ECU Pirate football update

HOLTZ SHORTENS PIRATES’ PRACTICE NO. 13

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Citing a lack of intensity, effort and focus inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex, East Carolina Head Coach Skip Holtz ended the Pirates’ Tuesday night practice prematurely by sending his team to the locker room with 40 minutes remaining in the session.

After wrapping up a two-a-day schedule with a late-night session in full pads Monday, the Pirates dressed down for what was supposed to be a twoandahalf hour, shells-only workout that stressed team-on-team work and covered situational drills such as down-and-distance and redzone efficiency.

I thought we certainly didn’t approach practice with the intensity, effort and focus we needed out there tonight,” Holtz said. “We looked like we had a complacent attitude, were simply going through the motions not trying to get better, so I decided that we should just call it a night. Right now we look very average and that’s not going to cut it around here, nor will it be something I will tolerate.”

Although it concluded earlier than expected, the Pirates’ 13th practice of preseason camp did officially begin preparations for Saturday’s pivotal intra-squad scrimmage that will produce the first published depth chart of the fall.

After evaluating Saturday’s scrimmage on tape and making additional personnel adjustments, Holtz and his staff will look forward to implementing schematics and a game plan for Appalachian State early next week.

NOTES: For the second consecutive day, true freshman WR Dayon Arrington (leg), sophomore DB Emanuel Davis (leg) and junior LB Melvin Patterson (leg) did not practice … OL Sean Allen, LB Nick Johnson and DE C.J. Wilson were all named to the Preseason Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List given to the nation’s top college football lineman (offense or defense)  … Wilson was also named to the Bronko Nagurski Watch List, which is given to the nation’s best defensive player … In all, ECU has had at least one player named to seven different preseason national watch list designations: Sean Allen (Rotary Lombardi Award), Matt Dodge (Ray Guy Award), Van Eskridge (Jim Thorpe Award), Ben Hartman (Lou Groza Award), Nick Johnson (Rotary Lombardi Award), Patrick Pinkney (Johnny Unitas Award) and Wilson (Ted Hendricks & Rotary Lombardi Awards) … Wednesday’s Practice Time: 3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.; Season Opener: Sept. 5 vs. Appalachian State in Greenville (12 noon).

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