donned nothing more than helmets and shorts.
But earlier this week, the Pirates slipped on the shoulder pads for the first time, and on Tuesday were in full gear as the contact got under way.
“As a player this is the day you really look forward to,” safety Van Eskridge said. “That first full day of pads is when the season really begins. Today’s when it got real. We’ve been going through practice the last few days, but once we got out there and starting hitting today, that’s when it hit me that football season is just a few weeks away.”
After dozens of summer workouts and three days of running plays and going through drills, senior Davon Drew was also glad to be back into football mode.
“We spent the last few days getting into football shape,” Drew said. “Today we got to strap on the pads and go to work out. When you are just wearing helmets and shorts, it’s still football, but it’s not real until you get to go out there and drill someone. The other stuff is gets you prepared for the season, but getting those pads on is really the first stage of the season.”
Coach Holtz was glad to see his players out there hitting one another, but he was also a little disappointed with how the day went.
“This is probably the first day this year that I can say I was disappointed with our guys’ effort,” Holtz said. “It’s the first day of full pads, and there wasn’t the excitement that I was hoping for. I don’t know if our guys are tired from the last few days or a just a little sluggish from the heat, but today was not our best effort.
“It’s going to take a lot better work than this if we are going to have any chance of beating a team like Virginia Tech or West Virginia in our first two games.”
The Pirates will get a couple cracks to better their effort today. Today is the first of three double session workouts that ECU will hold this summer.
On Saturday, the Pirates will take over Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for their first scrimmage of the season.
“Today is the first step,” Drew said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next three-and-a-half weeks to get ready for Virginia Tech.”
The Pirates and Hokies will open the season on Aug. 30 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kickoff is set for noon.
Four days into preseason camp, the Pirates held their first full contact practice of the 2008 season Tuesday afternoon, as the mercury level inched toward the century mark..
Since April 16, when lightning and heavy rains forced coach Skip Holtz to cancel the second half of the annual Purple-Gold spring game, the Pirates have donned nothing more than helmets and shorts.
But earlier this week, the Pirates slipped on the shoulder pads for the first time, and on Tuesday were in full gear as the contact got under way.
“As a player this is the day you really look forward to,” safety Van Eskridge said. “That first full day of pads is when the season really begins. Today’s when it got real. We’ve been going through practice the last few days, but once we got out there and starting hitting today, that’s when it hit me that football season is just a few weeks away.”
After dozens of summer workouts and three days of running plays and going through drills, senior Davon Drew was also glad to be back into football mode.
“We spent the last few days getting into football shape,” Drew said. “Today we got to strap on the pads and go to work out. When you are just wearing helmets and shorts, it’s still football, but it’s not real until you get to go out there and drill someone. The other stuff is gets you prepared for the season, but getting those pads on is really the first stage of the season.”
Coach Holtz was glad to see his players out there hitting one another, but he was also a little disappointed with how the day went.
“This is probably the first day this year that I can say I was disappointed with our guys’ effort,” Holtz said. “It’s the first day of full pads, and there wasn’t the excitement that I was hoping for. I don’t know if our guys are tired from the last few days or a just a little sluggish from the heat, but today was not our best effort.
“It’s going to take a lot better work than this if we are going to have any chance of beating a team like Virginia Tech or West Virginia in our first two games.”
The Pirates will get a couple cracks to better their effort today. Today is the first of three double session workouts that ECU will hold this summer.
On Saturday, the Pirates will take over Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium for their first scrimmage of the season.
“Today is the first step,” Drew said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do in the next three-and-a-half weeks to get ready for Virginia Tech.”
The Pirates and Hokies will open the season on Aug. 30 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kickoff is set for noon.
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