ECU sophomore Holton Ahlers will start at quarterback against NC State

Holton Ahlers won the quarterback competition, such as it was, over Reid Herring, who started against NC State last season. (Ahlers was out with an injury.) This is disappointing news, as Herring is wildly popular in Raleigh after going 8-22 for 69 yards and an interception against the Pack last December.

(At this point I would like to get out in front of things and apologize to PirateWolf for the jokes about last year’s game that I will make all of next week.)

Ahlers was obviously the better QB of the two in 2018 despite completing less than half of his pass attempts. He threw only three interceptions in 263 pass attempts, compared to 10 in 288 for Herring. He averaged more yards per attempt than Herring and had the better passer rating.

Ahlers also ran for 592 yards, while Herring is not in any sense a dual-threat quarterback. (Unless you count his ability to threaten his team with interceptions.)

So it’s going to be a different look for NC State’s defense to manage in the re-match. Fortunately, there’s plenty of film from last year to review, and State should have a good idea of what he can and can’t do.