Call it love at first sight for Shemar Thompson and the East Carolina Pirates. ECU running backs coach Jason Nichols evaluated video of Thompson in early December last year during a stop at Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington, NC. Nichols was so impressed by what he saw of the 6-foot-1, 205-pound running back… [ Continue Reading ]

Nate Conner remembers the moment he knew C.J. Johnson was a special talent. Conner’s D.H. Conley High School team was engaged in a late November, third-round state 4-A playoff battle in 2015 against Pitt County rival Greenville Rose. Johnson was just a freshman receiver for the Vikings at the time and played for the varsity… [ Continue Reading ]

Bryan Gagg utilized an inside source when considering a football scholarship offer extended by the East Carolina Pirates in early February. A 6-foot-3, 205-pound quarterback from Bradenton, Florida, Gagg was first noticed by ECU wide receivers coach Keith Gaither while Gagg was participating in spring practice with the Braden River High Pirates in April 2017.… [ Continue Reading ]

Winston Gordon knows from experience what a good defensive back looks like when he sees one. Since starting the football program at Hapeville Charter and Career Academy outside of Atlanta in 2011, Gordon, along with defensive coordinator Kevin Pope and secondary coach Saeed Lee, have helped develop multiple major college cornerbacks and safeties. Those include… [ Continue Reading ]

Ask head coach Rodney Cofield of the Douglass High School football team in Atlanta to describe Juan Powell’s talents and the answer may surprise and impress you. “You know this kid they had at Louisville named Jackson,” Cofield said, referring to the Cardinals’ former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson. “You take away the arm and… [ Continue Reading ]

The Southern Durham High football program has produced a number of future major college players known for being able to run between the tackles or make plays in space. Guys such as Akeem Judd, who played at Ole Miss and is now with the NFL’s New York Jets, Maurice Trowell and Tony Creecy (both played… [ Continue Reading ]

College football’s second and traditional signing day on February 7th marked the end of an offseason overhaul on defense for East Carolina. Head coach Scottie Montgomery first revamped the defensive staff, hiring former Pirate David Blackwell in December to be the coordinator before adding Daric Riley (safeties) and Tab Rodrique (defensive line) in January. Montgomery… [ Continue Reading ]