Kurt Benkert named ECU’s starting quarterback

GREENVILLE, NC (ECU) — East Carolina sophomore Kurt Benkert has been named the Pirates’ starting quarterback according to an announcement by head coach Ruffin McNeill on Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve had great competition at that position so far, but we felt it was time to name a starter to move forward with our preparations for the season,” McNeill said. “While Kurt will have the first opportunity, we feel very good about the capabilities of Blake (Kemp), Cody (Keith) and John (Jacobs). Like anyone else in our program at all other positions, Kurt will need to keep progressing and continue to earn the job throughout the year.”

Benkert, an Island Coast High School product from Cape Coral, Fla., played in three games as a redshirt freshman behind record-setting performer Shane Carden in 2014, completing eight-of-10 passes for 58 yards and suffering one interception. He also rushed for 23 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.

McNeill indicated that Kemp, a junior transfer who was redshirted a year ago, will serve as the top backup heading into the opener while Keith continues to recover from a right foot injury suffered during preseason camp.

After morning workouts Thursday and Friday, East Carolina will close camp with its final scrimmage Saturday. The Pirates will return to their in-season practice schedule after classes start on campus Monday.

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GREENVILLE, NC (ECU) — Sixth-year head coach Ruffin McNeill and his staff guided East Carolina through a pair of workouts Wednesday to complete its fall two-a-day schedule at Hight Field inside the Cliff Moore Practice Complex.

The Pirates, who spent two-and-half hours in full pads during the morning and returned for a near two-hour session in the afternoon in shells, continued preparations for Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I thought we got a lot of good work in today, especially in the team periods,” McNeill said. “The guys seemed to have a bounce in their step on the field after having yesterday off. We just need to continue to focus on our jobs and playing the next play, which has been an emphasis all camp.”

During the morning, the Pirates worked on the quick game, routes on air, team screens and one-on-ones before concluding practice with 25 minutes of extended team-on-team work focusing on red zone and goal line situations.

The afternoon session opened with wide receivers focusing on timing routs and the linebackers working on run coverage. The quarterbacks then went through a series of scramble drills with the receivers before another 10 minutes of screen work. During the skeleton phase of the workout, the offensive and defensive lines worked on pass rush, which led to the final 25 minutes of team vs. Scouts.