When it comes to developing under-rated receivers into record breakers at the college level, few programs have done that better than East Carolina. From Mitchell Galloway to Justin Hardy to Tyler Snead, the Pirates have excelled at making stars out of receivers who were lightly recruited or joined the program as walk-on players. Galloway and Snead rank among ECU's top-10 … [Read more...]

The path of Demoris Jenkins' football career is an old tale for a new age. Jenkins, a 6-foot-5, 220-pounder, grew up just outside Charlotte in Huntersville, NC, with hopes of becoming a college basketball player and beyond. He dreamed of playing for state 4-A powerhouse North Mecklenburg and its heralded basketball coach Duane Lewis, who has directed the Vikings to two state … [Read more...]

Sometimes early talent assessments do become reality. Such was the case with Malik Leverett, who was a dominant player at Greenbriar Middle School in Evans, GA, during the 2017 and 2018 season. As an eighth grader in 2018, Leverett piled up almost 1,000 yards rushing and scored 24 touchdowns, despite sitting out the fourth quarter in most games as Greenbriar racked up big … [Read more...]

Kameron Durant, a 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive lineman from Summerville, SC, sent out emails last February to 100 college football coaches in an effort to generate recruiting interest. Only one coach responded — East Carolina offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler. Shankweiler, who has more than 40 years of coaching experience at the college level, was acquainted with … [Read more...]

Bryce Weaver planned to spend the summer of 2021 attending college football camps in hopes of sparking recruiting interest. Weaver, already 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, was coming off a sophomore season at D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, NC, in which he started every game on the offensive line. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vikings only played seven games during a … [Read more...]