A much-awaited sneak preview of
the 2011 football season takes place on Saturday at Dowdy-Ficklen
Stadium with East Carolina's spring football game. It's a
cultural event with its peripheral activities, but it will also
give the fan base an idea of how some pressing defensive and
offensive issues have been addressed during spring practice.
The Pirate Nation will see a
slimmer Ruffin McNeill and a three-man front on defense. The
fans also will see how the skill personnel shapes up with the
loss of receiver Dwayne Harris, running back Jonathan Williams
and running back Giavanni Ruffin.
The event is scheduled to get
underway at 2:30 p.m.
"You always have some
objectives in the spring," said McNeill, who will supervise his
second spring game as head coach at his alma mater. "You always
try to establish who's going to start and the depth chart.
That's still a work in progress but some guys are really
stepping up.
" ... There are some things I
wanted to get better on as a team. Fundamental emphasis is a
priority. People were pleased with our offense but they had a
lot of fundamental things to get done. Defensively, we know we
had a lot of things to get done."
No one probably cares to be
reminded where the Pirates ranked in the Football Bowl
Subdivision last season in terms of defense.
"We want to become a smarter
football team, a team that doesn't beat itself," said McNeill.
"If it's third-and-1 for example on offense and we jump, then
now it's third-and-6. If it's third-and-8 and you jump, then
you've really got long yardage.
"The next thing is the
giveaway-takeaway ratio — making sure we're good at taking the
ball away on defense and not giving it away on offense. That way
we give our offense more possessions and, offensively, we don't
give our defense extra series. That's a key to winning.
"Teams that are successful are
smart football teams in the penalty department. They are teams
that don't give the ball away on offense and they took the ball
away on defense.
"The last thing I wanted to
make sure of was that we learned to compete and complete. We
want to complete whatever we're doing, whether it's a drill,
practice, spring or a game next year. Those have been the points
of emphasis and it's gone well. The kids have worked hard. The
defensive change has gone well.
"It's not as big an adjustment
as people would think. From my standpoint I played for Coach
(Pat) Dye and Coach (Frank) Orgel, it was a 3-4 defense. My
first college job (at Clemson) with Danny Ford, Tom Harper — it
was 3-4 defense. I've run this defense in my past and every
defensive coach on my staff, they've been a part of 3-4
defenses. It was an adjustment that we all came to because it
best fits our personnel on campus, it best fits the personnel we
can recruit and it gives us the best chance to be successful
with the leagues and variety of offenses we face."
In a significant position
switch on defense, rangy Derek Blacknall has moved from safety
to cornerback.
"That may be one of the best
moves we've made," McNeill said.
Returning quarterback Dominique
Davis has been refining his understanding and execution of the
offense.
"Dominique has come back and
found things he needed to work on," McNeill said. "He had a
great year and he's gotten better this spring. He's done a great
job of leading us on the field and off. The offensive line was
an area we had to fix. We lost three guys. Without the offensive
line, Dominique's production would be nil to zero. Our center
position in the spring has been hit the most by injuries. Our
top three centers, Mack Helms, Dalton Faulds and Hugh Parker
have been out for the spring. That set us back but we're
maintaining and progressing there, too."
Spring game format
"We don't have enough depth to
go Purple-Gold or Purple-White," McNeill said. "It'll be offense
vs. defense like our previous scrimmages. We'll go 90 plays.
We'll have 80 plays approximately with our top groups who have
stood out this spring. We'll go 10 to 12 plays with our third
unit. Toward the end, we'll get everybody some reps so we'll
have a chance to them on film.
"The clock will be on. The big
video screen will be on. I talked to Brady Hoke at Michigan and
I talked to Coach (Gene) Chizik at Auburn. They're doing the
same thing."
Agent information
As was the case last year,
Pirate players and their families will have the opportunity on
Friday to find out more about pro agents. That session will be
going on today.
"That's a thing we'll continue
to do," McNeill said. "I'm hoping the debacle last year that was
nationwide, that agents and our people have learned from other
people going through some things.
"We'll introduce our team and
parents to the agent deal this weekend. We'll have our
compliance office heading that up, along with Antonio Huffman."
Former players to be
welcomed
There will be a golf tournament
today for former players. There will be a lettermen's gathering
tonight at the Murphy Center.
"I'll have a chance to see some
former teammates," McNeill said. "Younger Pirates are invited,
too. Everybody's welcome. We're family here and we want those
guys to feel like they can come home. Everybody is somebody
here. That's how it will be as long as I'm here. I appreciate
the players who had success here on the field. There are some
players who may not have been successful on the field as others
but they're as valuable as the next guy.
"That's the atmosphere and the
environment that I'm promoting and will promote. I'm looking
forward to seeing those guys (tonight)."