July 27, 2006

Whether or not a season of promise for East Carolina in 2005 has a chance to grow depends on what the Pirates have made of their first season of relative calm in nearly five years. From an opening day win to the Pirates' strong finish, the Skip Holtz coaching era at ECU was forged with a balanced, honest approach and a commitment to recruiting. It was a departure from the end of the previous two coaching regimes, which both ended in dismissals.

Strapped with new talent from his first signing class and a core of experienced juniors and seniors, Holtz hammered the Pirates through a spring practice that was meant to be physical, but nonetheless was decorated with some big plays and evidence of the team's first competitive season since former coach Steve Logan was at the helm.

Holtz will push the buttons of senior quarterback James Pinkney in what could be a standout passing attack in Conference USA, but the ever-present question mark looms in the more critical areas of the ECU offense -- up front and in the backfield.

Thanks to some aggressive scheduling, East Carolina might have a tough time matching its promising 5-6 start to the Holtz era. Ready to help measure the Pirates' improvement will be a band of eight 2005 bowl teams, including non-conference dates with national rushing leader Navy, West Virginia, Virginia and N.C. State.

The team's armor will be its experienced defense, which has grown through spring drills as numerous fringe players in the program have stormed the team's early depth charts. Despite losing three mainstays at linebacker, even three promising junior college transfers found it tough to keep themselves in the mix with the amount of able replacements.

Holtz's expectations are admittedly higher after the team finished with consecutive victories over Conference USA rivals Marshall and UAB, and he ended spring drills mindful the Pirates' growing isn't complete yet.

"Sometimes they focus on the bottom of the broom, not the top," Holtz said, noting the large number of players new to this year's potential depth chart in a transition process only just begun. "There are so many pieces that are already put together, and there are so many guys who have the talent that just haven't played, and that's what makes this so different."

Quarterbacks
For the first time since David Garrard manned the Pirates' passing game, ECU already knows who its man will be under center. In his second season as starter in 2005, Pinkney became more comfortable as the team's leader, still taking too many sacks but still being the perfect man for the job.

He matched the results of his sophomore season, throwing for 2,773 yards and 14 touchdowns. The touchdown numbers should increase with the decidedly improved receiving unit flanking him. With numbers even close to the ones he's posted the last two seasons, Pinkney will easily slide into second on the school's all-time passing yards list behind Garrard, and will near that in touchdowns and completions.

One of the surprises of spring camp, redshirt freshman Brett Clay assumed the backup spot ahead of two other candidates.

Running Backs
One of the Pirates' potential problems is a familiar one, just with different circumstances. Junior Chris Johnson will make all things seem normal if he can successfully recover from neck surgery that put him out of spring drills. Even with him, the Pirates must continue to work on their rush offense, which ranked 71st by season's end, a vast improvement over the previous two seasons.

Part of the solution is sophomore Dominique Lindsay, who steadily worked his way into the lineup as a true freshman, and who is a better runner up the middle than Johnson.

Although in the offensive mind of Holtz and coordinator Steve Shankweiler they're just as often used as receivers, former quarterbacks Pat Dosh and Kort Shankweiler are serving as first-year H-backs because of a lack of a true fullback.

Wide Receivers
Feeling a big boost from last year's redshirt class is the receiving corps, which already boasts senior leaders Aundrae Allison (83 catches, 1,024 yards, 7 TD), Bobby Good and Kevin Roach.

In addition to promising returner Phillip Henry, come lanky redshirt freshmen Alex Taylor (6-foot-4) and Kyle Johnson (6-3), both of whom competed well in spring drills, and better fit the mold of Holtz' prototype receiver.

Allison is coming off a memorable season after transferring from Georgia Military, but is also coming off off-season knee surgery. He, along with Good (hamstring), were mobile during spring, but the Pirates are expecting a boost from their numerous other sets of hands which also include former Georgia signee Jamar Bryant who officially joined the program during the summer.

Former quarterback Davon Drew excelled at tight end during spring drills, including reeling in a Pinkney pass for a touchdown in the spring game.

Offensive Line
The other familiar thorn in the side of the Pirate offense, this year's line is somewhat of a mismatch in terms of youth and experience. Senior tackle Eric Graham and junior guard Matt Butler return as starters, but a few skyward snaps in the spring game served as a reminder that it's a work in progress.

Rookie centers Tom Wingenbach and Fred Hicks battled it out in the spring to fill another soft spot on the team, but neither could lay claim to it. A switch to guard for Josh Coffman and to tackle for Terence Campbell might have a positive effect, as did an early-season line shift made last year.

"This time last year, we had the same issue going on and we got it fixed," Steve Shankweiler said of the high-snap issue. "The timing of everything is critical, and it's unfair to ask a quarterback to see his reads downfield when he's trying to field a bad snap."

Defensive Line
Prior to the summer, coordinator Greg Hudson felt like he had some of his best talent up front, as bookends Shauntae Hunt and 2005 breakout talent Marcus Hands were penciled in to return to anchor returning interior starters Mark Robinson and Brandon Setzer, another pleasant surprise last season.

A freak summer injury house-moving accident will sideline Hunt (knee) until October and the Pirates hope Hands will bounce back completely after undergoing successful surgery late last season to repair ongoing shoulder problems which forced him to sit out spring practice. Yet, coaches expect the latter to return to the form that had him leading the conference with 5.5 sacks when he went down.

Linebackers
For most of the spring, Holtz raved about the immediate impact of junior college gems Fred Wilson in the middle, and Orlando Farrow and Danny Muhwezi on the outside, a seeming steal after losing program centerpieces Chris Moore and Richard Koonce. But in the spirit of competition, it was junior Quentin Cotton and redshirt Jeremy Chambliss to whom Holtz had assigned starting OLB roles by the end of spring practice.

Potential starter Pierre Bell also required offseason surgery, and is projected to be back for fall camp.

"I think the difference is, there is a lot more talent on this football team," Holtz said. "There are a lot more guys with secured positions that have playing experience, whereas a year ago we didn't have any, and we came out to spring ball and didn't have one name on the two-deep."

Defensive Backs
Leadership characterizes the secondary overseen by recruiting hound Rick Smith. Senior Kasey Ross enjoyed unprecedented growth under the Holtz staff, helping to bring the slew of young corners and safeties under him along.

Travis Williams dueled with Stacy Walls and J.J. Milbrook for much of the spring on the other side. In the middle, Holtz will be able to intimidate with a beefed up crew of safeties that includes returning starter Pierre Parker and Jamar Flournoy, who sat out an unconventional redshirt season in 2005 before returning for his senior year this fall.

Specialists
Another of Holtz's fast finds in addition to Allison in a memorable 2005 recruiting push was junior college kicker Robert Lee, a Lou Groza Award semifinalist who hammered 17-of-19 field goals that included a 51-yarder. Proven veteran Ryan Dougherty returns for his final season at punter. Williams, meanwhile, hopes to get his job back as punt returner after brilliant freshman but topsy-turvy sophomore seasons.

Reprinted with permission from Athlon Sports and author Nathan Summers