Blog kickoff

Greetings, ECU fans.

After being beaten into submission the last few years by my editorship here at The Reflector, I have finally relented and allowed myself to be blasted into the blogosphere.

Within these walls, hopefully, you will find all of the tidbits, quotes and updates that inevitably fall off the editing table each day. There is only so much room in a newspaper, so I hope this will become a place where day-to-day happenings can be updated regularly, but also where stories and games can be discussed further and with additional detail.

This is not a message board, and while I'm excited to interact, I'm not here to argue or rant or rave.

With the annoying handshakes and hellos dispensed, there is nothing better than jumping in with both feet.

As the clock ticks toward Saturday's noon kickoff with Virginia Tech in Charlotte, ECU coach Skip Holtz is worried about his running game.

After the Pirates got rained on at practice Tuesday evening, Holtz lamented still being without JUCO transfer J.R. Rogers, and senior Dominique Lindsay is gone for the year.

While redshirting a JUCO player is not normally a good sign, Rogers could have been a blessing for Holtz after Lindsay's knee surgery a couple of weeks ago.

In the team's second August scrimmage, Rogers showed a great first step and an ability to storm up the sideline.

But in the final days before the Hokies, Rogers is still stuck on the sideline with an ankle strain. Holtz said Rogers was unable to go on Tuesday, and called him an increasing long shot to touch the field inside Bank of America Stadium.

"We're still in the same boat we were," Holtz said of the injuries. "J.R. is the closest one to coming back, it's just a matter of how much he can tolerate. We don't want to rush him out there one day if he's not going to be able to walk the next day."

Expect to see a position battle continue into the season between sophomores Jonathan Williams and Norman Whitley. Senior Brandon Simmons is at the top spot for now, but all three will take their share before long.

Despite the seemingly odd timing, Holtz said he was delighted at the six-year contract extension he agreed to Tuesday.

"Me and my family have loved Greenville. We've made a lot of progress, and it's great to see the university have faith in what we're doing," Holtz said "We've got great chemistry on our staff. We coach them, we recruit them, but it's the players who go out there and block and tackle."