Nolan Johnson and Jaren Rainey have been playing football together since the sixth grade, so it came as no surprise when choosing a college team they both picked East Carolina. The Southwest Guilford High School combo made verbal commitments to the Pirates within 11 days of one another, Rainey announcing his intentions on June 20 and Johnson following on July 1. Johnson … [Read more...]

East Carolina's passing game has most often featured a receiver from the area of the state affectionately referred to as “Down East.'' The exact boundaries of “Down East'' are often varied. Some consider it anything east of the state capital of Raleigh, while others include all parts east of the Neuse River in the reference. The actual location, historically speaking, is … [Read more...]

Kendrick Pollock was still just the offensive coordinator at Jacksonville's Northside High School in the spring of 2015 when returning players informed the coaching staff of a transfer arriving from Florida. “Some of the kids knew about him,'' said Pollock, who was elevated to Northside's head coach in 2016. “He's from a military family, so he'd already been here through … [Read more...]

A short time after being hired as East Carolina's new receivers coach in early March, Keith Gaither dropped in at Southwest Onslow High in Jacksonville while making the rounds of his new recruiting area. Accompanied by Southwest coach and former ECU offensive lineman Charlie Dempsey, Gaither walked into the weight room where he immediately laid eyes on D'Angelo … [Read more...]

The chance to join the college football program that has produced the two top pass-catching receivers in Football Bowl Subdivision history was too good to pass up for Andre Pegues. A big-play receiver from Hoke County High School in Raeford, Pegues decided on June 7 to follow in the footsteps of ECU greats Justin Hardy (387 career catches) and Zay Jones (399) by making a … [Read more...]