Passer Rating vs EPA: Which Tells You More?
Why we rank quarterbacks by EPA per dropback, and what passer rating still gets right.
Read Article →East Carolina Pirates Quarterbacks and Receivers
American Athletic. Starting quarterbacks by year: 2026: Mitch Griffis, Emory Williams; 2025: Katin Houser; 2024: Katin Houser, Jake Garcia, Anthony Smith; 2023: Alex Flinn, Mason Garcia.
East Carolina Starting Quarterbacks and Receivers by Season
| Season | Quarterbacks (starts) | Top receivers (targets) | Pass Yds | TD-INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Mitch Griffis (3), Emory Williams (1) | Ray Ray Joseph Jr. 29, Jeremiah Melvin 17, Tyler Johnson 13 | 824 | 7-3 |
| 2025 | Katin Houser (12) | Anthony Smith 95, Brock Spalding 61, Yannick Smith 55 | 3,582 | 22-7 |
| 2024 | Katin Houser (6), Jake Garcia (5), Anthony Smith (1) | Winston Wright Jr. 52, Anthony Smith 41, Chase Sowell 35 | 3,225 | 26-15 |
| 2023 | Alex Flinn (9), Mason Garcia (3) | Chase Sowell 58, Jaylen Johnson 57, Jsi Hatfield 36 | 2,001 | 7-14 |
| 2022 | Holton Ahlers (11) | Isaiah Winstead 65, C.J. Johnson 50, Ryan Jones 31 | 3,441 | 23-5 |
| 2021 | Holton Ahlers (11), Tyler Snead (1) | Tyler Snead 78, Audie Omotosho 58, C.J. Johnson 47 | 3,181 | 21-11 |
| 2020 | Holton Ahlers (7), Mason Garcia (1) | Tyler Snead 69, Blake Proehl 58, C.J. Johnson 42 | 1,886 | 16-9 |
| 2019 | Holton Ahlers (12) | C.J. Johnson 91, Tyler Snead 86, Blake Proehl 82 | 3,503 | 22-10 |
| 2018 | Reid Herring (7), Holton Ahlers (5) | Trevon Brown 162, Deondre Farrier 46, Blake Proehl 41 | 3,472 | 18-14 |
| 2017 | Thomas Sirk (7), Gardner Minshew (5) | Trevon Brown 100, Davon Grayson 84, Quay Johnson 69 | 3,797 | 26-16 |
| 2016 | Philip Nelson (10), Gardner Minshew (2) | Zay Jones 215, Jimmy Williams 82, Quay Johnson 72 | 3,987 | 26-11 |
| 2015 | Blake Kemp (8), James Summers (4) | Isaiah Jones 121, Bryce Williams 75, Trevon Brown 59 | 3,288 | 21-12 |
| 2014 | Shane Carden (12) | Justin Hardy 146, Isaiah Jones 99, Cam Worthy 75 | 4,405 | 29-9 |
| 2013 | Shane Carden (12) | Justin Hardy 124, Isaiah Jones 61, Vintavious Cooper 46 | 3,784 | 33-10 |
| 2012 | Shane Carden (9), Rio Johnson (2) | Justin Hardy 102, Andrew Bodenheimer 37, Danny Webster 37 | 3,081 | 21-13 |
| 2011 | Dominique Davis (12) | Justin Hardy 89, Lance Lewis 73, Andrew Bodenheimer 61 | 3,410 | 24-19 |
College starts are inferred: the team's first passer in each game.
2026 East Carolina Target Tree
| Player | Pos | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Ray Joseph Jr. | WR | 29 | 19 | 199 | 0 |
| Jeremiah Melvin | WR | 17 | 11 | 154 | 1 |
| Tyler Johnson | WR | 13 | 4 | 86 | 0 |
| Michael Allen | RB | 8 | 7 | 28 | 1 |
| Ismael Smith Flores | TE | 7 | 6 | 48 | 0 |
| Ja'Keith Hamilton | WR | 6 | 5 | 56 | 2 |
| Jason Dickerson | WR | 5 | 4 | 73 | 1 |
| Dillon Lorick | WR | 4 | 3 | 87 | 0 |
| TJ Engleman Jr. | RB | 3 | 2 | 33 | 1 |
| Landon Sides | WR | 2 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
| Dawson Quarterman | WR | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
| Ashton Gray | RB | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 |
2026 East Carolina Games
| Week | Opponent | Result | Quarterback | Cmp-Att | Yds | TD | INT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | at ALA | L 10-48 | Mitch Griffis | 11-19 | 160 | 1 | 1 |
| Week 2 | vs APP | L 24-27 | Mitch Griffis | 21-38 | 230 | 2 | 1 |
| Week 3 | at ODU | W 20-17 | Mitch Griffis | 10-20 | 102 | 1 | 0 |
| Week 4 | vs north carolina central | W 42-9 | Emory Williams | 25-37 | 332 | 3 | 1 |
2026 East Carolina Connections
| QB → Receiver | Tgt | Cmp | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Griffis → Jeremiah Melvin | 16 | 10 | 131 | 1 |
| Emory Williams → Ray Ray Joseph Jr. | 15 | 11 | 153 | 0 |
| Mitch Griffis → Ray Ray Joseph Jr. | 14 | 8 | 46 | 0 |
| Mitch Griffis → Tyler Johnson | 9 | 4 | 86 | 0 |
| Mitch Griffis → Ismael Smith Flores | 5 | 4 | 28 | 0 |
| Mitch Griffis → Ja'Keith Hamilton | 5 | 3 | 27 | 1 |
QBS BLOG · PASSING QUESTIONS · MINDSET
All Posts →Understanding the Throw.
What the box score cannot tell you about the people behind the pass.
What CPOE Means, and How ACE Builds on It
Completion percentage over expected gives credit for difficult completions. Here is how ACE measures it.
Read Article →Why Sacks Belong Partly to the Quarterback
A sack is the rush, the line and the decision. Why our dropback stats count them.
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Learn the break down of ten mind-body recovery tools, each backed by science, including how and when to use them to perform at your peak.