Even though coach Scottie Montgomery has stated that the job is Gardner Minshew’s to lose, there is still doubt as to who East Carolina’s starting quarterback will be when the 2017 season kicks off on Sept. 2 against defending FCS national champion James Madison.

This much is certain, though: Regardless of who eventually emerges from the three-way battle between semi-incumbent Minshew, redshirt freshman Reid Herring and heralded new arrival Kingsley Ifedi, finding someone to throw the ball to will be the least of his worries.

That’s a remarkable statement, considering that the Pirates are losing the most prolific receiver in college football history.

There aren’t many programs around the nation, regardless of how big or successful, that can withstand the graduation of a Zay Jones, whose 158 catches in 2016 were a single-season FBS record and whose 399 overall receptions broke former teammate Justin Hardy’s NCAA career mark.

But believe it or not, ECU could potentially boast an even deeper, more diverse group of pass catchers without Jones than it did with him.

“We can’t replace him and I’ve tried to make sure that we keep letting the kids understand that,” coach Scottie Montgomery said of Jones, a projected first round pick in the upcoming NFL draft. “(But) this is probably one of the only times I have been on a team that everybody but the No. 1 receiver is back at that position.

“I think it is a very deep group. We’ve got to get to Saturdays and we have a long way to go to get there. However, that is a position that’s in a good spot for a long time to come.”

Montgomery’s optimism is fueled by the return — in at least one case unexpectedly — of three proven veterans with the talent and resumes to be a go-to guy in the mold of either Jones or Hardy.

Jimmy Williams’ career figured to be over when he caught 45 passes for a team-leading 18.8 yard average and eight touchdowns as a senior last season. But in December, the speedy native of nearby Washington was granted an extra year of eligibility because of a foot injury that limited him to only 2½ games as a freshman in 2013.

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Williams’ reentry into the mix gives the Pirates a home run hitter opposing defenses will have to respect from Day 1.

They’ll also have to be wary of Davon Grayson, who could have even greater big play potential now that he’s healthy again after a series of debilitating injuries — including one that cost him the entire 2016 season. Grayson has 76 career catches in his Pirates career, 11 of which have gone for 20 or more yards.

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As important as Williams and Grayson figure to be to ECU’s offense, their impact is likely to be paled by that of star-in-waiting Trevon Brown. The 6-foot-2, 203-pound junior with legitimate NFL size and skills was already touted as a preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection last year before he was forced to sit out the season for academic reasons.

Brown’s career has been a series of starts and stops, beginning with an eligibility issue that delayed his entry for a year, an injury that cut short his freshman season and a suspension that cost him the first three games as a sophomore.

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If Montgomery can keep Brown on the field, he’ll have an elite receiver with the hands and  physicality to be a strong possession receiver, especially around the goal line — an area in which ECU struggled mightily last season — but also one capable of beating his man one-on-one downfield, as he did on the opening play of the 2016 Purple-Gold Spring Game.

Add in veteran Quay Johnson, the team’s second-leading receiver with 58 catches for 563 yards and three touchdowns last season, and promising youngster Deondre Farrier, who averaged 14.5 yards on his 21 catches in his freshman campaign, and you have a receiving corps worth getting excited about.

And make no mistake, Montgomery is excited.

“We kind of thought they would be the one, two or three … with Zay included,” the Pirates coach said of Brown and Grayson. “I don’t know of a better one, two and three in college football.

“We didn’t know much about Jimmy last year, we didn’t know Quay was going to have a big year and we didn’t know that Deondre was going to turn into a big player. The sky’s the limit for that group if they come and do what they’re supposed to do on a daily basis and get better.”

Now all they need is for the coaching staff to figure out how to get the ball to them on a regular basis and who will be the one doing it.

VIEW ECU’S 2017 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE