Colby Gore

Height:
5-11
Weight:
180
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Little River, S.C.
High School:
North Myrtle Beach
Major:
University Studies

A durable and battle-tested pass defender who will enter senior season as a viable conference honors candidate … A Preseason All-American Athletic Conference (fourth-team) selection by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview Magazine … Was thrown into the proverbial fire early as a true freshman and has 33 games (29 starts), 119 total tackles, three interceptions and 13 pass breakups on his collegiate resume ... Faced early spring challenges with terminology and schematic adjustments implemented by the new coaching staff, but finished practice period with a solid grasp on the secondary two-deep at the strong cornerback position (alongside a pair of true freshmen) … Could again fill special teams return roles based on his defensive responsibilities and number of game-day repetitions … Booked two tackles during the first spring scrimmage on March 30 … Was not credited with any statistics in the second clash, but had a pair of stops and a pass breakup in the Purple-Gold Game (April 13) … Officially enrolled early at ECU in January of 2016 … Re-signed (grant-in-aid) with ECU after initially inking a national letter-of-intent with the Pirates in February, 2015.

2018: Played in (and started) 11 games … Did not experience action at USF in the American Athletic Conference opener … Finished among the Pirates’ top 10 tacklers with 39 stops (28 solo) … Also credited with a half TFL (Connecticut) and four pass breakups (two vs. North Carolina, one each vs. Houston & Memphis) … From a takeaway standpoint, picked off a pass against the Huskies (no return) and forced a fumble vs. the Tar Heels … Booked at least one tackle in 10 outings (0 vs. Cincinnati) and had multiple hits nine times, which included a season-high 10 (7 solo) at NC State inside Carter-Finley Stadium to close out the year … Other noteworthy tackle performances came against Connecticut (5), Temple (4), Houston (4), Memphis (4), North Carolina (3), UCF (3), Tulane (3) and Old Dominion (2) … Co-led special teams unit with five stops – three on kickoff returns, two on punt returns … Defensively, recorded 21 tackles on pass plays (13 on rushes) … Booked 23 hits during seven AAC tilts (3.3 tpg) … Averaged 4.2 tackles per game (25) in second half of campaign (final six contests) after netting 2.8 per outing in the first half … Considered a key part of a unit which ranked third nationally in TFLs (8.8 tpg), 22^nd in sacks (2.8 spg) and 35^th in fewest first downs allowed (243) … Opened season in a return role, handling a pair of punts (16 yards) vs. N.C. A&T before fielding two kickoffs (30) a week later vs. North Carolina … Selected as both the defensive and special teams MVP following spring workouts.

2017: Stood seventh among all ECU defenders as a sophomore with 37 tackles (25 solo) … Experienced action in 10 contests, starting the last nine – Connecticut, USF, Temple, UCF, BYU, Houston, Tulane, Cincinnati and Memphis … Did not play against James Madison and Virginia Tech, while coming off the bench at West Virginia … Credited with one TFL, which was a sack against BYU that resulted in an eight-yard loss … Also contributed four pass deflections (two vs. WVU, one each vs. Temple and BYU) … Selected as the program’s “Defensive Skill Player-of-the-Year” by coaching staff following season … Booked multiple stops in all 10 outings with a season-best of six vs. Temple at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Picked up five hits in back-to-back games vs. Cougars and Green Wave, had four in season finale against Tigers and three in tilts vs. Connecticut, USF and BYU … Splits include 21 stops on pass plays, 16 on rushes … Was among team tackle leaders in road games (18) and November contests (16) … In all, registered 32 combined hits in eight American Conference clashes (4.0 tpg), while posting just five collective stops in non-league action (two appearances).

2016: Quickly developed into a starter during true freshman season, opening nine of 12 games … Started first collegiate contest against Western Carolina, came off the bench vs. NC State, South Carolina and Virginia Tech before regaining top role for the remaining eight American Athletic Conference games … Made 43 stops (29 solo), 2.0 tackles for lost yardage (Connecticut, Navy), one sack (Connecticut), five pass breakups and a pair of interceptions … Picked off passes against UCF (no return) and Connecticut (eight-yard return), both at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Recorded at least one tackle in all 12 games (reached multiple totals 10 times) … Established a career-high with 12 stops at Tulsa … Other notables include six hits vs. Huskies, five vs. Midshipmen, four vs. Knights, three each against Cincinnati and SMU, and a pair in outings vs. Western Carolina, NC State, South Carolina and USF … Knocked down passes against UCF (2), South Carolina, Cincinnati and SMU … Enjoyed strong finish to campaign, averaging 5.4 tackles per tilt in last five games (27 total) … Turned in a 2.3 tpg clip (16 stops) in first seven contests … Recipient of the “Newcomer-of-the-Year” award during program’s annual postseason banquet.

High School: A two-way player, special teams stalwart and team captain for head coach Blair Hardin at North Myrtle Beach … Produced 1,499 all-purpose yards as a receiver on the offensive side of the ball and as a prolific punt and kickoff return specialists … Defensively, netted 79 tackles with four interceptions and six pass break-ups from his safety position as a senior … Totaled 48 stops, eight interceptions (three returned for touchdowns) and two forced fumbles during junior season … Logged 350 yards on 25 catches as a wide-out in 2013 … Turned in a 98-yard kickoff return for a score and a 76-yard interception return for another touchdown during a contest against Wilson as a junior … Also added a punt return for a TD during the course of the season … Rated as the No. 24 overall prospect in the state of South Carolina and the No. 4 defensive back by Scout.com … Selected to play in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives North vs. South All-Star Bowl Game.

Personal: Full name is Colby Deion Gore … Born at Myrtle Beach, S.C. … Son of Carlton and Rose Gore … Older brothers all earned honors as football lettermen at North Myrtle Beach High School … Brother P.J. Gore starred at Mars Hill and later signed a free agent contract with the Atlanta Falcons … Another brother, Stephon Gore, serves as an assistant football (defense) coach at Monroe (N.C.) High School … Has 11 uncles on father’s side of the family, including Milton Gore who helped Georgia Southern capture NCAA Division I-AA National Championships in 1985 and 1986 … Active in his church and member of the youth choir … In addition to singing, other hobbies include cooking, basketball, running, fishing and hunting … A university studies major.