While the Pirates have been working to fill personnel voids before and after a 23-17 Military Bowl win over Pitt, the Crimson Tide has had its share of departures, too.
There is a difference, of course.
Alabama doesn’t typically lose starting players. There are sufficient prestige and resources (money) to keep top performers in place. Given the Tide’s status in college football, frontline players don’t exit for bigger programs.
Arguably, there are not any bigger programs.
What does happen is that highly recruited players at Alabama who have not had the playing time they might have anticipated, might look for a fresh start elsewhere.
The Tuscaloosa News lists 22 Tide players who have entered the portal. There are 13 incoming players.
The top players with remaining eligibility are set to return. That includes quarterback Ty Simpson, running back Daniel Hill, running back Kevin Riley, wide receiver Ryan Williams and defensive back Bray Hubbard, who had a team high 41 solo tackles during an 11-4 season in 2025.
ECU personnel losses
While ‘Bama has lost back-ups, the Pirates have had a number of top players who have taken advantage of offers from higher-paying programs.
Starting quarterback Katin Houser, who passed for 3,300 yards, has joined Illinois. Leading rusher London Montgomery is headed to Florida. Second-leading receiver Yannick Smith has become a Southern Methodist Mustang. ECU’s top tackler, safety Ja’Marley Riddle, has decided on Georgia.
One might wonder if awareness of these players’ talents was heightened by repeated Thursday night games on ESPN during a 9-4 season in 2025.
Rogers in opener again
The Pirates could see Noah Rogers in a season opener for the second straight season.
The wide receiver had two catches for 19 yards for N.C. State in a 24-17 Wolfpack win in Raleigh on Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025.
Rogers finished with 31 catches for 404 yards and two touchdowns for State in 2025. He has transferred to Alabama.
Decisive setbacks for Tide
Alabama sustained some uncharacteristically decisive losses in 2025. The Tide was defeated, 28-7, by Georgia for the Southeastern Conference championship in Atlanta.
Top-seeded Indiana knocked Alabama out of the College Football Playoffs by a 38-3 margin in the Rose Bowl. Simpson was pulled in the Rose Bowl although it was not clear at the time if he was injured or if he was replaced due to performance issues.
Host Florida State stunned the Tide, 31-17, in the 2025 season opener.
App State in week two
East Carolina will play its first home game against Appalachian State on Sept. 12, the week after taking on Alabama.
Appalachian State has had 39 players enter the transfer portal, including starting quarterback A.J. Swann and back-up quarterback J.J. Kohl,
The Mountaineers were 5-8 in 2025 under first-year coach Dowell Loggains, including a 29-10 loss to Georgia Southern in the Birmingham Bowl.
The last time
The last game between ECU and Appalachian was in Greenville in 2023 when the Mountaineers rallied from a 21-10 deficit to defeat the Pirates, 43-28.
Joey Aguilar passed for 241 yards for Appalachian with three TDs. He also had a rushing score.
The Mountaineers have won three straight to lead the series, 23-12.
Well-traveled Aguilar
Aguilar was in his fifth year since redshirting at City College of San Francisco in 2019 when he played in Greenville in 2023. He played at Diablo Valley in 2021 and Texas-Permian Basin in 2022 after the COVID year in 2020.
He played two seasons at Appalachian in 2023 and 2024.
Aguilar initially went to UCLA from Boone but transferred to Tennessee after Nico Iamaleava left the Volunteers for UCLA in a salary dispute.
Aguilar passed for 3,444 yards and 24 TDs in 2025.
He has petitioned for another season of eligibility but that is unlikely to be granted, according to reports.
Aguilar’s travels are prolific, even in the current state of college football.
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