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ECU legacy commit “It just felt right,” says Bernard Lackey.
Heading into his official visit, Bernard Lackey Jr. had heard stories from his father, Bernard Lackey Sr., about his time at East Carolina University in the mid-1990s. There were plenty of great stories, about life as an ECU football player on and off the field. But still, Lackey Jr. wanted to see for himself what all the fuss was about when he scheduled his official visit to East Carolina in late June.
Suffice to say, it didn’t take long for Lackey to start feeling like East Carolina was also the place for him, just like his father.
East Carolina fans hoping for a resurgence from their favorite football team should take solace that one of college football’s best prognosticators – Phil Steele – believes the Pirates are due for a bounce-back season this fall.
Coming off a surprising 2-10 season under head coach Mike Houston, ECU is expected to bounce back and at least make a bowl game, according to Steele. He has the Pirates finishing fifth in the 14-team American Athletic Conference going into the year.
“Mike Houston got East Carolina to back-to-back bowls in 2021 and 2022, but last year lost their time QB (Holton Ahlers), their 1,452-yard running back Keaton Mitchell and top two wide receivers (C.J. Johnson and Isaiah Winstead), and also went from #18 on my Experience Chart to #121,” Steele wrote. “East Carolina also benefitted from +13 in turnover margin in their 8-5 season. While a step back was expected, 2-10 was not.
“The Pirates were -65 yards per game in AAC play. They did have 4 Net Close Losses and this year take a big jump in the Experience Chart to 79. East Carolina avoids Memphis, Tulane and USF and draw the bottom 3 teams of the AAC. East Carolina rates a +5.5 in my Stock Market Indicator and have a +58 easier schedule, and makes my Most Improved List, so I expect a bowl.”
UTSA, Tulane, Memphis and USF are ranked ahead of ECU by Steele in his predicted order of finish. FAU, North Texas, UAB, Rice and Army round out the Top 10 of the AAC.
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