ECU Hosts Memphis On Senior Day

Saturday, November 15

Greenville, N.C.

4:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

Memphis

November 15, 2025 | Football

Memphis (8-2, 4-2 American) at East Carolina (6-3, 4-1 American)
Date	Saturday, November 15
Time	4:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium / 50,000)
Live Game Coverage	Radio: WNCT 107.9FM/94.3 The Game Television: ESPNU
Internet Options	Live Stats
Official Web Sites	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
Game Notes (PDF)	East Carolina \| Memphis \| The American
2025 Statistics	East Carolina \| Memphis
ECU Football Central	East Carolina Media Hub \| Roster \| NCAA Football \| College Scoreboard

Official Social Media Sites
Facebook	East Carolina \| The American
X	East Carolina \| ECU Football (in-game updates) \| The American
Twitter Hashtags	#PirateNation \| #AmericanFB
Instagram	East Carolina \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina closes out its home schedule hosting Memphis inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium with a 4 p.m. (ET) scheduled kick ... Saturday's game will mark the 26th meeting between the two programs with the Pirates holding a 17-8 lead in the series ... The game been designated as Senior Day sponsored by Pizza Hut.

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 11-4 (.733) record which trails only John Christenbury with the most wins and best win percentage by a ECU head coach through 15 games ... In 2024, he registered a 5-1 record and is currently 6-3 on the season heading into the Memphis 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 vs. Memphis will mark the second all-time meeting between the two programs ... Last year, the 49ers claimed a road victory in Greenville 10-7.

FAST FACTS
Record – 6-3 (.667); American Record/Standings – 4-1 (.800)/T2nd; Last 5 Games – 4-1; Last 10 Games – 7-3; Last 15 Games – 11-4; Streaks – When East Carolina host Memphis, it will be the 16th game of the Blake Harrell era (11-4) ... The Pirates contest against the Tigers will be the 952nd since the start of ECU football in 1932 (478-462-11/.508).

EAST CAROLINA RECORDS, STREAKS & TRENDS

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 eligibilty 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) ...
Tallied seven or more wins (7 in '21, 8 in '22, 8 in '24) in 3 of last 4 years ...
Tallied 400-plus yards of total offense in 13 of 15 contests under Harrell (500 or more on seven occasions with a Harrell-era high 614 at Temple n 2025) ...
Forced at least one turnover in 68 of the last 80 games since 2019 (at least one in 7 of 9 games in 2025) ...
On the season, the Pirates rank 41st nationally in TOs gained (13) and 25th in TO margin (0.56) ... In all, ECU is +5 in the turnover column having forced 13 on the season (8 fumbles, 5 interceptions), while turning the ball over eight times (3 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, which established a new single-game record ... ECU along with North Texas (vs. Washington, Sept. 13, 1995) are the most by any FBS programs this season (as of Nov 8) and the most since Penn State had 17 different players with one catch in a single-game on Sept. 10, 2022 vs. Ohio ...
In 5 of 9 contest, ECU has had at least 10 receivers catch at least one pass (nine receivers with one reception in 7 of 9 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 touchdown in a game (as of Nov. 8) ... Against Campbell, the Pirates had seven different offensive players score with London Montgomery with two rushing touchdowns ...
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 ...
Through nine games in 2025, Houser has completed 56 passes of 15 or more yards (11/NCSU, 6/CAM, 6/CCU, 7/BYU, 7/Army, 5/TLN, 4/TLS, 6/TEM, 4/CLT) ...
The Pirates have outscored their opponents 305 to 156 (+149) through nine games ... ECU is averaging 33.9 points per game, which ranks 25th in FBS ...
ECU has tallied 75.0 TFLs through 9 games for (-252 yards), ranking 3rd nationally (8.3 pg) ...
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 nine 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 Memphis contest, ECU ranks among the FBS national leaders (Top 25) in 21 statistical categories - see pages 57 and 58 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 ...
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) …
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 …
East Carolina's 16-day break between playing 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 ...
Katin Houser enters the Memphis game having thrown for 250-plus yards in a game 12 times (sixth among all-time Pirate QBs) ... Included in that, Houser has five 300-plus yard passing games (5th all-time at ECU) ...
Anthony Smith has recorded five career 100-plus yard receiving games entering Memphis game ... Since beginning of 2024 season, he has caught at least one pass in 21 of 22 games played (18-straight) ...
Yannick Smith has three career 100-plus yard receiving games and enters Memphis having caught at least one pass in 19 of 22 games (13 consecutive) ...
ECU is averaging 79.7 offensive snaps per game which leads all of FBS entering the Memphis contest ... On the defensive side, ECU is averaging 65.2 snaps which is the 47th fewest in FBS ...

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 collegiately 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 basebman 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, 152-138-5 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, UL Lafayette/'12, UCF/'14 and NC State/'18).

THE PIRATE NATION - OVER 9 MILLION STRONG
East Carolina's all-time record at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium is 209-121 (.633) ... The Pirates opened the facility on Sept. 21, 1963 with a 20-10 win over Wake Forest in front of 17,000 fans, celebrated the stadium's 50th anniversary in 2013, hosted its 300th game vs. Tulane in 2020 and won its 200th game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in 20224with a 34-13 victory over UCF ... This season, ECU is 4-1 at home marking the fourth time in the last five years it has won four home games in a season ... Last year, ECU posted a 4-2 ledger ... The Pirates played seven home games in 2022 posting a 4-3 record and a 4-2 clip in 2021, 1-3 in 2020 and a collective 13-19 mark from 2015-2019, ECU was 5-1 in 2014, 2013 and 2012 (15-3) and won a combined 10 of 12 home matchups in 2009 (6-1) and 2008 (4-1) ... With its 49-14 won over FAU (Nov. 7, 2024), ECU posted its 42nd winning campaigns at DFS sine 1963.

LOOKING FOR MORE LOOT
Through nine games of the 2025 campaign, East Carolina ranks 25th nationally in turnover margin (0.56) and 41st in FBS in turnovers gained (13) ... On the season, the Pirates have intercepted five passes and have recovered eight fumbles, while just turning the ball over eight 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 of the last 80 contests, as well as 38 of 47 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 Memphis game having made 22 consecutive starts as a member of the defensive unit ... OL Emmanuel Poku and WR Anthony Smith lead the offensive unit having started 22-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.