Running back question remains as spring football gears up

Every year, the month of March brings with it sporting events that have become spring pastimes for sports fanatics.

Major League Baseball opens spring training in Florida and Arizona as brackets are agonized over and filled out for March Madness and college football teams around the country begin spring practice.

The Pirates began their springtime regiment last week with high expectations, coming off a year in which they won nine games and a conference championship, but narrowly missed out on a Liberty Bowl victory against SEC opponent Kentucky. Here's a look ahead to a few of the big storylines people will surely be talking about when autumn rolls around.

The schedule. The Pirates' schedule will look a little different this fall than it has in recent years. For starters, Appalachian State was added while N.C. State was dropped. This will be the first time ECU has faced the Mountaineers since 1979 and should prove to be a fierce in-state match-up with plenty of drama. The Mountaineers are continuing their crusade against other North Carolina schools for respect, so Pirate fans should expect a battle and not just on the field. There are also some odd game dates the Pirates will have to contend with. The Pirates will play three straight games on ESPN and none of them will be on a Saturday. They will travel to Memphis for a Tuesday night game before coming back to Greenville for a highly anticipated Thursday night tilt verses Virginia Tech the following week. Then, another 10-day lay-off awaits before a showdown with Tulsa in Oklahoma.

"The back half of the schedule is also different since we do not have a real open date built in with everything," said head coach Skip Holtz. "Instead, we have three 10-day periods between games in which to prepare for upcoming opponents. It will be a great stretch for us in terms of opponents we play and the national exposure that those three games will give us. Playing Memphis, Virginia Tech and Tulsa all on ESPN will provide a chance for us to showcase our university."

Patrick Pinkney. The quarterback who took the majority of the snaps for the Pirates last season was granted another year of eligibility due to an injury sustained in 2005. He will enter the season as the starter; however, like last season, don't expect him to take every snap this fall either. Coach Holtz still plans on utilizing Rob Kass and athlete Dwayne Harris under center during the season. Also, look for redshirt-freshman Josh Jordan to take some snaps when games are at hand.

"I think there will be yet another great competition between Patrick and Rob this spring," Holtz said. "Patrick will have to continue to earn the job and I have been really pleased with Rob's attitude. He has a positive mindset, has lost some weight and worked really hard to be a leader during winter workouts. I am anxious to see Rob continue to improve during the spring period. When Josh and Dwayne get cleared a little more to play near the end of spring, I will also be anxious to see where they stand with everything."

The Running Backs. The rumors floating around about a falling out between Holtz and Norman Whitley have yet to be fully disclosed. Junior Jonathan Williams' status on the team is also rumored to be in question. As of right now, both Whitley and Williams are still listed on the roster. But, if the rumors end up being true and Whitley transfers and Williams is out, the Pirates might face a serious depth problem in the backfield. Senior Dominique Lindsey would appear to be the frontrunner for the starting job since he's the only returning back with significant experience, but nagging injuries have forced him to limit his involvement in spring practice. Another option could be Brandon Jackson. He sat out last season after transferring from Kentucky and the coaches will surely be taking a look at him this spring. But Holtz seems to think the running back position is open competition at this point.

"Right now, you can pretty much throw everyone into the mix," Holtz said. "We are just trying to find one guy right now that will step up and be effective for us. Right now, there are six candidates for the position but every one of the players has a question mark next to their names due to factors such as injuries, personal situations or just being an unknown commodity. There is a lot of talent at the position but even more uncertainty than we had a year ago, which makes it a primary concern of mine entering the spring."

Linebackers. Who will replace Quentin Cotton and Pierre Bell? After an excellent start to the season, Cotton's injury was immediately felt by the Pirate defense, and he was never truly replaced. How will the Pirates deal with the loss of he and Bell to graduation? Senior Nick Johnson will add some experience, and several players earned letters filling in for Cotton last season, but it still remains a huge question mark. The talented and experienced secondary that is solid against both the run and pass should help cover for the lack of a proven starter in the early stages of the season, but players will have to step up if the defense hopes to stop anyone when offenses start hitting their stride.

This writer can be contacted at sports@theeastcarolnian.com.