2025 Football Roster

Jersey Number 6
Desirrio Riles
- Position:
- Tight End
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 238
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Jacksonville, Fla.
- High School:
- University Christian
- Major:
- Communication
Junior in the classroom ⦠Earned two varsity letters (2023-34) ⦠Played in 24 career games making five starts ⦠Caught 17 passes for 113 yards (6.6 ypc) ⦠Scored two touchdowns ā both in 2024 ⦠Registered at least one reception in 11 of 24 games (multiple four times) ⦠Officially signed with East Carolina in March of 2023.
Ā
2024: Played in all 13 games earning second varsity letter ⦠Logged 340 total snaps (256 offense, 84 special teams) ⦠Caught eight passes for 83 yards (10.4 ypc) ⦠Scored a pair of touchdowns, both coming in the season opener against Norfolk State (3 yards, 32 yards) ⦠Hauled in at least one pass in six of 13 contests (multiple once) ⦠Two of eight receptions went for 20 or more yards (NSU 32 TD, NSU 22) ⦠One of two Pirates (other: Winston Wright Jr.) to have two receiving touchdown receptions in one game ⦠Three of eight receptions went for 10 or more yards (32/NSU, 22/NSU, 12/NC State) ⦠Targeted 12 times making eight catches ⦠Credited with nine yards after the catch ⦠Established career-highs in receiving yards (57/Norfolk State), TD receptions in game (2/Norfolk State) and longest reception (32/Norfolk State) ⦠Credited with one tackle at Tulsa.
2023: Played in 11 games making five starts during initial year with the program ⦠Earned first varsity letter after logging 229 total plays (215 offense, 14 special teams) ⦠Made first collegiate start at Rice ⦠Caught nine passes for 30 yards (3.3 ypc) ⦠First career grab came against Gardner-Webb for one yard ⦠Twenty-eight of 30 reception yards came after the catch ⦠Career-long reception of 14 yards was against Tulane ⦠Hauled in a career-best four catches at Florida Atlantic.
High School: Two-sport athlete (football, basketball) ⦠Played five years for head coach David Penland III helping the Fightinā Christians to a 37-12 overall record ⦠Played in 50 career games ⦠Completed 189 of 328 passes (57.6 percent) for 2,803 yards ⦠Threw 27 touchdowns with 12 interceptions ⦠Ran for 1,261 career yards on 304 carries (4.2 ypr) ⦠Scored 24 touchdowns and ran for 100-plus yards in a contest four times ⦠Hauled down 17 passes for 280 yards and four scores ⦠Tallied 106 total stops on defense (74 solo) ⦠Credited with 26.0 TFLs with 15.0 sacks ⦠Picked off two passes for 59 yards ⦠Closed out prep career playing in 13 games and leading the Christians to the state semifinal game ⦠Completed a pair of passes for 54 yards ⦠Rushed 13 times for 48 yards and caught 17 passes for 280 yards (16.5 ypc) with four scores ⦠Defensively, tallied 68 stops (47 solo) with 24.0 tackles for loss ⦠Credited with 14.0 sacks for 75 yards and four quarterback hurries ⦠Picked off a pair of passes for 59 yards ⦠As a junior appeared in 11 games completing 56 of 95 passes (58.9 percent) for 635 yards with six touchdowns ⦠Threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 41-26 win over Newberry ⦠Passed for a season-high 121 yards (10 of 14) with a sore against Foundation Academy ⦠Ran for 605 yards on 120 carries (5.0 ypr) with nine scores ⦠Posted a pair of 100-plus yard rushing games (100 vs Bradford, 122 vs. Episcopal School of Jacksonville) ⦠Ran for at least one score in five contests (multiple three times) with a season-best three against Episcopal School of Jacksonville ⦠Defensively tallied 32 stops (23 solo) with two TFLs and one sack ⦠Earned Florida Times-Union All First-Coast Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore ⦠Played in 12 contests where he completed 60 of 114 passes (52.6 percent) for 1,041 yards with 13 touchdowns to five interceptions ⦠Rushed 95 times for 328 yards (3.5 ypr) with seven touchdowns ⦠Produced lone 100-plus rushing game of the season against St. John Paul II (102) where he reached the endzone twice ⦠Also had a multi-TD game against Bradford in a 33-22 victory ⦠As a freshman, completed 60.3 percent of his passes (70 of 116) for 1,063 yards ⦠Threw eight touchdown passes to just four interceptions in 13 games ⦠Threw for a career-high 202 yards in a 27-8 win over Clay where he completed nine of 12 passes (75.0 percent) with a score ⦠Added 276 rushing yards on 75 carries (3.7 ypr) with eight scored and a 100-plus yard rushing performance ⦠Tallied 111 yards against Bishop Kenny where he averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 14 rushes ⦠All eight touchdown runs came over the final five games of the season including three against Crescent City and two versus Maclay ⦠Appeared in one game during eighth grade year on varsity where he completed a pass for 10 yards and rushed once for four yards ⦠On the hardwood, has played in 74 career games (as of Jan. 30, 2023) where he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game ⦠Complete career stats ⦠Three-star prospect according to 247Sports Composite, ESPN and On3 ⦠Chose East Carolina over Boston College, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, FIU, Indiana, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan and South Florida.
Ā
Personal: Majoring in communication ⦠Named to ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll in fall 2024 ... Named to American Conference All-Academic Team (2024).
Ā
2024: Played in all 13 games earning second varsity letter ⦠Logged 340 total snaps (256 offense, 84 special teams) ⦠Caught eight passes for 83 yards (10.4 ypc) ⦠Scored a pair of touchdowns, both coming in the season opener against Norfolk State (3 yards, 32 yards) ⦠Hauled in at least one pass in six of 13 contests (multiple once) ⦠Two of eight receptions went for 20 or more yards (NSU 32 TD, NSU 22) ⦠One of two Pirates (other: Winston Wright Jr.) to have two receiving touchdown receptions in one game ⦠Three of eight receptions went for 10 or more yards (32/NSU, 22/NSU, 12/NC State) ⦠Targeted 12 times making eight catches ⦠Credited with nine yards after the catch ⦠Established career-highs in receiving yards (57/Norfolk State), TD receptions in game (2/Norfolk State) and longest reception (32/Norfolk State) ⦠Credited with one tackle at Tulsa.
2023: Played in 11 games making five starts during initial year with the program ⦠Earned first varsity letter after logging 229 total plays (215 offense, 14 special teams) ⦠Made first collegiate start at Rice ⦠Caught nine passes for 30 yards (3.3 ypc) ⦠First career grab came against Gardner-Webb for one yard ⦠Twenty-eight of 30 reception yards came after the catch ⦠Career-long reception of 14 yards was against Tulane ⦠Hauled in a career-best four catches at Florida Atlantic.
High School: Two-sport athlete (football, basketball) ⦠Played five years for head coach David Penland III helping the Fightinā Christians to a 37-12 overall record ⦠Played in 50 career games ⦠Completed 189 of 328 passes (57.6 percent) for 2,803 yards ⦠Threw 27 touchdowns with 12 interceptions ⦠Ran for 1,261 career yards on 304 carries (4.2 ypr) ⦠Scored 24 touchdowns and ran for 100-plus yards in a contest four times ⦠Hauled down 17 passes for 280 yards and four scores ⦠Tallied 106 total stops on defense (74 solo) ⦠Credited with 26.0 TFLs with 15.0 sacks ⦠Picked off two passes for 59 yards ⦠Closed out prep career playing in 13 games and leading the Christians to the state semifinal game ⦠Completed a pair of passes for 54 yards ⦠Rushed 13 times for 48 yards and caught 17 passes for 280 yards (16.5 ypc) with four scores ⦠Defensively, tallied 68 stops (47 solo) with 24.0 tackles for loss ⦠Credited with 14.0 sacks for 75 yards and four quarterback hurries ⦠Picked off a pair of passes for 59 yards ⦠As a junior appeared in 11 games completing 56 of 95 passes (58.9 percent) for 635 yards with six touchdowns ⦠Threw a pair of touchdown passes in a 41-26 win over Newberry ⦠Passed for a season-high 121 yards (10 of 14) with a sore against Foundation Academy ⦠Ran for 605 yards on 120 carries (5.0 ypr) with nine scores ⦠Posted a pair of 100-plus yard rushing games (100 vs Bradford, 122 vs. Episcopal School of Jacksonville) ⦠Ran for at least one score in five contests (multiple three times) with a season-best three against Episcopal School of Jacksonville ⦠Defensively tallied 32 stops (23 solo) with two TFLs and one sack ⦠Earned Florida Times-Union All First-Coast Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore ⦠Played in 12 contests where he completed 60 of 114 passes (52.6 percent) for 1,041 yards with 13 touchdowns to five interceptions ⦠Rushed 95 times for 328 yards (3.5 ypr) with seven touchdowns ⦠Produced lone 100-plus rushing game of the season against St. John Paul II (102) where he reached the endzone twice ⦠Also had a multi-TD game against Bradford in a 33-22 victory ⦠As a freshman, completed 60.3 percent of his passes (70 of 116) for 1,063 yards ⦠Threw eight touchdown passes to just four interceptions in 13 games ⦠Threw for a career-high 202 yards in a 27-8 win over Clay where he completed nine of 12 passes (75.0 percent) with a score ⦠Added 276 rushing yards on 75 carries (3.7 ypr) with eight scored and a 100-plus yard rushing performance ⦠Tallied 111 yards against Bishop Kenny where he averaged 7.9 yards per carry on 14 rushes ⦠All eight touchdown runs came over the final five games of the season including three against Crescent City and two versus Maclay ⦠Appeared in one game during eighth grade year on varsity where he completed a pass for 10 yards and rushed once for four yards ⦠On the hardwood, has played in 74 career games (as of Jan. 30, 2023) where he is averaging 9.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game ⦠Complete career stats ⦠Three-star prospect according to 247Sports Composite, ESPN and On3 ⦠Chose East Carolina over Boston College, Bowling Green, Coastal Carolina, FIU, Indiana, Louisville, Marshall, Memphis, Michigan and South Florida.
Ā
Personal: Majoring in communication ⦠Named to ECU Director of Athletics Honor Roll in fall 2024 ... Named to American Conference All-Academic Team (2024).
10/21/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, October 21
East Carolina Post-Game Interviews Following A 41-27 Win Over Tulsa
Friday, October 17
10/14/25 Inside Pirate Athletics
Tuesday, October 14
East Carolina Head Coach Blake Harrell's Weekly Press Conference (Oct. 13, 2025)
Monday, October 13