GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina continued preparations for its second intra-squad scrimmage of preseason camp with a two-and-a-half hour practice in shells Thursday morning. The Pirates spent the first half of the workout at the Cliff Moore Practice Complex before conducting the second half inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

"We needed to get some stadium work in, so we brought skeleton, seven-on-seven and team-on-team to Dowdy-Ficklen," head coach Ruffin McNeill said. "We want to make sure we get the feel for our stadium with game time just around the corner. I thought it went well today."

Thursday's practice was structured much like Wednesday's with the focus being team-on-team work. For the second-straight day, over an hour of the practice was conducted in skeleton drills or against early-designated scouts.

The offense spent periods against scouts working on screens and inside release and with wide receivers going one-on-one against defensive backs. The unit's line also dedicated time to blitz pickup.

During the team-on-team session, the offense focused on third-down plays and conducted simulated overtime periods. ECU also spent 20 minutes going through special teams situations.

The Pirates will practice Friday morning before holding their second intra-squad scrimmage of the fall Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

"I expect execution during the scrimmage," McNeill added. "I want everybody to know his role on offense, defense and special teams. The players need to do a great job of doing their jobs."

Notes: The Pirates' scrimmage Saturday precedes the 16th annual Meet The Pirates Night, ECU's preseason football fan fest, which will begin at 6:00 p.m. McNeill announced the addition of three players to the Pirates' 105-man preseason roster Thursday . OL Adhem Elsawi (6-5, 324, So-TR, Campbell University), CB D.J. Graham (5-10, 183, Fr-HS, North Brunswick HS) and P Phillip McNaughton (6-1, 260, So-TR, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia) are expected to participate in Saturday's scrimmage . Graham and McNaughton are eligible to play during the 2010 season while Elsawi will sit out in compliance with NCAA transfer rules.

Friday's Practice Time: 9:00 -11:30 a.m.

Season Opener: Sept. 5 vs. Tulsa in Greenville (2:00 p.m.)