By
Brian Bailey
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That blast of cooler air this past weekend in Eastern
North Carolina may not have been a cold front. I think it was that big
sigh of relief from the offensive staff at East Carolina.
In the second and final preseason scrimmage at ECU, the
offense shined and earned a split, if you will, in the two games. The
Pirate defense was decidedly better in the first scrimmage, but this
workout went to the offense.
Head coach Ruffin McNeill isn’t looking for a winner or a
loser just yet.
“I thought there were some positive things that happened
on both sides of the ball,” said McNeill. “There will be some things
that the coaches will be disappointed with, but that’s what we want
because they are searching for perfection.”
That search for perfection will continue throughout the
season. The scrimmage featured several infractions that McNeill wants to
stamp out before the opener against Old Dominion.
“We had a couple of penalties on both sides of the ball
today that we have to correct,” McNeill explained. “That is
uncharacteristic of this team and how they have been performing in camp.
So we will address those things pretty quickly. Overall, I was pleased
with the execution and the substitutions on both sides of the ball from
package to package.”
Though not perfect, Shane Carden did finished 9-of-12 for
106 yards and a touchdown. He connected on his first seven passes.
“I said it all week that we have to execute the little
plays,” said Carden, who seemed relieved after the offense's struggle
from the previous Saturday. “Sometimes it’s boring. Sometimes you just
want to throw it 50 yards every time. But you have to execute the small
plays. Do that and the big plays will come.”
That’s the Lincoln Riley way. Riley has said since day
one that this offense, when executed, is very difficult to stop. We’ve
seen flashes of that and now this offense looks to take the next step.
Riley was also in a better mood after this second scrimmage.
“Shane was able to score with both groups,” said Riley.
“I thought (reserve quarterback) Cody (Keith) played well. We dropped
too many balls and we turned it over.”
One of the emerging surprises in the Pirate camp is the
play of sophomore running back Cory Hunter. Hunter ran the ball five
times for 35 yards and a touchdown. He’s also caught the attention of
the Pirate staff.
“He’s going to play a bunch,” said Riley. “He’s very
dependable. He’s wherever he is supposed to be. Whenever he is supposed
to block, he blocks who he is supposed to block. When he runs the ball
he runs hard. He catches it. He’s just one of those players that you
wished you had more of.”
The two main objectives from Saturday’s scrimmage were
for the offense to bounce back and for the Pirates to stay healthy.
There were some aches and pains, but reportedly nothing too serious.
The Pirates were back on the practice field Monday before
the start of classes on Tuesday at East Carolina.
Some of the other stars from Saturday’s second scrimmage
included quarterback Kurt Benkert, who threw a touchdown pass, and
freshman receiver Isaiah Jones, who scored a touchdown for the second
straight scrimmage.
The traditional in-season practice schedule kicks off on
Wednesday this week as the Pirates continue to get closer to that opener
against ODU.
BB
