Jake Verity

Position:
Placekicker/Punter
Height:
6-1
Weight:
201
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Bremen, Ga.
High School:
Bremen
Major:
Construction Management

Rates as one of the top returning placekickers in the American Athletic Conference and projected as a viable national honors candidate following successive record-setting campaigns in 2018 and 2019 … A multi-year Lou Groza Award Watch List member (2019, 2020) … A Preseason All-AAC (second-team) selection by Athlon Sports and Phil Steele … Will serve as the Pirates’ top kicking specialist for the fourth-straight season … Offers plenty of reliability, accuracy and leg strength on the field, while developing into one of ECU’s most popular players with the fanbase and community off the field … Has played in 38 career games and converted 60-of-77 (77.9 percent) on field goals and 100-of-102 (98.0 percent) on extra points … In all, has accounted for 280 points as a Pirate (4th all-time heading into the 2020 season, just 21 shy of a program record) … Currently stands 1st among all active FBS placekickers in career FGs made (60) and 6th career FGs made per game (1.58) … Will open the 2020 campaign having made at least one field goal in 13-straight games and converted 48 consecutive PATs… Already owns ECU single-season (24) and career (60) records for field goals made … Granted a medical hardship waiver by the American Athletic Conference on May 8, 2019 that determined a year of eligibility was not used in 2016 (played in two games).

2019: Turned in another honors-producing and record-breaking campaign that included a semifinalist standing for the prestigious Lou Groza Award … Also earned multiple All-American Athletic Conference honors with a first-team selection by Phil Steele and second-team status by league head coaches … Established a school single-season and career standards for field goals made with 24 and 60, respectively … Also set a new program record for consecutive field goals made with 13 (October 3/Temple to Nov. 23/Connecticut) … In all, was 24-of-29 (82.8%) in field goal tries and a perfect 33-of-33 in PATs to account for a team-high 105 points … Distance splits include 11-of-11 (20-29 yards), 8-of-9 (30-39), 4-of-6 (40-49) and 1-of-3 (50-99) … Only 50-plus three-pointer was a 51-yarder vs. Tulsa in the season finale at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Ranked third among all FBS placekickers with a 2.00 field goals-per-game clip and stood 24th in points per game … Among AAC players, finished 1st in field goals per game, 1st in kick scoring, 4th in field goal percentage, 5th in total points scored and 6th in points per game … Made at least one field goal in all 12 games, drilled two or more seven times and three or more on four occasions … Matched a career-best with four three-pointers (season-high 5 attempts) – 31, 32, 22 and 45-yarders – against William & Mary to earn AAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors … Turned in three perfect 3-of-3 outings (UCF, Cincinnati, SMU) and thrice booted a pair of field goals (NC State, Gardner-Webb, USF) … Equaled a personal-best of six successful PAT conversions in contests vs. Bulldogs and Mustangs … Was 4-of-4 in games against Cincinnati and Connecticut, 3-of-3 vs. Old Dominion and Tulsa and 2-of-2 against Temple and USF … Opener at NC State marked only tilt in which he did not record a point-after attempt … Reached double-digit scoring totals on five occasions – SMU (career-high 15 points), Cincinnati (13), William & Mary (13), Gardner-Webb (12) and UCF (10) … Suffered only block (on FG try) against Monarchs in Norfolk … Posted 45 touchbacks on 67 kickoffs (67.2%) … Racked up a total of 4,190 kickoff yards, averaging 62.5 per boot … Set personal bests in kickoffs (10) and kickoff yards (646) in home opener vs. Gardner-Webb … Also established career-highs in touchbacks with seven each against the Bulldogs and Bearcats before following with six at SMU … Pressed into punting duties at Old Dominion following an injury to Jonn Young … Punted five times for 215 yards (43.0 ypp) with a long of 53 against the Monarchs.

2018: Earned First-Team All-American Athletic Conference honors following a noteworthy campaign that included several national statistical rankings and a school record … Stood 4th among all FBS kickers in field goal percentage (90.5 percent; 19-of-21) and 12thin FGs made per game (1.58; 19 in 12 games), while leading the AAC in both categories … Also ranked 5th in the league in kick scoring with a team-best 84 points (7.0 ppg) … Established an ECU single-season standard with his 90.5 percent three-point success rate, besting the previous mark of 89.5 set by Robert Lee in 2005 … Nearly reached perfection with a 27-of-28 (96.4 percent) performance on PATs, suffering only block of year vs. Old Dominion … Bounced back against the Monarchs by drilling a game-winning 38-yard FG with 46 seconds remaining to give the Pirates a 37-35 victory and earn AAC Special Teams Player-of-the-Week honors … Made at least one field goal in 11 contests and booked multiple trifectas in seven games, including a season-best 3-of-3 outing in the opener vs. North Carolina A&T … Also was a perfect 2-of-2 in tilts against North Carolina, USF, Temple, Memphis and Connecticut, and 1-of-1 vs. ODU, Tulane and NC State … Only misses came in back-to-back weeks (49-yarder vs. Houston, 43-yarder vs. UCF) … Opened season with 11-straight FGs made before misfire against Cougars … From a range standpoint, was 7-of-7 from 20-29 yards, 6-of-6 (30-39), 5-of-7 (40-49) and 1-1 from 50+ … Matched a personal-best with a 52-yarder against the Tigers at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, which also equaled the longest FG of the season by an AAC kicker … Closed season with a 46-yard FG at NC State as time expired to prevent ECU from suffering its first shutout since 1997 (and preserving a 266-game scoring streak that currently ranks 9^th nationally at the FBS level) … Tied a career-high with a 6-of-6 PAT performance against the Huskies, while also adding a pair of 5-of-5 extra point outings (North Carolina, Memphis) … Reached double-figure scoring totals on four occasions (12 points vs. UConn, 11 vs. N.C. A&T, UNC, Memphis) … Pressed into starting punting duties at Tulane (because of an injury to Jonn Young) and responded with a 36.0 average (12 punts for 432 yards) … Landed five boots inside the Green Wave 20-yard line and delivered a long of 45 (yards).

2017: Was the Pirates’ leading scorer with 83 points … Was a near-perfect 35-of-36 (97.2 percent) on PATs and 16-of-25 (64.0 percent) on field goal tries … Snapped a streak of 39-straight extra-point kicks (dating back to 2016) on his first try at Memphis (blocked) … Converted at least one PAT in all 12 games with a high of six vs. Cincinnati in the home finale … Also was 5-of-5 vs. Connecticut, 4-of-4 vs. USF and 3-of-3 in consecutive tilts vs. UCF, BYU, Houston and Tulane … Registered three double-digit scoring performances – 15 against BYU, 12 against Cincinnati and 11 against Connecticut … Turned in an unblemished 6-of-6 mark in field goals tries inside the 30-yard line, was 3-of-5 inside the 40, 5-of-9 inside the 50 and 2-of-5 inside the 60 … Matched a school single-game record with a 4-of-4 effort against BYU at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Accounted for multiple field goals on four other occasions … Was 2-of-3 in contests vs. West Virginia, Connecticut, Houston and Cincinnati … Drilled a career-long of 52 yards against the Cougars at TDECU Stadium in Houston … Other 50-yard trifecta came vs. the Bearcats … Additionally, hit other 40-plus-yard three-pointers vs. Mountaineers (45), Huskies (46), BYU Cougars (two from 42) and Bearcats (46) … Only had two games without a successful FGA – James Madison (0-1) and Memphis (0-2) … Suffered only one blocked field goal try all year (Virginia Tech) … Also handled top punting chores in season finale at Memphis … Averaged 37.3 yards per punt in three attempts (112 total yards) and landed one inside the 20-yard line … Kicked off once (onside vs. James Madison in the opener) … Selected as the special team’s recipient of the “On The Ship Award” (symbolizing positive attitude and team-first mindset) following spring drills.

2016: Played in two games as a true freshman … Thrown into the fire early, making collegiate debut against Virginia Tech at Lane Stadium … Successfully converted both PATs and drilled a 27-yard field goal against the Hokies in relief of veteran Davis Plowman … Was a perfect 3-of-3 on PATs the following week against UCF in the American Athletic Conference opener at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium … Missed only field goal attempt (31 yards) against the Knights … In all, was 6-of-7 on all kicks (5-5 PATs, 1-2 FGs) and accounted for eight points … A late addition to former head coach Scottie Montgomery’s first signing class, officially inking with the Pirate program on Feb. 8.

High School: A first-team all-region selection as a placekicker as a sophomore, junior and senior … Also named to the 2015 Atlanta Journal-Constitution All-State squads as both a punter (first team) and kicker (honorable mention) after earning second-team accolades in 2014 … Served as Bremen High School’s top placekicker, punter and kickoff specialist as a senior … Logged 23 touchbacks on 27 overall kickoffs and averaged 40 yards per punt (11 attempts), with a long of 53 … Converted three-of-four field goal tries and was a perfect 23-of-23 on extra-point attempts … One three-pointer was officially credited as a 63-yarder, which ranked as the third-longest in Georgia High School Association (GHSA) history and the 11-longest nationally (according to USA Today High School Sports) … Was a three-time special teams player-of-the-week choice for the Blue Devils … Delivered a game-winning field goal in overtime to help BHS defeat Hapeville Charter 23-20 as a junior … Earned national distinction while participating in numerous kicking and punting camps, including “Event Elite” status by ChrisSailorKicking.com (which also listed him as one of the top kicker/punter combo prospects in the country) … Captured the “Last Man (PK) Standing” and “Punting Champion” honors during the 2014 TeamJacksonKicking.com Southern Invitational Showcase … Captured the field goal title at the 2014 Georgia Fall Camp and was a top punting finalist at the 2015 and 2016 Vegas XXVI and XXVII events, respectively (via ChrisSailorKicking.com) … Consistently recorded 70-plus yard kickoffs (4.1-plus seconds of hang time) and 45-plus yard punts (4.6) according to various specialized recruiting sources … Also considered Marshall and UAB before signing with the ECU program … Earned additional letters as a soccer standout … Excelled in classroom with No. 24 rank in senior high school class.

Personal: Full name is Jake Shaw Verity … Son of James and Angela Verity … Major is construction management … Earned selection to the ECU Honor Roll in the 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 fall semesters before following with Dean’s List designation during the 2017, 2018, 2019 & 2020 spring semesters.