Pirates Put On Shoulder Pads, Host Annual Media Day
August 06, 2016 | Football
Media Day Photo Gallery
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following its annual media day Saturday afternoon, East Carolina returned to Hight Field inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex and completed its third session of preseason camp donning shoulder pads for the first time.
With temperatures in the mid-90's and a heat index reaching 106 degrees, first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery guided the Pirates through a near two-hour practice where fundamentals, execution and pace of play continued to be the theme early on in fall camp.
"The heat was a factor today no question about it," Montgomery said. "We started out good as a group. I thought defensively we had a lot of energy and offensively we had the same energy early. Towards the end of practice the tempo slowed down a little bit, which I don't like. We have to continue working on our conditioning from a physical standpoint in pads. We had a little longer and harder practice than the two previous days, but we will continue to keep working to be in the kind of shape that is needed to play good football."
With an early wake-up call at 7:30 a.m. for a team breakfast, the Pirates spent the morning in a pair of meeting sessions followed by a walk-through and then lunch. Twenty-four players and the ECU coaching staff held its annual media day event with approximately 30 members of national, state, regional and local newspaper, online, radio and television outlets gathered inside the Murphy Center to conduct player and coach interviews.
For the third consecutive day, the players were split into two groups with the veterans hitting the field for the first hour followed by the newcomers. The Pirates began with an 11-minute flex period before moving into 10 minutes of group work. During the breakout session, the offensive line plowed through chutes and five-man sled drills, while the skill players worked on quarterback drops, routes and run game footwork. Defensively, the front seven keyed on lane and gap assignments, while the secondary unit focused on ball drills.
After an eight-minute team stanza, which concentrated on team versus the run, the Pirates went through 12 more minutes of individual work with emphasis on routes vs. air, bag drills and ball security. During the 1-on-1 (receivers vs. defensive backs), 7-on-7 skeleton and final team period, ECU turned its focus on red zone execution, which spanned nearly 20 minutes of practice. The final session of the afternoon was a 12-minute special team segment followed by conditioning before dinner.
ECU returned to the meeting rooms to review special team assignments and group practice from the afternoon before retiring to Tyler Hall for the evening.
Single-game, three-game mini packs and season tickets for all ECU home games are still available to the Pirate Nation and can be purchased by calling the ECU Athletic Ticket Office at 252-737-4500, through the Online Ticket Center, or by visiting the ECU Athletics Ticket Office. For all the latest ticket information, follow the ECU Ticket Office on Twitter (@ecuathletictix).
Â
Up Next:
Sunday's Practice Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Western Carolina in Greenville (6 p.m.)
GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following its annual media day Saturday afternoon, East Carolina returned to Hight Field inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex and completed its third session of preseason camp donning shoulder pads for the first time.
With temperatures in the mid-90's and a heat index reaching 106 degrees, first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery guided the Pirates through a near two-hour practice where fundamentals, execution and pace of play continued to be the theme early on in fall camp.
"The heat was a factor today no question about it," Montgomery said. "We started out good as a group. I thought defensively we had a lot of energy and offensively we had the same energy early. Towards the end of practice the tempo slowed down a little bit, which I don't like. We have to continue working on our conditioning from a physical standpoint in pads. We had a little longer and harder practice than the two previous days, but we will continue to keep working to be in the kind of shape that is needed to play good football."
With an early wake-up call at 7:30 a.m. for a team breakfast, the Pirates spent the morning in a pair of meeting sessions followed by a walk-through and then lunch. Twenty-four players and the ECU coaching staff held its annual media day event with approximately 30 members of national, state, regional and local newspaper, online, radio and television outlets gathered inside the Murphy Center to conduct player and coach interviews.
For the third consecutive day, the players were split into two groups with the veterans hitting the field for the first hour followed by the newcomers. The Pirates began with an 11-minute flex period before moving into 10 minutes of group work. During the breakout session, the offensive line plowed through chutes and five-man sled drills, while the skill players worked on quarterback drops, routes and run game footwork. Defensively, the front seven keyed on lane and gap assignments, while the secondary unit focused on ball drills.
After an eight-minute team stanza, which concentrated on team versus the run, the Pirates went through 12 more minutes of individual work with emphasis on routes vs. air, bag drills and ball security. During the 1-on-1 (receivers vs. defensive backs), 7-on-7 skeleton and final team period, ECU turned its focus on red zone execution, which spanned nearly 20 minutes of practice. The final session of the afternoon was a 12-minute special team segment followed by conditioning before dinner.
ECU returned to the meeting rooms to review special team assignments and group practice from the afternoon before retiring to Tyler Hall for the evening.
Single-game, three-game mini packs and season tickets for all ECU home games are still available to the Pirate Nation and can be purchased by calling the ECU Athletic Ticket Office at 252-737-4500, through the Online Ticket Center, or by visiting the ECU Athletics Ticket Office. For all the latest ticket information, follow the ECU Ticket Office on Twitter (@ecuathletictix).
Â
Up Next:
Sunday's Practice Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Season Opener: Sept. 3 vs. Western Carolina in Greenville (6 p.m.)
Saturday, April 18
Monday, April 13
Friday, April 10
Tuesday, April 07
