Pirates pad up and pop

By Brian Bailey
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East Carolina head coach Ruffin McNeill says camp is flying by. I’m not sure if the players agree, but the calendar continues to peel off the dates as we get closer to the season opener.

The team donned the full pads for the first time on Monday. The squad still wasn’t tackling to the ground, but the pads were popping to start the week.

“Day five and it is flying by,” said Coach Ruff after Monday’s workout. “It was our first day in full pads. I thought the first part the guys were dragging a little bit. They have been going hard. The second half picked up like it needed to.”

Putting on the full set of pads is another in the stepping stones of fall camp. Hitting is a vital part of the game, and the players have to get their bodies ready for the long season ahead.

“It’s good,” said Pirate senior running back Chris Hairston. “It causes some soreness. It just feels good to get back out here in pads. Everyone is moving around fast – it feels great.”

The ECU coach says the first day is really no big deal.

“We always pop,” McNeill added. “When we have shoulder pads on, then it’s pop. I’ve had NFL scouts come in and they see us in just shoulder pads and shells, and they don’t do it the way we do it here."

The Pirates will take another step towards the season opener with the squad’s first two-a-day session.

“Looking forward to that one,” said McNeill. “I like the way our kids are competing on both sides of the ball.”

Part of camp is simply surviving. The practices are long and hard. The meetings are long and full of information.

As I like to quote from the movie “A League of their Own” starring Tom Hanks, 'it’s the hard that makes it great.'

“I really like the brotherhood and the bond that is built in camp,” said McNeill. “It’s really from last winter and conditioning and over the summer.”

Leadership is branded into a squad in different ways. That’s what Coach McNeill and his staff have their eye on this month.

“It’s a different group,” McNeill added. “We have new leaders. We don’t want rah rah leaders. We lead as a staff. Guys are working hard and going about their business. Everybody leads in different ways. We don’t have a dominant leader just yet. It took Shane (Carden) a couple of years. Dominique Davis emerged as a leader. Justin Hardy led in his own way. I like where we are going."

Chris Hairston also likes where this ECU squad is going.

“We are improving every day,” said Hairston. “We are taking one practice at a time. Everything and everyone is coachable and we are learning from our mistakes.”

The Pirates will have their next key lesson in camp this Saturday with the squad’s first fall scrimmage at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

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