ECU football: Garcia named starting quarterback

The East Carolina football team named Jake Garcia its starting quarterback, coach Mike Houston announced following Saturday’s preseason scrimmage.

There wasn’t any one moment, Houston said, and he credited the body of work since arriving on campus as the determining factor. Garcia was locked in a positional battle with fellow transfer Katin Houser, who came over from Michigan State.

Garcia, a Missouri transfer, will start the first game of the season when the Pirates host Norfolk State on Aug. 31.

“We pulled the guys in Thursday and told them Jake Garcia would be our starting quarterback,” Houston said of the decision. “Katin handled it with extreme class and character, which you would expect him to. They both have had great preseasons. They both are very capable of going out and playing at a high level. We’re very fortunate to have both of them. We’re going to need both of them. Jake is going to need Katin and Katin is going to need Jake. That competition is going to allow them to keep pushing each other. But we’re pleased with the way that room is playing.”

Both players arrived in the spring and each turned in strong performances in the spring game.

The competition lasted into preseason camp, with each player alternating days working with the first team. Garcia ran with the first team in Saturday’s scrimmage, and Houston shared the news following the workout.

The coach said the decision was based on everything he’s seen since the spring.

“It’s a full body of work,” he said. “It’s a lot of things we took into consideration and it wasn’t just me making the decision. It wasn’t just coach (John David) Baker making the decision. We had a lot of discussions with everybody and Jake Garcia, I feel like, has earned the opportunity to be the starting quarterback.”

Garcia did not play at Missouri last season, but made one start while playing for Miami in 2022. He finished with 803 yards, five touchdowns and four interceptions.

After not finding the field with Missouri, Garcia hit the portal and landed at ECU.

Houser has more recent playing time as he started the final seven games of the season for Michigan State. He threw six touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Pirates are looking to improve on a 2-10 season a year ago and hope that Garcia is the answer at quarterback.

“We’re not where we want to be yet,” Houston said. “We know that we’ve made improvements, but I told the players on the field that we have to be driven for the next two weeks to get ready for that game.”