East Carolina's spring game ended shortly after halftime, when the ECU campus was placed under a tornado warning. Coach Skip Holtz can only hope that the shortened showcase for spring practice isn't a sign of things to come this fall.

It was certainly a symbol of what was, at times, a frustrating spring for the Pirates. A lot of offseason questions were left unsettled, and enough veterans missed time rehabbing injuries that, as Holtz noted, veteran leadership will need to reveal itself quickly once practice resumes in August.

The Pirates are building a program in a part of the country where it can sometimes be hard to get attention with all of the ACC schools in the same media market. ...More