Top Local Recruit Johnny Williams Decommits from East Carolina, Joining Zion Cooley After Coaching Change.
East Carolina’s 2025 recruiting class took another hit this week as Johnny Williams, a highly-touted local recruit from Havelock High School, announced his decommitment. Williams’ decision to reopen his recruitment makes him the second player in ECU’s 2025 class to step back from his commitment following the recent firing of head coach Mike Houston. He joins Edge Zion Cooley, who also opted to decommit in the wake of the coaching changes.
Williams, who initially pledged to the Pirates on June 8 after an official visit, revealed his decision shortly after Havelock wrapped up a successful regular season. The three-star wide receiver expressed gratitude to ECU, the coaching staff, and Pirate Nation for their support throughout his recruitment journey.
"First of all, I just want to thank God for blessing me with this opportunity to be a part of Pirate Nation," Williams said in his decommitment announcement. "I want to say thank you to Pirate Nation for all the love that was shown to me throughout this process. I also want to say thank you to Coach Houston and the coaching staff for giving me a shot at such a young age and believing in me to be the player I am and can be. Thank you Coach Rob for all the support you've shown to me and my family. With that being said, I will be decommitting from East Carolina University and officially opening my recruitment up."- Johnny Willaims on X (@johnnycash252)
Williams played primarily at wide receiver, helping guide the Rams to a 9-1 record. This season, he caught 48 passes for 1,035 yards, averaging 21.6 yards per reception and 103.5 yards per game. His athleticism extended to the running game, as he recorded 42 carries for 451 yards and 16 touchdowns (eight receiving and eight rushing). He even contributed on special teams, scoring on a punt return.
The 5'9.5", 160-pound receiver is ranked as the 202nd-best wide receiver in the nation and the 33rd-best player in North Carolina according to the 247Sports Composite. Williams’ commitment in June was a significant win for ECU, especially given the competitive offers he held from schools like Appalachian State, Boston College, Coastal Carolina, and West Virginia. He was recruited to ECU by wide receivers coach Dyrell Roberts. For now, ECU’s 2025 class has dropped in the national recruiting rankings to around 70th.