Two sport Scotland County product Nick Callahan has found his way to East Carolina after a prolific high school career for the Scots.
His senior year, Callahan made 118 tackles, 38 of which were solo stops for an average of over nine stops per game along with three tackles for a loss. He rang up 65 stops with 45 solos as a junior.
Also a career .300 batter in baseball for the Scots, Callahan had two home runs and 15 RBI in his senior season with 15 hits in limited action due to Covid-19.
While he may currently be a preferred walk-on for the Pirates, Callahan knows his way around the football field and hopes to eventually make an impact for the Pirates.
“I came here at the beginning of last season and was supposed to start then but Covid mess all of that up. I just got started again about a month ago,” Callahan told PI, “I’m at middle linebacker right now.”
“I had a few of the little scholarships but my buddy Jason Romero came up here and said he liked it a lot and I just wanted to come try to play D-1. A couple of coaches including (former Pirate defensive backs coach) Brandon Lynch watched my film and said they liked it and they would give me a preferred walk-on spot.
He arrived last fall and when ECU sent everyone home due to the Covid-19 crisis that put a delay in his plans. Then ECU gave students the option to come back and so he says he has been in Greenville for a good while now and he is beginning to stick on the gridiron.
“I’ve just been going to workouts and stuff, putting a little extra work in and trying to get better,” Callahan told PirateIllustrated.com, “I’m trying to learn the defense and stuff right now. I’m not one of the fastest guys so I like reading the play fast and getting to the ball side of the line.”
Callahan continues to get bigger. He says he has put about ten pounds of muscle on since his arrival and should continue to grow.
Stay tuned, Nick Callahan could prove to be a name to watch at linebacker in the future.