Richard Pearce might well have developed into a star defensive lineman at another school. But when Pearce joined the storied program at Hueytown High School in Alabama the depth at that position led him in another direction. The 6-foot-4, 300-pounder turned instead into an offensive lineman, where the skills he’s displayed over the last two varsity seasons earned him … [Read more...]

Jacoby Simpson was looking for a second chance to play major college football last July when East Carolina defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Blake Harrell came calling. Simpson, a linebacker, had just enrolled at a Texas junior college in Cisco after playing two seasons at Texas Christian University. The 6-foot, 225-pounder had seen action in 11 games over … [Read more...]

East Carolina's football record book is littered with the names of quarterbacks from the state of Florida. There's the great Jeff Blake (1988-91), from Daytona Beach, who orchestrated the historic Peach Bowl comeback against N.C. State. Delray Beach native James Pinkney (2003-06) and Lakeland's Dominique Davis (2010-11) both rank among the top five in ECU quarterbacks in … [Read more...]

Tommy John surgery ended a promising baseball career for Toler Keigley, but started him down the path to becoming a major college football player. Keigley was a prominent fixture on the travel baseball scene in Florida growing up and played shortstop and pitcher all the way up to his freshman season at Gulf Breeze High School in Florida. But while pitching as a freshman he … [Read more...]

To say that East Carolina has established a recruiting base in the Tri-City area of Virginia would be an understatement. The stretch along the Interstate 95 corridor that runs from Richmond to Petersburg has produced current Pirates such as redshirt freshman defensive back Jonathan Coleman II, sophomore defensive lineman Rick D'Abreu, redshirt freshman defensive lineman … [Read more...]