East Carolina Football

HEIGHT: 6'2"

WEIGHT: 194

HAND: 9⅝”

ARM: 32⅝”

WINGSPAN: 79¾”

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POSITIVES

— Great length with a filled-out frame. He uses his length to his advantage in press and does a good job of getting his hands on and disrupting routes at the line of scrimmage.

— Very good straight-line speed. Gets to top speed quickly and easily carries receivers deep. Shows the necessary recovery speed to catch up and close ground with the ball in the air.

— Good overall athlete with ball skills and body control. Sinks hips well for his size and quickly transitions. Also shows the ability to push receivers off their line as he works downfield.

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NEGATIVES

— Slightly below-average ball skills. Struggles to catch with hands and has missed the opportunity to capitalize on additional turnovers.

— Average eye discipline in zone coverage. Can lose threats in underneath coverage, due to staring at the quarterback.

— Fights against pad level, as it can get too high and cause him to leak extra steps out of breaks

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2024 STATISTICS

— 3 Games, 8 Total Tackles, 1 TFL, 2 INT, 4 PBU

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NOTES

— Unrated recruit in the 2020 class, per 247Sports

— Games Started: 24

— 2023: 2nd Team All-American Athletic Conference

— 2023" Transfer from Louisburg College

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OVERALL

Shavon Revel is a tall, long-limbed cornerback prospect from East Carolina who stands out due to his physical traits and aggressive style of play. At 6'3" and 193 pounds, Revel possesses the length and frame that NFL teams covet, particularly for outside corners. His blend of size, speed, and physicality has made him one of the more intriguing prospects in the 2025 draft class, with the potential to impact both man and zone-heavy schemes.

In coverage, Revel's length and straight-line speed are key assets. He excels in press coverage, using his long arms to disrupt receivers' timing at the line of scrimmage and push them off their route. His ability to carry receivers deep is bolstered by his top-end speed and quick acceleration, which also aid him in recovery situations. Revel's athleticism is evident in his smooth transitions and ability to sink his hips for his size, though he can leak extra steps when breaking on shorter routes. While he has the body control and positioning to make plays on the ball, his ball skills are slightly below average, as he struggles to secure interceptions consistently. In zone coverage, Revel's eye discipline can waver, occasionally leading to missed threats underneath when he becomes too focused on the quarterback.

Revel's physicality translates well to the run game, where he is willing and effective in taking on blockers and assisting in run defense. He uses his size and strength to shock and shed blockers on the edge, helping to contain running plays and maintain outside leverage. As a tackler, Revel is reliable and secure, utilizing his size to wrap up and drive through contact. While he's not an enforcer in run support, he consistently fulfills his assignments and does his part in limiting gains.

Shavon Revel projects as an early-round pick with the potential to make an immediate impact as an outside cornerback. His length, speed, and physicality are ideal traits for defending big-bodied receivers on the outside and handling vertical routes. While his ball skills and eye discipline could limit his ability to generate turnovers, Revel's ability to blanket receivers and disrupt plays at the line makes him a valuable asset. With further refinement, he has the ceiling to develop into a high-level starting cornerback at the next level.

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GRADE: 7.6 (Potential Impact Player — 2nd Round)

OVERALL RANK: 46

POSITION RANK: CB8

PRO COMPARISON: Tariq Woolen

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

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Prospect workout numbers, measurables (40-yard dash, hand size, etc.) and 2024 statistics will be added at a later date.

East Carolina announced Sunday it fired head football coach Mike Houston following a 45-28 loss to Army.

"After a comprehensive evaluation of our football program, I informed Mike Houston this morning that we are making a change in leadership," athletic director Jon Gilbert said. "This was a very difficult decision. Mike has led our program the last five plus seasons with tremendous class and has positively impacted so many student-athletes.

"After earning back-to-back bowl invitations, we looked poised for continued success. Unfortunately, we have not seen the results we all want, and a change is needed to move the program forward. We have high expectations and those are not changing."

Houston's ouster is the first firing of the 2024 college football season.

Army is ranked 23rd in the nation, so the loss itself wasn't all that embarrassing. ECU still has a pathway to bowl eligibility as well.

As with most midseason firings, though, the school's decision is based on much more than what transpired this year.

The Pirates followed up their Birmingham Bowl victory in 2022 by going 2-10 in 2023. It was only the second time in program history they suffered double-digit defeats and the third losing season through Houston's first five years.

A 7-5 record in 2021—East Carolina was denied the opportunity to compete in the Military Bowl—and the success from 2022 bought Houston some goodwill and job security. Both eroded last season as the losses started to pile up.

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman wrote on the heels of ECU's 55-24 loss to Charlotte that Houston's seat was getting "warm."

The arrival of the 12-team College Football Playoff has led a lot of Group of Five programs to raise their raise their expectations. For East Carolina, the goal is still probably to become a bowl mainstay again like it was under Skip Holtz and Ruffin McNeill.

For now, defensive coordinator Blake Harrell will serve as the interim head coach before Gilbert zeroes in on a full-time replacement.

HEIGHT: 5'8 1/4"

WEIGHT: 179

HAND: 9 1/4"

ARM: 30 3/4"

WINGSPAN: 74 3/3"

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40-YARD DASH: 4.37

3-CONE: N/A

SHUTTLE: N/A

VERTICAL: 38"

BROAD: 10'6"

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POSITIVES

— Excellent speed. Real threat to score from anywhere if he finds a crease.

— Good lateral explosiveness. Can cut and make people miss in space.

— Above-average flexibility and change of direction.

— Above-average receiving skills. Comfortable hands and good open-field movement skills.

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NEGATIVES

— Small frame. Won't ever be able to carry a full NFL workload.

— Poor play strength and power. Struggles between the tackles; can't move piles.

— Poor vision and decision-making. Constantly tries to bounce runs.

— Small and fast, yet barely used as a returner in college.

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2023 STATISTICS

— 12 G, 201 ATT, 1,452 YDS (7.2 AVG), 14 TD; 27 REC, 252 YDS, 1 TD

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NOTES

— 3-star recruit in 2020 class, per 247 Sports' composite rating

— 26 career starts

— 2021 and 2022 first-team All-AAC

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OVERALL

Keaton Mitchell is a small, electric player who needs to find more strength and consistency as a runner.

Mitchell is an explosive play waiting to happen. He ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, and that acceleration and speed is very evident on film. Mitchell flies to the perimeter and kicks into a different gear once he gets to stride out in space, giving him the potential to house it any time he touches the ball. Mitchell is also explosive laterally and plays with relatively smooth change of direction, helping him make moves that spring him into space.

Mitchell is always looking for those plays, too, which is necessitated by his size and lack of strength. He is always looking to bounce plays to the outside. Given his explosiveness and speed, it can pay off, but it also lends itself to a highly inconsistent production profile. That will be even more true in the NFL, where defenses are more sound and take better angles. Mitchell is not a reliable runner between the tackles right now, and he may never be at his size.

In turn, Mitchell needs to have value beyond just running. He is a mixed bag in that respect. On third downs, Mitchell has limited protection experience, but he's a nifty pass-catcher. He's got the speed and quickness to be a problem in space, and his hands are plenty good. On the other hand, Mitchell was seldom used as a returner at ECU, which is a little disappointing given his stature and athletic ability. A player of Mitchell's rushing profile needs special teams value, but he is a projection in that regard.

Mitchell's floor is scary. He is undersized, unreliable between the tackles, and doesn't offer special teams value right now. That being said, Mitchell's speed and receiving skills are enticing, and could be valuable as an RB3 while he potentially learns how to be a returner.

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GRADE: 5.9 (Backup or Draftable/Rounds 6-7)

OVERALL RANK: 205

POSITION RANK: RB20

PRO COMPARISON: Javian Hawkins

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Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen

The Fenway Bowl will has been canceled amid a COVID-19 outbreak within the Virginia football program, the event announced Sunday:

Wasabi Fenway Bowl Update: pic.twitter.com/InTrBdar9f

— Wasabi Fenway Bowl (@FenwayBowl) December 26, 2021

Brett McMurphy of Action Network first reported the news.

The Cavaliers were scheduled to face SMU on Wednesday in a game at Fenway Park in Boston.

The Military Bowl between Boston College and East Carolina on Monday was also canceled.

🚨 NEWS🚨

2021 #MilitaryBowl presented by @PeratonCorp, benefiting @the_USO has been CANCELED.

📰https://t.co/4opLN0BoNZ pic.twitter.com/NYeJwkLUVI

— Go Bowling Military Bowl (@MilitaryBowl) December 26, 2021

According to ESPN, Boston College had been dealing with COVID-19 issues leading up to the game scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland.

This marks three bowl games canceled this season after the Hawai'i Bowl was canceled Friday. Hawai'i was supposed to take on Memphis in that game, but the Rainbow Warriors reportedly had about 30 players and staff test positive for COVID.

Virginia had been dealing with excessive positive tests and pushed back its scheduled flight to Boston earlier Sunday, per Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The team was awaiting another round of results before leaving, but the outbreak was too much to move forward.

The game was supposed to be the final one for head coach Bronco Mendenhall, who announced he was stepping down earlier this month.

The 55-year-old went 36-38 across six years in Virginia, including a 6-6 record in 2021. The squad started 6-2 this year before fading down the stretch with four straight losses.

SMU was 8-4 under head coach Sonny Dykes, who left the program to take the same job at TCU. Defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was scheduled to be the interim coach for the Mustangs at the Fenway Bowl.

Boston College will end its season at 6-6, while ECU finished with a 7-5 record.

East Carolina head football coach Scottie Montgomery delivered an early Mother's Day gift to a recruit's mom.

Tia Chapman's son, defensive end Kiante Anderson, earned a full scholarship to play for the Pirates. Montgomery surprised Chapman at South Greenville Elementary School with news of the offer before informing Anderson.

"He loves her," Montgomery said to the camera before entering the building. "He speaks so highly of her, talks about her sacrifices."

He entered with a camera crew, claiming to honor local mothers. Then she opened an envelope revealing the news, prompting her to cry and hug the coach.

After receiving the "best Mother's Day gift ever," Chapman called Anderson to tell him about the scholarship. It's a tough present for all other sons and daughters to follow this weekend.

[ECU Athletics]

During Saturday's game against Navy, East Carolina wide receiver Zay Jones broke the NCAA FBS all-time record for receptions with his 388th career catch, according to Josh Graham of IBX Media:

With 388 catches, Zay Jones is now the NCAA FBS's all-time leader for career receptions. pic.twitter.com/qcsF0SraKN

— Josh Graham (@JoshGrahamShow) November 19, 2016

It broke the mark set by Justin Hardy in 2014, who also played for East Carolina. 

East Carolina tweeted this video congratulating its receiver:

THAT'S IT! Zay Jones is the All Time Receptions Leader. Congrats @ZayJones7 @biletnikoffawrd @HeismanTrophy @adidasFballUS pic.twitter.com/P8zbcT8WeX

— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 19, 2016

Jones is in the midst of his finest year as a collegiate receiver, with 148 receptions for 1,599 yards—which leads the nation—and seven touchdowns. He was burning Navy on Saturday to the tune of nine catches for 126 yards and a touchdown before halftime. 

All of East Carolina's opponents this year have felt Jones' wrath, though, as he hasn't had fewer than seven receptions in a game. Among those performances was a 22-catch, 190-yard night against South Carolina in September. 

He's put up 115 yards or more in nine games this season and 150 yards on five occasions, as his numbers have only improved the older he's gotten:

East Carolina has begun to build a reputation of developing some all-time great collegiate receivers, as Jones' and Hardy's career reception marks are far and away the most in FBS history. 

Ryan Broyles, who played at Oklahoma from 2008 to 2011, is in third with 349 receptions. 

    

Stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com. 

 

East Carolina school officials released a statement Monday condemning the 19 band members who kneeled during the national anthem prior to Saturday's football game against UCF.

Released on behalf of Director of Athletic Bands Dr. William Staub, School of Music Director Christopher Ulffers and College of Fine Arts and Communication Dean Dr. Christopher Buddo, the school said further protests would not be tolerated, via WCNT.com.

We have met with the band and the members have collectively reaffirmed their commitment to the unique privilege and responsibility that comes with wearing the uniform of the Marching Pirates.

College is about learning, and it is our expectation that the members of the Marching Pirates will learn from this experience and fulfill their responsibilities. While we affirm the right of all our students to express their opinions, protests of this nature by the Marching Pirates will not be tolerated moving forward.

Seven former presidents of ECU's Black Students Union have issued their own statement, calling on the university to retract its criticism. The statement, relayed by George Crocker of WCNT.com, said the officials' statements "contrast to this university’s strong history of student activism and in opposition to the position of the Chancellor."

"We will not allow East Carolina to go back to the days where the black student’s voice was marginalized," the statement read. "The actions of the East Carolina’s band leadership are deplorable. Now is the time to support our students wholeheartedly, since it appears that these leaders intended to repress these students’ freedom of speech and not safeguard it."

Fans booed the members of the band for their protest, which comes amid a movement started by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kaepernick's controversial decision to sit or kneel for the anthem in protest of racial injustice and police brutality has sparked a polarization of opinion. Many citizens—athletes and otherwise—have rushed to his defense while others have criticized the actions as disrespectful.

East Carolina chancellor Cecil Staton previously released a statement supporting the band members' right to protest, per Michael Prunka of the Washington Daily News:

While we acknowledge and understand the disappointment felt by many Pirate fans in response to the events at the beginning of today’s football game, we urge all Pirate students, supporters and participants to act with respect for each other’s views. Civil discourse is an East Carolina value and part of our ECU creed. We are proud that recent campus conversations on difficult issues have been constructive, meaningful exchanges that helped grow new understanding among our campus community. East Carolina will safeguard the right to free speech, petition and peaceful assembly as assured by the U.S. Constitution.

The band's decision has already had consequences for fans. ESPNFayetteville.com and 100.1 FM of Colonial Media and Entertainment announced Tuesday it would not broadcast Saturday's game against South Florida due to the protest. CEO Jeff Andrulonis called the protest "shameful" in a statement released to Mark Armstrong of ABC11.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.

The radio affiliate for the East Carolina Pirates football team will not broadcast this Saturday's showdown against South Florida after several members of the school band protested the national anthem before last week's game.

Per a statement on Facebook from Colonial Media and Entertainment CEO Jeff Andrulonis, the decision not to broadcast the matchup against South Florida came about because the band members "disgraced" themselves:

Several members of the band refused to play the national anthem and others "took a knee" during the performance, with the result that roughly a dozen band members disgraced themselves on the football field this past weekend. I’m proud of our country, and I’m proud of our soldiers — especially our soldiers from Fort Bragg — fighting for our country so I’ve decided that ESPN Fayetteville will "protest the protest." I talked with some of our East Carolina football sponsors yesterday and will be talking with more of them today. So far, it has been unanimous. Every sponsor I’ve talked to agrees that last weekend’s spectacle at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium was shameful, and a message needs to be sent.

Andrulonis went on to attack the members of the band who protested, saying they could have chosen to quietly protest in the hours before the game, "but that would have required them to wake up early." He added these are "college students and it’s about time they get an education on the concept that their actions have consequences."

ECU grad Michael Aho captured an image of some band members taking a knee during the national anthem before the Pirates hosted Central Florida:

https://twitter.com/ahomichael/status/782249554552819712

The entire band was booed during the halftime show as a result of the silent protest before the game, via Pirate Radio 1250:

The ECU Band was boo'ed loudly during halftime of today's game. pic.twitter.com/iA2T21XDwd

— Pirate Radio ☠️ (@PR927FM) October 1, 2016

Later that same day, per Michael Prunka of the Washington Daily News, East Carolina Chancellor Cecil Staton issued a statement saying the university respected the students' rights to express their own views and asked for fellow students, supporters and participants "to act with respect for each other's views."

It's been more than one month since San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick began his silent protest of kneeling during the national anthem to protest various racial injustices, with more athletes and citizens joining in each week.

The statement from Andrulonis concludes by saying after "taking a knee" for Saturday's game, the radio affiliate will resume broadcasting East Carolina games starting the following week against Navy on Oct. 13. 

East Carolina Pirates defensive lineman Darius Commissiong has been dismissed from the program after he was charged with felony animal cruelty, according to ESPN.com's Brett McMurphy. 

According to the Greenville, North Carolina, Police Department, officers responded to a report of a possible disturbance early Friday morning. Upon entry into the apartment, the officers found a deceased one-year-old Shih Tzu on the premises. 

The police report stated that, following a necropsy, officers from Animal Protective Services discovered the dog suffered three cracked ribs; hemorrhaging in the abdomen, left eye and brain; fractured teeth; a fractured femur; and a ruptured liver that was the result of trauma. 

Police arrested Commissiong based on witness statements. He is being held on a $25,000 secured bond.

Greenville PD noted "he is known to the victim and this was not a random incident."

Head football coach Scottie Montgomery spoke about the decision Friday, per WECT-TV6:

While we always want to be in a position to guide young people, unacceptable behavior such as this clearly crosses the line of humanity and simply will not be tolerated. There's a level of accountability which defines our program, athletics department and East Carolina University, and any conduct which isn't congruent with those values is unwelcome here.

The 21-year-old transferred to ECU before the start of the 2015 season and played a minor rotational role along the Pirates defensive line during his first and only year with the program.

Before that, the former 3-star recruit was dismissed from Georgia Tech in 2014 after violating the school's student-athlete code of conduct. Commissiong then used Iowa Western Community College as a stopgap destination before committing to ECU.

                

Recruit information courtesy of 247Sports.