Here is a scouting report on East Carolina, who hosts NC State in the season opener at 12 p.m. Saturday on ESPN.
Five East Carolina players to watch
Senior quarterback Holton Ahlers
The Greenville, N.C., native picked East Carolina over NC State in the class of 2018, where Rivals.com ranked him the No. 23 dual-threat quarterback in the country. The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder threw 256-of-414 passing for 3,126 yards, 18 touchdowns and 10 touchdowns, and he rushed for 204 yards and six scores last year. He has thrown for 10,219 passing yards, 69 touchdowns and 32 interceptions in his ECU career. He also has rushed for 1,264 yards and 19 scores.
Senior inside linebacker Myles Berry
Berry is the leading returning tackler from last year with 53 stops in his first full year starting at ECU. The 6-foot-1, 224-pounder from Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High, had a season-high seven tackles against both Temple on Nov. 6 and at Marshall on Sept. 18. Berry added four quarterback hurries and four passes broken up in 12 games.
Sophomore kicker Owen Daffer
Daffer won the job last year and went to go 19 of 23 on field goals with a long 54 yards en route to first-team All-AAC honors. He also made 39 of 41 extra points. The former walk-on from Wilmington (N.C.) New Hanover had 105 points scored his senior year. Daffer also had 19 touchbacks on 72 kickoffs.
Junior center Avery Jones
Jones is poised to be a four-year starter for East Carolina, but the Havelock (N.C.) High standout originally picked North Carolina. NC State had given pursuit on the class of 2018 prospect. Jones played left guard in 2020 and then made the move to center in 2021, where he has found a home. The 6-4, 288-pounder has been part of 400-plus offensive yards of total offense in 11 games while at ECU.
Sophomore running back and kick returner Keaton Mitchell
The 5-foot-9, 184-pound Mitchell broke out last year, and had 174 carries for 1,132 yards and nine touchdowns, and he caught 22 passes for 253 yards and a score. The McDonough, Ga., native rushed for a season-high 222 yards and two scores on 15 carries in a 52-29 win vs. Tulane on Oct. 2. He topped 125 yards in four games last year, including three of the first five games. He replaces departed Tyler Snead on kick returns this season.
What to watch for from East Carolina
1. Win the battle for third down: The best team East Carolina played last year was a 35-13 home contest loss against eventual playoff squad Cincinnati in the regular season finale. The Pirates did a good job defensively in holding Cincinnati to 4 of 12 on third-down conversions, plus stopped the Bearcats on fourth down once.
Conversely, ECU went 5 of 18 on third-down conversions but 3 of 4 on fourth downs. The game was 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 after three quarters. It could have been more lop-sided if future NFL quarterback Desmond Ridder truly got untracked — 301 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and only 17 rushing yards on 10 carries.
2. Balance on offense: Part of it is helpful that ECU quarterback Holton Ahlers is a dual-threat quarterback, but the Pirates are committed to trying to run the ball. ECU and at least 33 carries in every game but lsat year’s season opener at Appalachian State, when the Pirates rushed 24 times for 86 yards.
ECU was held under 86 yards in three different games, but the aforementioned Cincinnati game, the Pirates tallied 38 times for 54 yards. East Carolina rushed more times than it passed in eight of 12 games.
3. East Carolina senior tight end Ryan Jones creates mismatch. Jones is a fascinating back story in recruiting. There was a time that Jones was the No. 4 overall player in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2017. He could be a college cornerback, free safety, nickel or wide receiver at 6-2 and 200 pounds. He was part of the powerhouse Charlotte Mallard Creek. Jones first committed to North Carolina and then switched to Oklahoma. The odd thing was that all positions listed above, he never played any of them in college.
The now 6-2, 247-pounder ended up decommitting from UNC and signed with Oklahoma where he played outside linebacker and put on weight. He transferred to East Carolina and ended up at tight end where he found his niche last year. He caught 37 passes for 442 yards and five touchdowns last year, including six catches for a season-high 102 yards and two scores in a 45-3 win over Temple on Nov. 6.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. Will the pass set up the run? NC State has several key pieces returning in the passing game, led by star redshirt junior quarterback Devin Leary. Normally, NCSU would establish the run first, but maybe airing it out behind Leary could be the move Saturday. Then with a comfortable lead, the Wolfpack can turn to the ground game and work some clock with a new group of running backs led by junior Jordan Houston and sophomore Demie Sumo-Karngbaye.
ECU allowed over 300 passing yards in three games last year, including 433 against Marshall and 405 to Charleston Southern and new NC State backup quarterback Jack Chambers, a graduate transfer. The Pirates might have only had 26 sacks last year, but did pick off 15 passes.
2. Play a clean game: NC State is bigger and deeper than East Carolina, and just as importantly, battle-tested. Both team haven’t played another opponent since late November 2021. NC State can help keep East Carolina hanging around if they pick up penalties or turn the ball over due to sloppiness. With such a veteran team, neither is likely to happen Saturday.
Saturday will also be the first time Collin Smith kicks off, Julian Gray handles a kick return and punter Shane McDonough booms a kick in a Wolfpack uniform. McDonough is a graduate transfer from Towson.
3. What a sight to see a healthy linebacker crew: NC State will finally be able to turn loose redshirt junior outside linebacker Payton Wilson, junior outside linebacker Drake Thomas and fifth-year senior middle linebacker Isaiah Moore. Wilson got hurt with double shoulder surgery after the second game, and Moore was lost with a torn ACL in the seventh contest.
NC State is unusually deep at the position, but Moore and Wilson should get the bulk of the action. They'll likely be going bonkers on the first series, while trying to remain discipline. Only a few teams put up numbers against NC State's defense last year, but how will that change if everyone remains healthy.
Three numbers of note
37 Opposing teams finished with 37 sacks against the Pirates in 12 games. Memphis had six sacks and South Carolina, Marshall and Houston had five sacks apiece last year.
58 Combined points NC State has scored in two games against East Carolina coach coach Mike Houston. NC State won 24-13 on Sept. 1, 2018 — when Houston was at James Madison — and crushed the Pirates 34-6 on Aug. 31, 2019.
616 Combined passing yards and rushing yards for ECU senior quarterback Holton Ahlers in a 70-34 high school win over Pikeville (N.C.) C.B. Aycock High on Nov. 4, 2016. He threw for 506, which trailed his career-high of 512 against Winterville (N.C.) South Central that season.
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