That’s got to be the best pirate I’ve ever seen.
– Officer, Pirates of the Caribbean
ECU PIRATES
QB Katin Houser, the former Michigan Spartan, was a pleasant surprise last season when he took over starting duties at ECU in October. Save for an unusual performance vs. NC State; his rushing usage is limited. In most games last year, he finished with either negative or less than 20 rushing yards.
The fact that he was able to run successfully vs. a P4 opponent—albeit in a bowl game where players probably weren’t fully engaged—suggests that that component of his game could be leveraged more in 2025. For now, I’ll assume that it won’t be based on the totality of his performance in 2024.
Houser’s first game of major action last year was a disaster vs. UNCC, but then he rattled off three straight games of strong performances (30, 28, and 44 points in four-point passing TD formats). His final four games of the season were closer to his end-of-year average, around 19 PPG. Overall, I’d classify Houser’s first year as very inconsistent. He had multiple five passing TD games, and he had multiple games of less than 20 points total.
Another year in John David Baker’s offensive scheme should theoretically provide improvement. The schedule is also tepid once again in 2025, which helps. I’m encouraged by the fact that we’ve seen many QBs over the years in CFF improve dramatically from their first to second year of starting (one example of this is Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, who will be discussed later in the series). Hopefully, that’s the case with Houser.
At RB, London Montgomery is a former PSU transfer and is expected to ascend into a larger role in 2025. He didn’t play much last season for the Pirates, so he’s somewhat of a question mark. But there will be plenty of opportunities here as the two lead runners last year move on. Montgomery was not used much as a receiver in 2024, so it seems doubtful he’ll be soaking up targets next season.
At WR, things become interesting, in my opinion. I’ve already written about rising sophomore Yannick Smith this offseason. He is joined by returning receiver Anthony Smith and OU transfer Jacquez Pettaway. Pettaway was a highly ranked four-star prospect out of high school in Texas. Anthony Smith is the most productive returning receiver, and at 6’3″, he and Yannick will be on the boundary. Anthony had five games of 80+ yards and four games of 15+ points in PPR formats last season.
While Baker, the OC, has a limited history of play calling, he has had solidly productive WRs in each of his three seasons as a coordinator. Malik Heath and Tre Harris were standouts at Ole Miss while Baker was there, and last season, Chase Sowell, Winston Wright, and Anthony Smith all had good, but not great, seasons.
I’d expect that in 2025, at least two WRs will average around 13-15 PPG in PPR formats. We know both of the Smiths fit in this offense and have already established chemistry with Houser, so they’d be the two safe bets. Pettaway is a wildcard, as he’s probably the most talented athlete of the group, but we don’t know how he’ll fit in his new program.
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