[Bette]

With Monday being Columbus Day it was only fitting that the underlying theme of East Carolina coach Skip Holtz’s weekly press conference was discovery.

The Pirates’ skipper is desperately searching for ways to create big plays for his athletes on offense. If that doesn’t work, the next move is to find players that can make them.

After suffering a disappointing 28-21 loss to Southern Methodist University on Saturday in Texas, Holtz put his skill players on check by divulging that roster spots are up for grabs this week as ECU prepares to host Rice (0-6, 02) at 3:30 p.m. on Homecoming weekend.

It’s not a secret that the Pirates’ passing game has not been up to par this season. With two freshmen, Josh Jordan and Rio Johnson, backing up quarterback Patrick Pinkney, it’s not likely that his job will be in jeopardy anytime soon.



Pinkney, a sixth-year senior, has had a poor season so far and was 20 for 34 for 181 yards with no TD passes and one costly interception against SMU. To be fair, Pinkney was battling flu-like symptoms Saturday, however, all the previous weeks he was healthy.

With Pinkney’s job safe for now, and the running game looking effective thanks to the tandem of Dominique Lindsay (24-144 against SMU) and Brandon Jackson, the logical place to start tinkering is at wide receiver.

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Wonder whats going on with Pinkney? They were sure he was the guy at the beginning of the season.