One of the benefits of a bye week is that it allows a roster to heal. East Carolina coach Blake Harrell provided an injury update in a news conference this week.

The Pirates are in the midst of an open date after a 42-9 win over visiting N.C. Central on Saturday.

ECU (2-2) will start American Conference play at home against Rice (1-3) on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m.

In the meantime, some skill position players are mending up. The good thing about some notable absences on offense is that the Pirates have displayed sufficient depth to win a pair of games at less than full strength.

Missing Melvin

Wake Forest transfer Jeremiah Melvin is doing more in practice after limited action in the 20-17 win at Old Dominion on Sept. 19 and sitting out against NCCU.

The rangy Melvin had four catches for 60 yards with a touchdown at Alabama. He had seven receptions for 94 yards against Appalachian State. He has been dealing with a lower back issue that has kept him at less than full speed.

Hooray for Ray Ray

Miami transfer Ray Ray Joseph Jr. had 10 catches for 141 yards against Central.

“Ray Ray had his best day, just catching the football,” Harrell said. “He made some nice catches, especially early in the game to get us going. That was huge, especially with one or two guys out.”

Sides sees action

North Texas transfer Landon Sides saw his first action of the season on Saturday with two  catches for 18 yards. He had been out with a hamstring injury.  The speedy receiver fumbled against the Eagles, but ECU maintained possession.

“Probably the first time he’s been hit (to the ground) since spring ball,” Harrell said. “Got to do a better job of his ball security.”

Spalding out

Brock Spalding, the lone returning starter on offense and a preseason all-conference selection, has yet to play a snap in 2026.

Harrell did not mention the elite receiver in an injury update this week. At last report, Spalding was moving with less apparent pain.

Gray area

Ashton Gray, who played last year at North Texas, was ECU’s leading rusher in the first two games. He had six carries for 17 yards at Alabama and 16 rushes for 99 yards against Appalachian State.

Gray ran 10 times for 36 yards at ODU before hobbling to the sideline. He was out against NCCU.

“Jeremiah increased his workload (Monday), so did Ashton,” Harrell said. “I expect both those guys will be full speed by the end of the week.”

T.J. takes off 

With Davis out Saturday, returning back T.J. Engleman ran for 129 yards on 10 rushes with two TDs. He also had two catches for 33 yards with a score.

“T.J. had a great day,” Harrell said, “We look forward to bigger things out of him down the road.”

Miles per hour

New technology allows the speed of players to be calibrated.

“T.J. is a special young man,” Harrell said. “He was over 21 miles an hour as well. We had seven guys over 20 miles an hour in a game.

“That’s easy to do in summer training when you’re in a t-shirt and shorts — and you’re running a straight line, nobody’s in your way. But when you’re avoiding traffic and doing those things, that can be tough.”

Engleman also was carrying the ball when he went 88 yards for a score during a 35-point second quarter for the Pirates on Saturday.

First start for Williams

Miami transfer Emory Williams made his first start at quarterback for ECU and he stepped up, too. Williams completed 25 of 36 for 341 yards with three TDs and one interception. He had a fumble that was recovered in the end zone for a touchback on ECU’s first possession.

“Emory did some good things,” Harrell said. “I think he can play better. There’s a few balls that were on the back hip instead of the front hip, catching those guys in stride. We’re getting explosive plays out of it, but we need explosive touchdowns out of those.”

Williams played sparingly behind Mitch Griffis to start the season but appears to be QB1 going into the league schedule.

An important consideration regarding the performances against NCCU is that they were achieved against a generally outmanned Football Championship Subdivision program with fewer resources.

Lampley back

Defensive lineman J.D. Lampley got to play Saturday as a court injunction has allowed him a fifth year of eligibility.

Lampley started and was credited with one solo stop, four assists, 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sack.

“One of the things as a coach, as a mentor, leading folks and being in sports for so long, you just want to see guys be successful,” Harrell said. “See that smile come across their face. Seeing J.D. Lampley out there getting to compete.

“I’m with him in the tunnel and looked over at him, next to him. I say, ‘You never thought you’d do this again.’ He’s like, ‘No, I didn’t.’ … It’s almost like he teared up in there for a second, but he goes and plays the game the right way.

“The energy he brings our defense, the confidence he brings to our football team is special.

“We’ll see where this thing goes. Who knows what’s day by day. It’s just a good reminder. He spoke to our team Friday night about you’re never promised tomorrow; you’re only promised today.

“There’s not many times in life you get a second opportunity to go back and do something. For the last nine months, he thought his career was done and all of a sudden he gets to step back on the grass. … We’ll see if it’s a second time. I hope it is because it certainly will help our football team.

“Take advantage of every opportunity you have was his message to our football team and he’s certainly doing that right now. Hopefully, he gets another chance to do it as well.”

Preparing for Rice

Another benefit of an open date this week is the time it provides to prepare for Rice’s option offense.

“Rice is an option football team, mostly out of the gun,” Harrell said. “They’ve got a quarterback (Jacurri Brown) that transferred from (Central Florida). He was at Miami before that. South Georgia kid (Valdosta) who does an exceptional job back there.

“They’re averaging (268.8 yards) on the ground. First game (31-3 win at home over Houston Christian), they had (465 yards) on the ground. They had another (344) this past weekend (38-24 loss at Fresno State).

“They can run the football and then, defensively, they fly around. I know you’re going to look at the record and I don’t think that’s really who they are right now.

“You turn on the film and they catch your attention pretty quick because they play the game the right way. They fly around on both sides of the football.

“Going to focus on us and then as the week goes on, we’ll get to (Rice). But just day by day and step by step, making sure we’re getting ready to go finish this thing the right way the rest of the season.”

The Owls play Texas-San Antonio (3-1) at home in Houston on Saturday at 7 p.m. (ESPN+) as both teams start their American Conference schedules.