Today is April 1st, which is commonly known as April fool's day. As East Carolina prepares for its first full scrimmage of the spring on Saturday, the Pirate Nation should be wary of possible ruses from fellow ECU citizenry in keeping with the occasion today.

Don't let anyone tell you, for instance, that Patrick Pinkney's successor at quarterback is a done deal. That would definitely be an April fool statement. The reality of the situation is that there is a three-man competition without a clear cut leader at this point.

New offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley is in position to debunk any April fool misinformation regarding ECU's new air attack. He's been watching quarterbacks in spring ball like Jenny Craig watches calories.

"Right now we're hot and cold," Riley said of the potential Pirate signal callers. "Right now one guy takes the lead one day and separates himself from the other two and then the next day, it's another guy. We've got three in there really battling right now."

The aspiring triggermen in the ECU offense include sophomore Brad Wornick, redshirt freshman Rio Johnson and rising sophomore Josh Jordan. Only Jordan has taken a collegiate snap, having seen action in three games during ECU's 9-5 season in 2009.

Jordan completed five of seven passes for 61 yards without an interception or a touchdown. He had four keepers for a total of six yards on the ground as a freshman.

"Brad Wornick has probably been the best in all of the team periods so far," Riley said. "He's probably done the best job of leading the offense. Josh Jordan has been — through all the periods and everything — maybe the best one just looking at the full body of work at practice. He's been the most consistent guy there.

"Rio has been very streaky. There have been days where he's been excellent, days where he hasn't been very good. And so, right now, with all three the thing we're trying to find is consistency. They all do it. You see flashes of really good Division I quarterbacks."

Riley said most of the major concepts in the Pirates' new air-oriented offense have been installed.

"It's just the little things right now that they're really starting to pick up on," said the OC. "Those are the things that make the difference. They're doing a good job. They're making progress. They're on schedule. The guy who's going to win this thing is going to be the guy who is most consistent and we're still looking for that."

Riley said all three quarterbacks will get "plenty of work" in the first spring scrimmage on Saturday.

"We'll get 'em out there in a lot of different situations," Riley said. " ... Each quarterback will get to work with several different receivers and probably two different groups of O-Line. We're going to put 'em in different situations and see which guy responds the best, which guy moves the offense the best.

"We'll know a lot more about where we're at as a group and where these guys are at individually after Saturday."

Offense undergoing adaptation

Generally speaking, the Pirates are adjusting successfully to the new offensive system. which Riley is essentially transplanting from Texas Tech.

"It's going well," Riley said. "We've got pretty good personnel to start with. The biggest thing we've got right now is that this offense is so different from anything these guys are used to. We're trying to get these guys understanding what we want to get accomplished. It's just starting to take hold.

" ... There are a few days that we haven't been satisfied with. You're always going to have some busts and some bad plays right now just because you're still attempting to get everybody on the same page but we've seen a lot of really good things, too.

"The two things we've got to develop right now — just like the quarterbacks — are consistency and leadership. Losing a lot of guys like they lost last year and they lost guys who were good leaders, we need some guys to step up offensively. They need to be accountable. They need to feel responsible for how the offense is doing. We need to see more leaders and learners offensively."

First game situation

The scrimmage Saturday will provide more opportunity for the new staff to do evaluations.

"That will be the first time in the stadium, the coaches on the sideline — that they're really out there doing it by themselves," Riley said. "We'll be looking first and foremost at how guys compete — who competes the hardest, who shows that they really want to be out there. We'll look at guys who step up and guys that turn it down at that time.

"That will be interesting to see."

Riley said there will be about 100 plays during the course of the mid-day scrimmage, which will be closed to the public.

"Seeing how long they can maintain their focus with something that's still a little new to them, that will be interesting," Riley said. "This will also be the first time that we'll combine our plays, our entire package and run everything at the same time. Up to now the package has been divided up so they can focus on a few key concepts each day.

"The scrimmage will be the first time that we have the majority of the package in and it will be interesting to see how we handle that — how long we can focus and compete. This will tell us a lot about where we're at, what we've got to work on and get better at. We're excited about Saturday, for sure."

Positions are up for grabs as the Pirates head into the weekend.

"We don't really have a first unit yet," Riley said. "We have some guys who are working to that point. The first unit right now, that's still pretty cloudy. They're some guys who are starting to emerge. They look like they're going to be starters and really good players for us."

Not dwelling on dismissals

Two Pirate running backs were disciplined after incidents with law enforcement officers in downtown Greenville last weekend. Brandon Jackson, who had been in similar trouble previously, was dismissed from the program. Giavanni Ruffin, who didn't have a history of off the field difficulties, was suspended indefinitely.

Jackson ran 84 times for 316 yards with three touchdowns in 2009. Ruffin had 84 carries for 308 yards with five TDs.

"We're excited about the guys that are out there that are working hard and doing the right thing," Riley said. "The guys that are gone, we're really not giving them any consideration at all. We're going to put our focus in on the guys that are out there and doing what we ask them to do."

Riley said Michael Dobson, a freshman from Mount Airy, had been most impressive among the running backs with his versatility as a runner, blocker and receiver. He likes Dobson's explosiveness as a ball carrier.

"I'm really excited about what he can bring to the team," Riley said. "Jonathan Williams has done a lot of good things. He's been a little bit inconsistent but he's got a lot of ability. He's doing a great job right now of taking care of his business, of handling things in a professional manner so we want to keep getting that from him.

" ... Norman Whitley has really done a good job. Norman's a guy that when you look at him you think, 'Well, he's not the best looking guy in the world as far as a football player but then when the pads come on, you just get him the ball and he has a way of making it work. He's just a good football player. He's definitely going to figure in the mix."

Williams has rushed for 568 yards over three seasons. He has been limited by injuries and disciplinary suspensions but the arrival of new coach Ruffin McNeill has meant a fresh start for personnel throughout the program. Whitley, who has had some disciplinary baggage as well, has run for 744 yards over three seasons.

Riley said Alex Owah, a freshman from Hargrave Military, is probably the fastest of the running backs.

"When you've got speed, you've got something to work with," Riley said.

At this stage of spring practice, Riley said the top offensive groups have been the receivers and the offensive line. He credited in particular the job that position coach Brandon Jones has done with the offensive linemen.