ECU’s first of two straight road games takes Pirates to UTSA

by | Nov 22, 2025

ECU will play the first of two road games to end the regular season on Saturday at UTSA.

Below are more details from ECU Sports Information. Videos are from Pirate Radio.

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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)

By ECU Sports Information

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – East Carolina hits the road for the first of its last two regular season game traveling to UTSA on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPN+ with Ted Emrich (PxP), Taylor McHargue (Analyst) and Smacker Miles (Sideline) calling all of the action.

THE HEAD COACH
Blake Harrell (Western Carolina ’02) who is in his sixth overall season at East Carolina, was officially named the 23rd head football coach on Nov. 27, 2024.

Harrell, the program’s interim head coach (Oct. 20-Nov. 26, 2024) and the squad’s defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach since his initial hire in January of 2020, led the Pirates (8-5, 5-3 AAC) to five wins over a six-game span which included a 26-21 come from behind victory over NC State in the 2024 Go Bowling Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md. On Dec. 28, 2024. The win was the first over a Power 4 team since 2018, when ECU topped North Carolina, 41-19.

During his time leading the program, ECU has posted a 12-4 (.750) becoming the second fastest coach with 12 victories trailing only John Christenbury (12 wins in 15 games) … In 2024,   he registered a 5-1 record and is currently 7-3 on the season heading into the UTSA contest. Following the Charlotte win, ECU secured bowl eligibility for the fourth time in the last five campaigns (2021 Military, 2022 Birmingham, 2024 Military). Over the final six games in 2024, ECU scored 229 points (38.2 ppg) and 2,993 yards of total offense (498.8 pg) which included a stretch of four-straight games with over 500 yards of total offense – a first in program history.

THE SERIES
Saturday’s game against UTSA will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs … Last year, the Pirates evened the series at one-all in Greenville with a 30-20 victory for its first conference win of the season.

FAST FACTS
Record – 7-3 (.700); American Record/Standings – 5-1 (.833)/T1st; Last 5 Games – 4-1; Last 10 Games – 7-3; Last 15 Games – 11-4; Streaks – When East Carolina travels to UTSA, it will be the 17th game of the Blake Harrell era (12-4) … The Pirates contest against the Roadrunners will be the 953rd since the start of ECU football in 1932 (479-462-11/.509).

EAST CAROLINA RECORDS, STREAKS & TRENDS

  • ECU was named the Cheez-It Crunch Time Play of the Week by the FWAA (Nov. 17) following Payton Mangrum’s 31-yard TD reception with 1:08 remaining against Memphis in a 31-27 win …
  • With its 48-22 win over Charlotte on Nov. 8, ECU became bowl eligible for the fourth time in the last five years (twice under Blake Harrell) …
  • ECU has earned bowl eligibility in 2021 (Military/Co-VID-19), 2022 (TicketSmarter Birmingham/champions), 2024 (Go Bowling Military Bowl/champions) and 2025 …
  • Participated in 22nd bowl in program history at the Go Bowling Military Bowl (has qualified for 23 bowls all-time – did not play in 2021 Military Bowl/CoVID-19) …
  • Won 11th bowl game in ECU history at Go Bowling Military Bowl (vs. NC State 26-21) …
  • With its 31-27 win over Memphis, ECU improved to 7-3 overall marking the third time in the last four years with 7-plus wins (7 in ’21, 8 in ’22, 8 in ’24, 7 in ’25) … Also, just the third time since 2014 with seven or more regular season wins (8 in ’14, 7 in ’21 as a member of American Conference) …
  • ECU improved to 5-1 in conference play, currently tied for first place, for the first since joining the league in 2014 … Pirates posted 5-3 record in 2014, 2022 and 2024 …

  • Recorded 454 yards of total offense vs. Memphis (332 pass, 122 rush) for the 14th time in the last 16 games (all under Harrell) with 400 or more yards of total offense (500 or more on seven occasions with a Harrell-era high 614 at Temple n 2025) …
  • Forced at least one turnover in 69 of the last 81 games since 2019 (at least one in 8 of 10 contests in 2025) …
  • The Pirates rank 48th nationally in TOs gained (14) and 27th in TO margin (0.50) in 2025 … In all, ECU is +5 in the turnover column having forced 14 on the season (8 fumbles, 6 interceptions), while turning the ball over nine times (4 fumbles, 5 interceptions) …With TyMir Brown’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter
  • against Charlotte, ECU has scored seven defensive TDs since the start of (2/ASU ’23, 1/UTSA ’23; 1/NSU ’24, 1/ASU ’24, 1/TEM ’24. 1/CLT ’25) …
  • ECU had 15 players with at least one reception in home opener against Campbell establishing a new ECU single-game record … ECU along with North Texas (vs. Washington, Sept. 13, 1995) are the most by any FBS program in 2025 (as of Nov 15) and the most since Penn State had 17 different players with one catch on Sept. 10, 2022 vs. Ohio …
  • In 5 of 10 contest, ECU has had at least 10 receivers catch at least one pass (nine receivers with one reception in 7 of 10 games) …

  • According to Stathead Football, since 1995 only 15 teams have had a game with 15 different players recording a catch in a single game, ECU is one of those 13 (only in 2025) …
  • This season, only 14 teams have had a game where seven or more different players have scored a TD in a game (as of Nov. 8) … Against Campbell, the Pirates had seven different offensive players score with London Montgomery with two rushing TDs …
  • The Pirates have outscored their opponents 336 to 183 (+153) on the year … Currently averaging 33.6 ppg (most since 2014/36.7), while allowing 18.3 the fewest since 1983 (17.2) … Their 153-point differential is the best since 2013 (+200) in the program annuals …
  • NCAA rankings offensive ppg (29th) and defensive ppg allowed (15th) …
  • ECU has tallied 82.0 TFLs (-272 yards) with 26.0 sacks (-155 yards) in 2025 … ECU is averaging 8.2 TFLs per pg ranking 4th in FBS, while standing 18th in team sacks (2.60) …
  • ECU is averaging 24.9 first downs (249) per game on the year, ranking 10th nationally, while allowing 178 opponent first downs (17.9 avg.), which is 32nd nationally …
  • ECU’s 38-0 win at Coastal Carolina marked the Pirates’ first road shutout since Sept. 2, 2000 (at Duke, 38-0) – a span of 307 games …
  • Through 10 games, ECU has had 11 different players record their first ever college starts (Mason Brown, TyMir Brown, Preston Carr, Jayvontay Conner, DJ Johnson Jr., J.D. Lampley, London Montgomery, Marleo Neolien, Jasiyah Robinson, Bryce Weaver, Zion Wilson) …
  • Entering the UTSA contest, ECU ranks among the FBS national leaders (Top 25) in 16 statistical categories (see pages 60-61 of notes) …
  • ECU’s 11 consecutive quarters without allowing an opponent offensive touchdown (from NC State end 3Q to BYU 2Q) set a new American Conference record …
  • In Blake Harrell‘s first game as the interim head coach at East Carolina, the Pirates defeated Temple 56-34 scoring eight total touchdowns which came from eight different players (7/offense, 1/defense) … It tied a school record that was set in 1975 (8/offense) … Against Campbell in the 2025 home opener, ECU had seven different players score an offensive touchdown in a 56-3 victory …
  • ECU’s 16-day break between games (from Tulsa to Temple) is the longest break in program history with regards to regularly scheduled games (not including bowls) … The longest break before 2025 occurred in 2008 when the Pirates had 15 days in between games against Memphis and UCF with ECU coming out victorious in both contests …
  • ECU is averaging 78.9 offensive snaps per game which leads all FBS entering the UTSA contest … Defensively, it is averaging 66.4 snaps which is the 66th fewest in FBS …
  • Over last four games, ECU is averaging 41.3 ppg while allowing 22.5 … They are also averaging 510.8 yards of total offense (232.8 rush, 278.0 pass) and 26.5 first downs during their four-game win streak …
  • ECU has won four consecutive American games for the third time in the five years (2021, 2024, 2025) … Also just the third time since joining the league in 2014 …
  • Last time ECU won four-straight league games at home came in 2013 (C-USA) … ECU finished 4-0 in American home games in 2025 …
  • ECU has won seven of their last eight American home game since Sept. 28, 2024 (vs. UTSA) while claiming road wins in three of the last four since Nov. 14, 2024 (at Tulsa) …
  • Katin Houser enters the UTSA game having thrown for 250-plus yards in a game 13 times (tied for 5th among all-time Pirate QBs) … Included in that, Houser has six 300-plus yard passing games (t4th all-time at ECU) …
  • Katin Houser tied a school record in 2024 throwing consecutive 5-TD passing games (Temple, Florida Atlantic) … In the program history, there have been 14 total five-TD passing games with Holton Ahlers holding the single-game record with six (SMU ’19; USF ’22) … A list of at least five-TD passing games: Shane Carden (4 games), Holton Ahlers (3), Dominique Davis (3), Katin Houser (2), Jeff Blake (1) and Philip Nelson (1)
  • Katin Houser completed at least one pass to 11 different players against Campbell, which is a new single-game Pirate record … It is also the most by an FBS quarterback this season …
  • On the year, Houser has completed 62 passes of 15 or more yards (11/NCSU, 6/CAM, 6/CCU, 7/BYU, 7/Army, 5/TLN, 4/TLS, 6/TEM, 4/CLT, 6/MEM) …
  • Anthony Smith has recorded five career 100-plus yard receiving games entering UTSA game … Since beginning of 2024 season, he has caught at least one pass in 22 of 23 games played (19-straight) … With his seven receptions vs. Memphis, he has 105 career receptions for 1,787 yards …
  • Yannick Smith has three career 100-plus yard receiving games and enters UTSA having caught at least one pass in 20 of 23 games (14 consecutive) … With his 39-yard grab against Memphis, he surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career (1,017) …
  • London Montgomery registered his second career 100-plus yard with his 103 vs. Memphis … He rushed for a pair of touchdowns for the second time this season and has seven on the year … Rushed for at least one score in four-straight games and has five in the last four contests …
  • Senior Mike Wright Jr. is the only player in FBS this season to have played at quarterback, running back, receiver, cornerback, return specialist and punter …
OU KNOW (PRIOR TO ’25 SEASON)
  • The average age of ECU’s head coach, offensive and defensive coordinator is 38.0 years old, which is the fifth lowest in FBS according to Doug Waters at North Texas …
  • Noah Holmes (current graduate student), his grandfather (Randell ’56-58) and father (Joe ’89) both played football at East Carolina … His aunt (Vickie Holmes) played one year of softball at ECU … First cousin McCallum Wright currently play at ECU … Grandfather was college roommate with Ed Emory (former ECU head coach, ECU Hall of Fame) … Father was recruited by Emory at ECU … In all, Noah Holmes is the 13th member of his family to earn a degree from ECU …
  • Offensive coordinator John David Baker at age 35, is still among the 15 youngest coordinators in the nation (FBS) …
  • J.D. Lampley’s father (Danny Lampley) was a pitcher at Wingate and inducted into their hall of fame in 2004 … Currently he holds the DII career record in strikeouts …
  • DJ Johnson Jr.’s father Dwight played ccollegiately at Baylor (defensive end) and spent time in the National Football League with the Philadelphia Eagles (2000), New York Giants (2002) and New England Patriots (2003) … His uncle is Derrick Johnson who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (2005-17) and Oakland Raiders (2018) …
  • O’Marion Lewis’ brother Tyquan Lewis was drafted in the second round by the Indianapolis Colts out of Ohio State … Has been a member of the Colts organization since 2018 …
  • Zion Wilson is the nephew of former ECU and NFL players DE C.J. Wilson (2006-09) and OL Willie Smith (2007-10) … He has another uncle, Amos Wilson, who currently is a member of ECU’s strength staff …
  • Offensive lineman Cooper Trnavsky also played lacrosse in high school … Brock Spalding and Samuel Dankah were high school teammates at South County …
  • Tomas O’Halloran has never played American Football until coming to ECU …
  • Transfer Mike Wright Jr. has a full-time job with Georgia Power while playing football …
  • Jayden Askew (OL) officially changed his middle name to Panda, which he goes by now, as a youngster after being given the nickname by his little league baseball coach after his favorite player Panda Sandoval (third baseman of the San Francisco Giants) …
CHARTING THE PIRATES MONTH-BY-MONTH
In all, East Carolina is 4-4-0 in August, 139-131-1 in September, 172-172-4 in October, 153-138-5 in November, 11-12-0 in December and 1-4-0 in January … With the Pirates win over NC State in 2024, ECU remained somewhat productive in December – a month in which it has won six of its last 10 outings (wins vs. Boise State/’07, Tulsa/’08, Houston/’09, Ohio/’13, Coastal Carolina/’22, NC State/’24; losses to Maryland/’10, ULLafayette/’12, UCF/’14 and NC State/’18).ON THE ROAD
Since becoming a conference member in 1997, East Carolina is 73-108 (.403) when playing away from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … ECU closed out the 2024 season with a 4-3 overall road record following a 26-21 win versus against NC State in the Go Bowling Military Bowl (3-3 regular season) in 2024 … A year ago, ECU finished the year 1-5 on the road and in 2022, they posted a 4-2 road slate (wins at South Florida/ Boca Raton, Fla., BYU, Temple and Coastal Carolina/Birmingham, Ala.; losses to Tulane and Cincinnati) … From a non-conference standpoint, ECU snapped a seven-game skid when it topped Old Dominion 24-21 on Sept. 28, 2019 but has only played 11 road non-American tilts since, including bowl games (5-6).LOOKING FOR MORE LOOT
Through 10 games of the 2025 campaign, East Carolina ranks 27th nationally in turnover margin (0.50) and 48th in FBS in turnovers gained (14) … On the season, the Pirates have intercepted six passes and have recovered eight fumbles, while just turning the ball over nine times … In 2022, the Pirates finished with a +13 turnover margin forcing 10 fumbles, recovering nine and picked off 11 passes for 154 return yards … ECU led the country in fewest offensive turnovers with seven … Against UCF, ECU forced a season-high four turnovers (3 INTs, 1 fumble) and had five multi-turnover games on the year … Despite its impressive 45-3 win, East Carolina’s 16-game streak of forcing at least one turnover came to a halt against Temple on Nov. 6 (2021) … The run, which began on Oct. 3, 2020 at Georgia State and produced 36 takeaways (22 interceptions, 14 fumble recoveries), was the program’s longest since a 33-game streak (from 2007 to 2010) … In all, ECU still has at least one takeaway in 69 of the last 81 contests, as well as 39 of 48 games dating back to the start of the 2022 campaign.2025 PIRATE GRADUATES (22)
OL  Darius Bell, PK Andrew Conrad, OLB    Ryheem Craig, DB  Chance Graves, LB  Noah Holmes, DB    Jonathan Jean, DL     J.D. Lampley, P  Ryan Leavy, WR  Payton Mangrum, PK  Nick Mazzie, DL  Xavier McIver, LS  Triston O’Brien, DB Ladarian Paulk, WR  Kyler Pearson, DB    Rasheed Reason, DL    Jasiyah Robinson, WR    Anthony Smith, OL  Jayson Tarpeh, DB  Teagan Wilk, DL    Zion Wilson, QB   Mike Wright Jr. each have earned their degrees heading into the 2025 season.A STARTERS’ LOG
OLB Ryheem Craig enters the UTSA game having made 23 consecutive starts as a member of the defensive unit … OL Emmanuel Poku and WR Anthony Smith lead the offensive unit having started 23-straight games … ECU has had 19 first time starters in a Pirate uniform: OL Panda Askew, TE Mason Brown, DB TyMir Brown, DL Preston Carr, TE Jayvontay Conner, DB Jonathan Jean, LB DJ Johnson Jr., DL J.D. Lampley, OL Kyle Long, DB Jordy Lowery, RB London Montgomery, OL Marleo Neolien, WR Jaquaize Pettaway, DB Rasheed Reason, DL Jasiyah Robinson, OL Cooper Trnavsky, OL Bryce Weaver, DL Zion Wilson, QB Mike Wright Jr.SENIOR DAY RECOGNITION
East Carolina will recognize 30 seniors who will be playing their final game inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday against Memphis: Panda Askew, Darius Bell, TyMir Brown, Ryheem Craig, Samuel Dankah, Chance Graves, Marlon Gunn Jr., Noah Holmes, Jonathan JoJo Jean, J.D. Lampley, Ryan Leavy, Kyle Long, Payton Mangrum, Nick Mazzie, Xavier McIver, Triston O’Brien, Ladarian LD Paulk, Kyler Pearson, Rasheed Reason, Jasiyah Robinson, Kelan Robinson, Jacob Sacra, Anthony Smith, Tripp Smith, Jayson Tarpeh, Cooper Trnavsky, Teagan Wilk, Dameon Wilson, Zion Wilson and Mike Wright Jr.GAME CAPTAINS
Game day selections: Panda Askew (CAM), Darius Bell (CAM, Army), Ryheem Craig (CAM), Samuel Dankah (TLS), Marlon Gunn Jr. (TLN), Chance Graves (TEM), Katin Houser (NCSU, CCU, BYU, Army, TLN, TLS, TEM, CLT, MEM), J.D. Lampley (BYU, CLT, MEM), Kyle Long (BYU), Xavier McIver (CCU), Rasheed Reason (CAM), Ja’Marley Riddle (NCSU), Jaysiah Robinson (TLN), Anthony Smith (NCSU), Jayson Tarpeh (TEM), Cooper Trnavsky (CCU), Teagan Wilk (NCSU, CCU, BYU, Army, TLN, TLS, TEM, CLT, MEM), Zion Wilson (Army), Mike Wright Jr. (TLS, CLT, MEM).

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