By
Al Myatt
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Defense will sometimes get the best of the offense in an
intra-squad scrimmage.
Sometimes reads are facilitated when the stop corps has
gained a degree of familiarity with what the other side of the ball is
doing.
Sometimes it's simply easier to disrupt than to create.
Saturday's Purple-Gold game was an exception as 55 snaps
produced 403 yards of offense and nary a turnover.
The offense was scary good and it didn't stop with proven
quarterback Shane Carden and a wealth of talented receivers. Redshirt
freshman Kurt Benkert completed nine of 13 attempts for 133 yards and
two touchdowns.
After watching Benkert, it's easier to believe the
YouTube video of him throwing a football into a mailbox from across the
street was not trick photography.
Carden completed 10 of 15 for 60 yards with a score. He
hit Bryce Williams from a yard out on the last play of the first half.
There appeared to be enough energy and production from
the ground game to alleviate concerns about the loss of two-time
1,000-plus yard rusher Vintavious Cooper and several stalwarts on the
offensive line.
"We had a lot of good days," said running backs coach
Kirk Doll in appraising the spring.
There seemed to be vast improvement from an earlier
scrimmage this spring when the offense had four turnovers.
"They probably played the best today that they've played
all spring," offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley said of the blocking
front. "They gave us some good holes to run through. I thought the pass
protection was pretty good. They got a ton of reps in the spring.
They've handled it and pushed through. Maybe we started seeing some of
the benefits of that."
ECU coach Ruffin McNeill credited offensive line coach
Brandon Jones.
"Coach Jones took five pennies and got them playing as
close to a nickel as possible," McNeill said.
Three full-contact sessions are the limit now in the
spring.
"I like the way we progressed through all three," McNeill
said.
Continued improvement is the desired objective.
The spring game is not an end unto itself but rather a
checkpoint in the journey of preparing for the 2014 season.
McNeill noted that another phase begins Tuesday with
workouts directed by strength and conditioning guru Jeff Connors. Those
will continue during the summer.
The Pirates don't sign many highly-regarded recruits so
year-round development of personnel is essential for the program to
reach its potential.
Carden said the returning players haven't been content
with
a 10-3 season and a bowl win in 2013.
"That's last year's team," Carden said. "That's over."
The offense, especially, looked as though it had
something to prove going forward. It's looking more and more like a
polished Texas Tech attack.
The problem when one unit looks good in an inter-squad
setting is that concerns are raised about the opposing unit.
Perhaps another encouraging factor to take away from the
Purple-Gold matchup could be found in the fact that defensive
coordinator Rick Smith didn't resemble a fire-breathing dragon in his
post-scrimmage assessment. He saw good things in the big picture.
"Very pleased with the ones (first unit), which a lot of
those guys are twos because of injuries," Smith said. " ... It's our job
to get the twos better and we will."
Smith saw value in the consequences of missing personnel.
"It's a blessing in disguise when you lose guys in the
spring who have played a lot because those young guys have to go out
there and be starters," Smith said. "Just like Randall Anderson is a
true freshman, No. 90. He plays field end for us. He got a million reps
this spring. He's not going to start next year but when he goes out
there he's going to be a lot better than he would have been."
K'Hadree Hooker, a defensive end who transferred from
N.C. State, moved to nose guard when Terry Williams went out. Hooker,
who's from Kinston, effectively got some cross training the last four
spring practices.
Doll, who also coordinates special teams, had to like the
efforts of punters Worth Gregory and Davis Plowman, who averaged over 48
yards combined. Smith likes their ability to enhance field position,
too.
Athletic director Jeff Compher was pleased with the new
brands displayed in the end zone and on the scoreboard.
He also accepted thanks for the beautiful weather that
made viewing a balmy experience for the 5,867 on hand.
"I might as well take the credit," Compher said with a
chuckle. "I'd probably get blamed if it wasn't good. Got an Easter egg
hunt coming up? Let me know. I'll take care of it."
