Kingsley Ifedi

Redshirt freshman Kingley Ifedi during Saturday's game against UNC Chapel Hill.

Last year’s starting quarterback Gardner Minshew was set to start again this season for ECU, mentoring the young quarterbacks behind him on the roster. When Minshew announced a transfer to first Alabama, then eventually Washington State, there was concern over the inexperience of the remaining quarterbacks.

In its 41-19 win over the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Saturday, ECU showed off great play from both starting quarterback Reid Herring and phenom freshman Holton Ahlers. Suddenly, with Kingsley Ifedi’s potential still untapped as well, the quarterback situation at ECU looks pretty good.

Just seeing Ahlers run onto the field in the first quarter elicited cheers from the Pirate fans, and that would be only the beginning of the cheers Ahlers earned throughout his performance. Ahlers’ debut would be a memorable one after scoring two touchdowns.

“Kid's a stud," senior offensive lineman Garrett McGhin said. "Ever since he got here, he's been able to compete. He goes out there and takes command. I don't care if he's a freshman. He goes out there, he knows what he's doing and he takes command of the offense. I'm not surprised at all. I see it every day in practice. Kid's a great kid, a great person on and off the field. He's going to be a special player for us."

Ahlers would energize a running attack that was dormant in the Pirates’ first game. After ECU ran for 68 yards against NC A&T, the Pirates would go for 220 yards on the ground against UNC and four of the five ECU touchdowns came on the run. Darius Pinnix making his season debut certainly aided the run game (as well as his 48 yard touchdown run), but Ahlers’ impact was the biggest.

Ahlers thrived running read option plays as he starred at local D.H. Conley High School and Saturday was more of the same. Ahlers is difficult to bring down and the threat of him keeping the ball took pressure off of the offensive line and allowed bigger running lanes for the running backs. The Pinnix touchdown run was a clear example, as the defense bit on Ahlers despite him handing it off and Pinnix was off to the endzone untouched.

“He (Ahlers) definitely brought a different dynamic,” Herring said. “We had a certain package for him, and he executed very well and scored two times. It was exciting to see him get in there and score, and I know he loved it. It’s a great feeling winning with our guys.”

Ahlers only attempted two passes, but his affect on the running game more than made up for that. Ahlers first scored by jumping over the lineman to score from the one that put ECU ahead 14-13 in the second quarter, and again on a 21 yard run that put ECU ahead 35-19 in the fourth. It was as good of a debut that the locally-raised Ahlers could have hoped for.

"It was unbelievable,” ECU wide receiver Trevon Brown said. “He's a hometown hero. It felt good to get him in there and get him two touchdowns. It was unbelievable for our fans and for our teammates. He's got to build his confidence as a freshman. I had to do it when I was in his shoes and this game built his confidence. Hopefully he can come back every week and keep getting better and better."

Whether Ahlers will come back next week or not has yet to be determined by Scottie Montgomery. NCAA rules allow Ahlers to play in up to four games without using a year of eligibility, so it is certain he will play in at least three other games this season. But with how effective the team played with Ahlers on the field, it will be hard for the Pirates to keep him on the sideline, which is where the untapped potential of Ifedi and his running ability can come in handy.

“We'll let you know here shortly. I thought he did a great job. We really worked with him this week," Montgomery said of Ahlers. "Holton really gave us a boost. His package is much larger than people think. He can throw it really well. But also, Kingsley can do some of the same things. We just wanted to make sure we had our backup quarterback in case anything were to happen to Reid like you saw today, and then have Holton a chance to get going. But we'll continue to work ways to get everybody involved, even if it's Kingsley involved next week."

On top of all of that from the two backup quarterbacks is the jump that starter Herring made from week one to week two. Herring finished 19-for-32 for 290 yards and a touchdown. Herring certainly benefited from the improved running game, as his pass attempts went down from the 61 attempts in his starting debut last week. Most importantly, Herring made no bad mistakes, such as the pick-six interception to the Aggies a week ago that was the difference in the game.

ECU travels to Virginia Tech on Saturday, and fans will find out who gets featured at quarterback behind Herring; Ahlers again, Ifedi or both. Whether it’s Herring, Ifedi or Ahlers on the field at quarterback for the Pirates, fans have reason to be optimistic about the future for now.

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