Ready to bring his electrifying speed to East Carolina is three-star wide receiver Tavius Horne.
Like most standout players at St. Thomas Aquinas in Florida, 2025 three-star cornerback Tavius Horne had several prominent scholarship offers to consider throughout the recruiting process.
But it started to become apparent in May the Pirates were sticking out above the rest. Cornerbacks coach Jules Montinar led the charge in recruiting Horne consistently.
East Carolina is within 30 days of kickoff, when the Pirates take on Norfolk State inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Aug. 31 to begin the sixth year of the Mike Houston era in Greenville. To count down the days to kickoff, we will be utilizing the Pirates’ football roster to help us, going in numerical order from the highest number on the roster to the lowest.
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McKinley was one of the top players for a powerhouse Lakeland High School program in Florida that went unbeaten in 2022, en route to a state championship with an overall record of 14-0. The three-star defensive back racked up 78 total tackles, four tackles for loss, six interceptions and 15 pass breakups his junior and senior seasons
. He was originally committed to Toledo, but backed off that pledge, and wound up landing an offer from ECU, and eventually committing to the Pirates. McKinley had other offers from Eastern Michigan, FIU, Illinois, Toledo, Troy, Tulane and USF. McKinley officially visited ECU in December of 2022, and committed a few weeks later. He was rated a three-star prospect by 247Sports, ranking him the 149th-best safety nationally, and the 240th-best player in Florida.
