East Carolina Pirates 2026 Season Preview

The competition at quarterback ran all spring, and Harrell may not name a winner until the opener. Mitch Griffis brings the most mileage, with starting experience at Wake Forest before stops at Marshall and Texas Tech; at 26 years old he plays with a gunslinger's edge. Emory Williams, a 6-foot-5, 225-pound transfer who sat behind headliners at Miami, looks the part and takes better care of the football, though he has not started a game since 2023. Whoever wins will be asked to make a collection of new receivers click quickly in Davis's system.

The passing game is the offense's deepest area. Brock Spalding returns as the most productive holdover after catching a pass in every game a year ago and averaging better than 13 yards a reception. He is joined by Landon Sides, who followed Davis over from North Texas with roughly 1,100 career yards in the scheme, and Ja'Keith Hamilton, an FCS import who piled up five touchdown catches and a 13-plus-yard average at Furman. Former Miami slot man Ray Ray Joseph adds speed and doubles as a return threat. Oklahoma transfer Jaquaize Pettaway rounds out the group as an experienced Power 4 addition who should push for slot snaps. At tight end, Ismael Smith Flores and Appalachian State transfer Kanen Hamlett give the offense a pair of proven pass catchers.

The backfield leans on returning contributor TJ Engleman Jr., who averaged 5.2 yards a carry last season. Around him are two portal additions with production: Ashton Gray came from North Texas, where he ran for better than six yards a pop and posted 152 yards and two scores in a bowl game, while Marshall transfer Michael Allen returns to his home state after earlier stops at NC State and UNLV and projects as a starter. It is a deep, experienced rotation even if it lacks a clear feature back.

The line was gutted, losing all five starters, and has been reassembled almost entirely through the portal. Brandon Best steps in as an All-Conference USA interior lineman with a long starting resume, and Hayes Creel, a well-traveled tackle who most recently started at Southern Miss, anchors the other side. Ethan Kramer brings nearly 30 career starts from the FCS ranks at right guard, and returnee Bryce Weaver impressed in the spring and holds down a tackle spot. The collective experience is real, but the group's combined starts are down sharply from last year's veteran unit, so cohesion will take time.

Hankins inherits a front that led the American in sacks and ranked among the national leaders in tackles for loss, but nearly all of that production is gone, including a disruptive tackle who left for the ACC. Jasiyah Robinson is the lone returning starter up front and the anchor after posting five sacks and steady backfield pressure. Rion Roseborough profiles as the top interior lineman alongside veteran Preston Carr, and Kieran Davis adds another experienced body on the edge. Matching last season's splash-play total will be a tall order for a group replacing so much.

Linebacker may be the defense's steadiest position. DJ Johnson Jr. is a tackling machine who finished second on the team in stops and anchors the middle. He is paired with Memphis transfer Crews Law, who followed Hankins to Greenville along with his older brother Cade; Harrell has called the Johnson-Law pairing one of the best linebacker combinations he has had. The unit blends returning experience with the newcomers to give the rebuilt defense a reliable core.

The secondary was overhauled after losing every starter, but the pieces are intriguing. Nickel Kevon Merrell returns after intercepting a pass in the bowl win and gives the group a familiar face. The headline addition is Appalachian State safety Zyeir Gamble, a former full-time starter with triple-digit tackles and multiple interceptions on his ledger who drew praise in the spring and could emerge as the back end's leader. FIU transfer Ashton Levells-Mitchell and returnee Ayden Duncanson round out a unit with talent but almost no continuity.

The kicking game features a familiar name in Andrew Conrad, the primary placekicker in 2023-24 who once tied an NCAA record with five made field goals of 40-plus yards in a single game and reclaims the job after mostly handling kickoffs last fall. Australian punter Tomas O'Halloran averaged better than 42 yards per boot and returns, though the Pirates added an FCS transfer to push him. Ray Ray Joseph headlines the return game.