ECU football completes eighth spring practice in rain and sleet

GREENVILLE, N.C. - Head coach Scottie Montgomery and his ECU football program resumed its practice schedule Monday afternoon after enjoying a nine-day spring break layoff. The two-hour workout, conducted in a steady rain and ultimately sleet at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex, was the Pirates' eighth overall and fifth in full pads.

Monday's session also officially opened preparation efforts in earnest for ECU's first intrasquad scrimmage of the spring scheduled for Saturday.

"We battled through about everything the weather threw at us today and I didn't hear any complaints," Montgomery said. "I'm proud of our focus, especially with as much detail as we added. The week off certainly gave us an energy boost and I could see us continue to grow and take shape offensively and defensively."

In addition to its traditional team-on-team run and pass game development segments, ECU spent Monday's situational period on redzone efficiency. The Pirates also introduced another team stanza entitled ""Call It" which opened each offensive possession on its own 10-yard line before engaging in spirited three-on-three drills contained within a seven-yard boundary.

After an off-day Tuesday, the Pirates will return to work Wednesday beginning at 4:30 p.m. before closing the week with another session Friday afternoon and Saturday's scrimmage.

NOTES: QB Reid Herring opened the initial team period by completing three-straight passes for 65 yards, which included a 32-yarder to Trevon Brown on his first toss of the afternoon ... Montgomery lauded the work of recently-converted running back Keyshawn Canady, who ripped off the longest rush of the day (24 yards) ...He averaged 6.3 yards per carry during the 10-minute run game period (8-50) ... Trace Christian (21 yards) and Anthony Scott (17) also turned in significant jaunts ... The defense enjoyed the upper hand in the redzone period, logging a trio of takeaways in the inclement conditions that including a fumble recovery by Colby Gore ... DL Brandon Henderson, RB Darius Pinnix and LB Ray Tillman remained sidelined with injuries, while OL John Spellacy was cleared to participate in non-contact work.

ECU'S 2018 SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE

Next Workout: Wednesday, March 14 (4:30-6:15 p.m.)

Remaining Workouts: March 16, March 17 (scrimmage), March 19, March 21, March 23, March 24 (Purple-Gold Game, 1:00 p.m.)