ECU scored seven touchdowns in Saturday's first scrimmage of the season in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Freshman Reid Herring had a big day with three touchdown passes today of 45, 60 and 40 yards to Johnnie Glaspie, Curtis Burston and Brandon Bishop. Gardner Minchew completed his first five passes and tossed a 37-yard slant to Cam Marshmon for a touchdown and threw one interception to strong safety Bobby Fulp who took it to the house on a 26-yard scamper for a touchdown.
ECU quarterback starter Philip Nelson got into the act adding a 26-yard touchdown pass.
The Pirates came out of the tunnel to a traditional ECU entrance in preparation for tonight's Meet the Pirates event at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Hussein Howe led all rushers with 51 yards on three carries including a game-long run of 30 yards. Anthony Scott added 36 yards on four rushes, while Derrell Scott and James Summers tallied 29 and 25 yards on the ground.
Terrell Green and Malik Gray each had a team-high four receptions, while Green lead all receivers with 94 yards. Johnson added three catches for 90 yards and Burston had two receptions out of the backfield totaling 70 yards.
The Pirate signal-callers completed nine passes of 20-plus yards with five going for 40 or more yards (four for scores), while the running backs broke two plays of 28 or more yards according to ECU stats.
Defensively, the Pirates tallied eight TFLs (two sacks) for minus 18 yards and Bobby Fulp picked off a Nelson pass at the 26-yard line on a third-and-five play taking it back for a touchdown. Javontay Smith and Joe Carter topped all defenders with eight and seven tackles respectively. Shaun James registered five stops with a team-best two sacks, while Corey Seargent and Devon Sutton added five each.
Saturday's 100 play scrimmage was an event that Scottie Montgomery had circled on the calendar when he opened his first fall camp at East Carolina just under two weeks ago.
"We're in pretty good shape. We'll find a way to continue to get better, but physically we're in pretty good shape right now," Montgomery told PirateIllustrated.com.
All of the ECU quarterbacks on the roster saw playing time on Saturday and Montgomery came away elated with the work they put in.
"We've got some good quarterbacks. We've got some guys who can play the position. Just watching from afar, I haven't seen the tape, I thought our quarterbacks operated the offense and threw the ball as well as they have since I've been here. That was a big time scrimmage for them."
"I'm happy to see our young players play well and do well at that position so we're happy about where they were today."
After installing all new offensive and defensive systems with a new staff in what is his first head coaching job, the former Duke offensive coordinator has instilled a new sense of discipline and confidence.
With some guys missing from the front seven due to injuries, it gave the Pirates a chance to extend their depth defensively.
"I think we needed it defensively because we got to a spot where we could operate pretty efficiently. Our front seven has some talent in it and now we're starting to see that there are a couple of guys we didn't know that can potentially come out and play for us in that front seven."
One defensive lineman who caught the attention of the coaches was Alex Turner, a freshman out of Houston.
"He's playing a lot of reps and he's holding up. Usually they hit a wall. He hasn't hit the wall physically or mentally. We want to keep putting stress on him and bring him along."
Also local South Central linebacker product Kendell Futrell is making fast progress as a freshman for the Pirates.
"Futrell continues to progress and he is a good football player. He has a long way to go, but those are the guys who haven't hit the wall on that front."
Heat continues to be a factor with temperatures in the 90's and heat indexes over a hundred degrees. Overall Saturday's first scrimmage was a success.
PirateIllustrated.com was there to bring you post practice interviews from Bagwell Field as our 2016 coverage of ECU fall football camp continues.
SCOTTIE MONTGOMERY RECAPS SCRIMMAGE
FALL NO. 1 SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
RUSHING: Hussein Howe (3-51), Anthony Scott (4-36), Derrell Scott (9-29), James Summers (5-25), Devin Anderson (3-15), Jason Connella (1-11), Shawn Furlow (1-6), Phil Nelson (5-3), Johnnie Glaspie (1-1), Quay Johnson (1-<-4>), Gardner Minshew (1-<-4>). Totals –– 34-169 (5.0 ypr).
PASSING: Gardner Minshew (22-15-0, 196 yards, 1 TD), Phil Nelson (17-11-1, 194 yards, 2 TD), Reid Herring (8-7-0, 175 yards, 3 TD), Jason Connella (1-1-0, 11 yards), James Summers (2-0-0, 0 yards). Totals –– 50-34-1, 576 yards, 6 TD (68.0%).
RECEIVING: Terrell Green (4-94), Quay Johnson (3-90, 1 TD), Curtis Burston (2-70, 1 TD), Malik Gray (4-60), Johnnie Glaspie (3-54, 1 TD), Brandon Bishop (1-40, 1 TD), Cam Marshmon (1-37, 1 TD), Jimmy Williams (1-26, 1 TD), Derrell Scott (2-22), Devaris Brunson (2-22), Deondre Farrier (1-17), Trevon Brown (1-15), Devin Anderson (2-9), Zay Jones (1-9), Derrell Scott (2-7), Jeffrey Coprich (1-4), Hussein Howe (1-3), Shawn Furlow (2-<-3>). Totals –– 34-576, 6 TD
TACKLES: Javontay Smith 8, Joe Carter 7 (2 TFLs/-8 yards), Shaun James 5 (2 sacks/-12 yards, 2 TFLs/-12 yards), Corey Seargent 5, Devon Sutton 5 (TFL/-2 yards), DaShaun Amos 4, Pat Green 4 (TFL/-1 yard), Travis Phillips 4, Jordan Williams 4, Tony Baird 3 (TFL/-1 yard), DaShawn Benton 3, Kendall Futrell 3 (PBU), Colby Gore 3 (TFL/-1 yard), Chris Love 3, Mike Myers 3, Nhyre Quinerly 3, Ray Tillman 3, Alex Turner 3, Cam White 3 (TFL/-4 yards), Trevian Hicks 2, Raequan Purvis 2 (TFL/-2 yards), Xavier Smith 2, Kenyon Taylor 2, Kiante Anderson 1 (QBH), Demage Bailey 1, Keyshawn Canady 1 (PBU), Fred Presley 1, Chance Purvis 1, Terrell Richardson 1, Bobby Fulp (INT/26 yards).
TOTAL OFFENSE/TOTAL DEFENSE: 84-745 (8.9 ypp)
FUMBLES/LOST: 0/0
INTERCEPTIONS: 1 (Bobby Fulp 26-yard TD return)
PENALTIES: 11 (5/OFFENSE – 3 holding, 1 false start, 1 illegal formation; 6/DEFENSE – 4 offside, 2 pass interference)
QUARTERBACK FIRST DOWN/SCORING CHARTGardner Minshew – 11 first downs/1 TDPhil Nelson – 10 first downs/2 TDReid Herring – 6 first downs/3 TDJason Connella – 1 first down
SCORING:Jimmy Williams 26-yard pass from Phil NelsonBobby Fulp 26-yard interception returnQuay Johnson 65-yard pass from Phil NelsonJohnnie Glaspie 45-yard pass from Reid HerringCurtis Burston 60-yard pass from Reid HerringBrandon Bishop 40-yard pass from Reid HerringCam Marshmon 37-yard pass from Gardner Minshew
