By Missy Grimes

PRESS CONFERENCE

https://www.youtube.com/live/6guF7_jlSIg

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Blake Harrell has been named the 23rd head football coach at East Carolina University according to an announcement Wednesday by ECU Director of Athletics Jon Gilbert.

“We are excited to announce Blake Harrell as the next head coach of the ECU Football program,” Gilbert said. “I am confident Blake is the ideal fit to lead our program. We could not be more excited for Blake, his wife Jessie, and their three girls Kennedy, Kingston, and Aspen. Over the last four regular season games, I asked Blake to support our student-athletes in an interim role, and he excelled in that job in all areas. He clearly demonstrated his dedication to our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, and we all witnessed his contagious energy and enthusiasm for the job. His leadership, communication skills, strong rapport with our players, and a commitment to building a championship program make him an excellent fit.

“Over the last several weeks, Blake laid out a detailed vision of his approach in leading this program. There’s no doubt we will play an aggressive and exciting brand of football and will build a roster that will strive for excellence on and off the field. I am looking forward to working with Blake as we successfully navigate the evolving landscape of college athletics with Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) prevalent and the addition of revenue sharing being instituted soon.”

Harrell, the program’s interim head coach since Oct. 20 and the squad’s defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach since his initial hire in January of 2020, has led the Pirates (7-4, 5-2 AAC) to four consecutive wins over Temple, Florida Atlantic, Tulsa and North Texas and has helped ECU secure bowl eligibility for the third time in the last four seasons (2021/Military, 2022/Birmingham). Over the last four games, the Pirates have scored 183 points and 2,140 yards of total offense.

“This is a tremendous honor to lead the East Carolina Football program,” Harrell said. “I would like to thank Chancellor (Philip) Rogers, Athletic Director Jon Gilbert, and members of the East Carolina Board of Trustees for this opportunity.

“Pirate Nation is second to none and our family is fortunate to call Greenville home. The passion everyone has for East Carolina athletics can be seen daily. We look forward to continuing our journey with this team and are excited about playing inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium this weekend and recognizing our senior class.”

A 2021 Broyles Award Nominee, Harrell has spearheaded a turnaround for a Pirate defensive unit that surrendered just 27.3 points per game from 2020-23 – East Carolina’s best four-year total since 2012-15. He has mentored eight All-American Athletic Conference Team selections as well as 2022 All-American Ja’Quan McMillian during his time in Greenville.

Before accepting his position on the East Carolina coaching staff, Harrell spent one season (2019) as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Kennesaw State, helping lead the Owls to an 11-3 mark, a second round Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) Playoff showing and a final No. 8 national rank in the AFCA Coaches’ Poll.

Under his leadership, the KSU defense topped the Big South Conference in 10 statistical categories and established four school records. Kennesaw State also ranked among the best at the FCS level, standing third in total defense (278.7), fifth in rush defense (88.9), 10th in scoring defense (18.7), 11th in tackles for loss (104), 13th in turnovers forced (25), 15th in fumbles recovered (12) and 17th in third-down defense (33.0 percent).

He directly tutored junior linebacker Bryson Armstrong, who was a five-time All-America selection and the Big South Defensive Player-of-the-Year after recording 95 tackles and 12.0 TFLs. Armstrong was also one of four Owl defenders to earn all-league honors.

Prior to his appointment at KSU, Harrell spent five campaigns at The Citadel – the last three as defensive coordinator and linebackers’ coach. His stout defenses sparked the Bulldogs to back-to-back Southern Conference championships and a No. 6 overall seed in the FCS Playoffs during the 2016 season. He developed some of the most dynamic players in the SoCon during his five-year tenure in Charleston as the program embarked on its most successful run in school history.

The Citadel held five opponents to less than 100 rushing yards during the 2018 campaign and led the SoCon in first down defense, ranking 35th nationally. Perhaps the biggest highlight of the campaign came on Nov. 17 when the Bulldogs limited No. 1 Alabama to just 10 first-half points at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Tide’s lowest halftime total of the year.

Harrell’s units consistently created takeaways during his time at The Citadel, racking up 83 in the last four years – including 31 during Houston’s last season as head coach in 2015 to rank No. 3 in the country. His teams forced at least 17 turnovers in each of the last four seasons, an average of nearly two per game during the stretch.

The Citadel boasted one of the top defenses in the SoCon during the 2017 season, finishing league play with the No. 1 scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense. In 2016, the Bulldog defense was the cornerstone of a team that rolled off a program-record 10-game winning streak, a single-season school-record six road victories and a No. 6 national postseason seed.

Harrell worked seven years at Lenoir-Rhyne University and handled a myriad of responsibilities such as defensive run game coordinator, special teams coordinator, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator from 2007 to 2013.

In his final season at LR, Harrell helped the Bears reach the NCAA Division II National Championship Game, establish a school record with 13 wins and earn a final No. 2 national rank. Defensively, Lenoir-Rhyne led the South Atlantic Conference in total defense, rushing defense, quarterback sacks and scoring defense.

Prior to LR, Harrell coached the 2005 and 2006 seasons at Franklin (N.C.) High School where he had oversight of the secondary and added defensive coordinator duties in 2006. Harrell was part of an FHS squad that was 22-4 over those two seasons, and his ’06 defense held opponents to just nine points per game.

Harrell also coached at Fuquay-Varina (N.C.) High School in 2004 and McDowell (N.C.) High School in 2003 after two seasons as a student assistant coach at alma mater Western Carolina in 2001 and 2002. Harrell graduated from Western Carolina with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 2002 before earning an MBA from Lenoir-Rhyne in 2012. He and his wife Jessie are the parents of three daughters – Kennedy, Kingston and Aspen.

COURTESY EAST CAROLINA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS