The Harrell Huddle: ECU Nears First Scrimmage With Energy, Competition, and a Few Surprises

East Carolina is closing in on its first scrimmage of fall camp, and head coach Blake Harrell is making sure the team doesn’t fall into the dreaded early-August slump.

“Sometimes you can get into camp and have some monotony to it, you can have a lull where you're at,” Harrell said after Monday’s practice. “So we tried to change some stuff up... had the day off, did some team activities yesterday. It’s a big week for us. We’ve got to take a big step.”

That next step includes lining it up and going live—something Harrell’s eager to see.

“Right now, there are a lot of coaches out there coaching their tails off, but they're kind of holding their hands a little bit,” he said. “At some point, I have to get those guys off the field, and we have to line up and play.”

Raising the Standard

The team started Monday’s work with a little inspiration from one of the best to ever do it.

“We watched a video this morning from the UConn coach, Geno Auriemma, and he was talking about you can't get to the Final Four and play at this level (holds hand high), if you always practice at this level (holds hand low),” Harrell shared. “I thought our guys did a good job of trying to practice at a higher level... There’s mistakes, but if the energy level and effort level is always there, you have the opportunity to go practice at that level.”

Harrell added: “We still have a long ways to go, but I think we are getting there.”

Battle at Center Heating Up

One of the most watched position battles in camp so far is at center—and Harrell sees growth there.

"I'm really proud of both those young men right now, Darius Bell and Bryce Weaver,” Harrell said. “They’re the main two kind of rotating in with the ones and twos. Panda Askew has played in there some too—and Panda may be having as good a camp as anybody. Not just what [Bell and Weaver] are doing on the field, but how they’re speaking up, taking ownership, running the offensive line.”

Harrell admitted he was worried about the position after the spring, but that’s changed.

“I just see—we’ve taken a step. We’ve got to continue to take a bunch more, but we do have good competition there.”

Full Pads, Full Evaluation

The Pirates were in full pads over the weekend and Harrell wasn’t shy about what group made the biggest impression.

“If there was a group out there I was happy with, it was the offensive line,” he said. “Defensively, we’ve got to kind of bow up. We’ve got a chance to possibly have 8–9 seniors start on that side of the ball, but some of them will be their first starts.”

The physicality still needs to catch up to the talent in the backfield.

“We’re talented at running back. But we still don’t know how to drop our shoulder pad and run through some contact yet.”

Secondary Shows Progress, But Still Growing

Harrell had plenty to say about the cornerback room, especially with ECU’s receiver room giving them fits daily.

“There’s some pretty good wideouts over there… they challenge the defense and they make them work,” he said. “Some of those guys on defense are stepping up, starting to understand leverage, technique, where their help is.”

He estimates 10 players are in the mix.

“We went through our personnel yesterday and our depth charts. Next Sunday will be a totally different conversation,” he said. “We see some positives, but we’ve got to continue to grow.”

Petta-Playmaker & Roberts’ Energy

Wide receiver Jaquaize Pettaway seems to be finding his groove in camp.

“Quez just feels more comfortable this camp than he did in the spring… now you can tell he feels comfortable out there, and you can see him making plays,” Harrell said. “He looks a lot more like Winston Wright right now than he did in the spring.”

And his position coach, Dyrell Roberts, is leading the charge with energy.

“I said this yesterday—this receiver room has the most energy of any I’ve ever been around,” Harrell said. “It starts with him and rubs off on the receivers. Then it rubs off on the tight ends. Pretty soon it takes over our offense. That’s how every coach on our staff is—we want to play that way.”

Inside Linebacker Gets Some Help

Jackson Barker has moved to inside linebacker—and Harrell is a fan of what he’s seen so far.

“He was a special teams demon last year. And just moving back to linebacker, I think he’s doing really good things. Adapting really well. Smart kid. He triggers, moves around, plays in space,” Harrell said.

The hope is for Barker and Sam Dankah to anchor the inside linebacker group. And one more name is rising.

“I thought DJ Johnson took a step forward today at linebacker. I was just bragging on him to the team,” Harrell said. “He’s starting to become that guy in practice, triggering around, maturing. He’s growing up like I hoped he could.”