East Carolina produced the first in-state player selected in the NFL
Draft. The New York Giants took defensive tackle Linval Joseph in the
second round on Friday with the 46th overall pick.

GREENVILLE -- Like the stands in the east end zone of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, East Carolina's football team is a work in progress.

That much was clear to the 7,125 fans on hand Saturday with a walk-on at starting quarterback, several dropped passes and a rash of penalties during the Pirates' first spring game under new coach Ruffin McNeill.

N.C. State's football game at East Carolina on Oct. 16 will start at noon.

The Wolfpack also travels to C-USA opponent Central Florida on Sept. 11. That game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

What will a tough early season schedule do for a college baseball team. It will make it better in the long run.

And success against tough opponents can improve a team's RPI (Ratings
Percentage Index, a formula that takes into account a team's record,
strength of schedule and other factors). East Carolina, which faced
then No. 2 Virginia and then No. 10 South Carolina in its first two
weekend series, has vaulted to the top 10 in one national poll and is
rated No. 5 in the boydsworld.com RPI, a very accurate unofficial list.

Lance Lewis, a junior college transfer who played at Concord High, is a late addition to East Carolina's football signing class, coach Ruffin McNeill announced Wednesday.

Lewis recently closed out a two-year stay at East Mississippi Community College. He brings the Pirates' class to 19.

GREENVILLE — Ruffin McNeill made his future intentions clear in the first minute of his introductory press conference as East Carolina's new football coach.

After 24 seasons as a college assistant, the previous 10 at Texas Tech, he called his first head coaching job, and the return to his alma mater, his "destination" job.

"This is a dream come true for an East Carolina country boy," McNeill
said. "This is where I want to be until they tote me away from here."

Middle Tennessee football coach Rick Stockstill has withdrawn as a candidate for East Carolina's job.

The announcement was made today on the MTSU sports web site. Stockstill, a former assistant for the Pirates, led his team to a 10-3 record in 2009.

CARY -- Terry Holland figured he would have to replace Skip
Holtz sooner than later. The East Carolina athletic director only
wishes he had more time to find a new football coach.

Holtz left ECU, after five seasons, on Thursday for South Florida,
about a month later than college coaches typically change jobs.

It turns out that the decision by Skip Holtz to leave ECU for South
Florida probably will not make a huge impact on his bank account by his
standards.

According to The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, Holtz got a
5-year contract worth an eventual $9.1 million. Over the same period at
ECU, he would have made at least $8.3 million. His South Florida
package for 2010 will be $1.7 million, compared to what would have been $1.5 million
with the Pirates.

According to media reports out of Greenville Thursday, an emotional Skip Holtz held a private meeting with the Pirates football team to share his decision to accept the South Florida coaching job.

The Daily Reflector also reported that Holtz had tears in his eye as he contended that his decision had nothing to do with what Greenville and ECU either had or didn't have to offer him and his family. But those tears apparently had dried up by the time the private jet carrying him and his family down to Tampa touched down Thursday night.

Click below for video of Holtz's arrival in Tampa, courtesy of The St. Petersburg Times.