When Zakye Barker would cry as an infant, his father Zach would flip on the TV and try to find a football game. "I'd cry all day, but when he'd turn on the TV and put on football I'd stop crying,'' Barker said. "It was like I knew what was going on. So once I turned four they were like, 'Well, we have to put you in football.' I was all for it even though I couldn't start … [Read more...]
ECU Football & Basketball Recruiting
VIEW FROM THE EASTPirates pulling from portal
East Carolina has been affected by the ebb and flow of talent in the transfer portal since the NCAA ruled that student-athletes can have immediate eligibility the first time they switch schools. Pirates baseball coach Cliff Godwin said the new regulation is not "real life," allowing athletes to seek greener pastures rather than adjust to circumstances at their first … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportBig man Allen tapping into ‘nasty side’
Greg Greene was strolling through the hallways at Durham's Riverside (NC) High School in the spring of 2018 when he passed a very large freshman. Greene, an assistant coach for Riverside's football team, didn't immediately recognize the student who he'd actually worked with as an eight-year-old. But Greene knew the then-6-foot-4, 285-pounder looked like he belonged on the … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportECU gets one of NC’s top D-line prospects
Being first paid off for the East Carolina Pirates when it came to recruiting one of North Carolina's top high school defensive line prospects. The Pirates were the first college football program to offer a scholarship to J.D. Lampley from Richmond Senior High School in Rockingham way back in May 2020 while he was just a sophomore. The 6-foot-3, 295-pounder, who has already … [Read more...]
Football Recruiting ReportCoveted big play receiver picks Pirates
Defending Virginia Class 6 champion South County High School found itself trailing 22-21 with 3:40 left in the COVID-19 delayed 2020 state football semifinals last April against Madison. The Stallions needed to cover 90 yards during that span to make a return trip to the state finals. South County coach Tynan Rolander knew for the Stallions to have a chance to win, they had … [Read more...]