A viral highlight reel helped get an undrafted NFL player signed by the 49ers

This NFL player used a highlight reel to get the attention of the San Francisco 49ers.

New San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Isaiah Winstead took it upon himself to advertise his skills after he went undrafted.

The former East Carolina receiver didn’t get selected during the 2023 NFL Draft and wasn’t able to land an undrafted free agent deal or rookie minicamp invitation.

That’s a tough spot for any football player to be in as they try to get their NFL career started. However, Winstead got proactive and posted a video on his Twitter page of his impressive receiving abilities.

The video immediately went viral, racking up 4.6 million watches on Twitter as of Thursday afternoon.

Some NSFW language to follow.

Well, Winstead’s strategy worked, as he was shortly scooped up by the 49ers after his highlight reel went viral.

Winstead will now head out to the Bay to start his professional career, just days after he wasn’t sure if his professional football career would take flight.

It’s a wonder what one Twitter video can do to get your name out there.

East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened, What It All Means

East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29: TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl what happened, player of the game, and what it all means

East Carolina beat Coastal Carolina 53-29 to win the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. What happened, who was the player of the game, and what does it all mean?


East Carolina 53, Coastal Carolina 29 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened, Player of the Game, What It All Means

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TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What Happened

– Holton Ahlers threw five touchdown passes, the offense exploded with 21 straight points as part of a 35-7 run to put the game away by the end of the third quarter. Ahlers spread the wealth around with Isaiah Winstead coming up with two scoring grabs.

– Coastal Carolina was missing a slew of players along with head coach Jamey Chadwell, but it took a 14-10 lead and appeared to be in it until QB Grayson McCall was knocked out of the game in the second quarter. He completed 10-of-12 passes for 67 yards and ran for a touchdown before leaving the game.

Jarrett Guest filled in for McCall and threw two touchdown passes, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep up with Ahlers and the East Carolina offense. The Pirates outgained the Chanticleers 486 yards to 337.

100 Best Bowl Players | Ranking How Good the Bowls Were

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Player of the Game

Holton Ahlers, QB East Carolina 
He completed 26-of-38 passes for 300 yards and five scores, and ran seven times for 48 yards and a touchdown.

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TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Fun Stats

– The two teams combined for 22 penalties or 228 yards. Both were flagged 11 times.

– Coastal Carolina turned it over three times. East Carolina didn’t turn it over.

– Keaton Mitchell ran 22 times for 127 yards and a score for East Carolina.

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl What It All Means

East Carolina was supposed to win this, but it was still impressive how it rose to the moment and came through. There were way too many penalties, and it wasn’t always smooth, but it was a good way to close out a season that got rocky in the finishing kick.

Not only was it the first bowl win under head coach Mike Houston in his four years, it was the first appearance. It was the first bowl game for the program since 2014, the first bowl win since 2013, and just the second bowl win since 2007. Yeah, it was a big deal.

It’s going to be lost in the wash that Coastal Carolina was 6-0 and then 9-1 with big things on the table. The defense went bye-bye, it allowed 45 points or more over the last three games, and … this was a rough beat. The team lost its head coach, a slew of key players, and Grayson McCall was giving it his all despite being in the transfer portal.

Don’t let this performance ruin an otherwise strong season and great run over the last few years. The program won 31 games over the last four seasons and went to three bowl games.

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2022-2023 Bowl Schedule, Predictions

East Carolina vs. BYU, live stream, preview, TV channel, time, how to watch college football

The East Carolina Pirates will meet the BYU Cougars in Week 9 of the college football season on Friday night a Lavell Edwards Stadium. 

The East Carolina Pirates will meet the BYU Cougars in Week 9 of the college football season on Friday night a Lavell Edwards Stadium.

East Carolina comes into tonight’s game on a hot streak while having won five of their last seven games as they hit the road on Friday. Meanwhile, BYU is looking to snap a three-game losing streak and look to improve to 5-4 with a win tonight at home.

This will be a great night of college football, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action.

East Carolina vs. BYU

  • When: Friday, October 28
  • Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN2
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch College Football this season

fuboTV has complete NCAA college football coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN) as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNU, Pac12, and more. fuboTV includes every network you need to watch every college football game in your market.
fuboTV is available on your phone, tablet, desktop, TV, and connected TV devices including Roku. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV plus many more.
*Regional Restrictions Apply*

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were updated at 2:40 p.m. ET on Saturday.

East Carolina vs. BYU (-3.5) 

O/U: 63.5

Want some action on college football? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO & NJ.

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Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama football / Auburn football / Arkansas footballFlorida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Iowa footballMichigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Oregon football / North Carolina football / Nebraska footballPenn State footballColorado football / Clemson football / Rutgers footballTennessee football / Texas football / Texas A&M footballUSC football / Wisconsin football

NC State vs. East Carolina, live stream, preview, TV channel, time, how to watch college football

The NC State Wolfpack will meet the East Carolina Pirates in Week 1 of the college football season on Saturday afternoon.

The NC State Wolfpack will meet the East Carolina Pirates in Week 1 of the college football season on Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

NC State finished the year with a 9-3 record and picked up second in the ACC just behind Wake Forest. They will get Devin Leary back at QB this season and will expect great things from him again. Meanwhile, East Carolina is coming off a 7-5 record as they look to improve this season and they will have an upset on their minds going into today’s game.

This will be a great opening week of college football, here is everything you need to know to watch and stream the action on Saturday.

#13 NC State at East Carolina

  • When: Saturday, September 3
  • Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
  • TV Channel: ESPN
  • Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)

How to watch College Football this season

fuboTV has complete NCAA college football coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN) as well as ACC Network, Big 10 Network, ESPNU, Pac12, and more. fuboTV includes every network you need to watch every college football game in your market.
fuboTV is available on your phone, tablet, desktop, TV, and connected TV devices including Roku. Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV plus many more.
*Regional Restrictions Apply*

NCAA Football Odds and Betting Lines

NCAA odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook. Odds were updated at 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.

NC State at East Carolina (-12.5)

O/U: 51.5

Want some action on college football? Place your legal sports bets on this game or others in CO & NJ.

We recommend interesting sports viewing/streaming and betting opportunities. If you sign up for a service by clicking one of the links, we may earn a referral fee.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.


Additional college football coverage from USA TODAY Sports Media Group:

Alabama football / Auburn football / Arkansas footballFlorida football / Georgia football / LSU football / Iowa footballMichigan football / Michigan State football / Notre Dame football / Ohio State football / Oklahoma football / Oregon football / North Carolina football / Nebraska footballPenn State footballColorado football / Clemson football / Rutgers footballTennessee football / Texas football / Texas A&M footballUSC football / Wisconsin football

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

East Carolina College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the East Carolina season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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East Carolina Pirates Preview
Head Coach: Mike Houston, 3rd year at East Carolina, 14-19
12th year overall, 94-44, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 7-5, Conference: 5-3
Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
East Carolina Top 10 Players | East Carolina Schedule

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022

East Carolina was fun.

It was the first winning season since 2014, the seven wins were as many as the first two years in the Mike Houston era, and the program was going bowling again only to see the game get canceled.

The offense was strong, the defense wasn’t totally miserable, and the team did exactly what it had to in a stepping-stone season – it beat the teams it was supposed to. Now the next step is to start beating the better ones.

It was a weekly thrill ride with seven games decided by a touchdown or less before the battle with Cincinnati that – for a while – was closer than the 35-13 final score.

It’ll take some patching to get the offense up to speed, but the defense has experience, the key backups from last year should be ready to shine, and with what’s coming soon in the American Athletic Conference, this is the year for the program to reposition itself as the future star of the league.

For now, just getting bowl eligible again would be good enough.

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022: Offense

The Pirate offense was better than it’s been in a while, but it still has to be a whole lot better in pass protection and it could stand to be a tad more explosive.

The yards were there, and few teams were better at scoring after getting in the red zone, but the receiving corps has to be redone, the line needs to be stronger, and – more on this in the Keys section – the running game has to be good every time out.

The passing game will be fine. QB Holton Ahlers is a longtime veteran quarterback who knows what he’s doing – he’ll throw for at least 200 yards every time out – and the receiving corps should be fine.

Tyler Snead took off early, but CJ Johnson is a dangerous deep threat and Ryan Jones is a nice tight end who caught 37 passes and five scores. Like last year, Ahlers will spread the ball around.

The line will at least be experienced. Now it has to block a pass rusher. Too many teams lived rent free in the backfield, but there’s a decent base of starters returning, West Virginia’s Parker Moorer should find a spot at left tackle, and overall the front five will be better.

The Pirates went way young in the running back rotation. Ahlers will take off and add yards, too, but the combination of sophomore backs Keaton Mitchell and the more thumping Rahjai Harris should once again push for well past 1,500 yards. Getting North Carolina transfer Kamarro Edmonds is going to be a big deal at some point.

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022: Defense

The defense was okay. Don’t blow that off as any sort of dismissive thing – 2015 was the last time ECU didn’t give up six yards per play. It’s not like it was a brick wall, but the D was at least in the middle of the AAC pack. That’s a massive improvement, and now there’s experience after taking a whole lot of lumps with underclassmen in key spots.

The Pirates used a whole lot of parts, and now it should pay off. All-star LB Bruce Bivens and S Jaquan McMillian are both gone, but they only made 57 and 56 tackles, respectively. Myles Berry is back at one inside linebacker spot, Jeremy Lewis will once again be a key pass rusher from his hybrid spot – however, he only led the team with four sacks – and Xavier Smith is about to play a much bigger role.

The secondary had a nice mix of parts last year. Again, the rotation mattered, and now the safeties should be okay after getting their feet more than wet. Malik Fleming is a veteran all-around corner to build around.

Keys To The Season | Season Prediction, What Will Happen
East Carolina Top 10 Players | East Carolina Schedule

East Carolina Pirates: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

East Carolina Pirates Top 10 Players: College Football Preview 2022

Who are the top 10 East Carolina players going into the 2022 college football season?

East Carolina Pirates Preview 2022: Who are the top 10 players going into the season?


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East Carolina Pirates Preview
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen  | East Carolina Schedule 

East Carolina Football Schedule 2022: 3 Things To Know

East Carolina football schedule. The 2022 schedule with 3 things to know

East Carolina football schedule 2022: Who does East Carolina miss on the American Athletic Conference schedule and what are 3 things to know?


2022 East Carolina Football Schedule

Sept 3 NC State

Sept 10 Old Dominion

Sept 17 Campbell

Sept 24 Navy

Oct 1 at USF

Oct 8 at Tulane

Oct 15 Memphis

Oct 22 UCF

Oct 29 at BYU

Nov 5 OPEN DATE

Oct 11 at Cincinnati

Oct 19 Houston

Nov 26 at Temple

2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

East Carolina Football Schedule What To Know: Who do the Pirates miss from the American Athletic Conference slate?

The Pirates might have to play all of the likely big boys – as in, it has to play the Big 12 defectors Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF – but not having to play SMU isn’t a bad deal and missing Tulsa might be a plus.

Again, though, that means East Carolina has to deal with the big guys, and that includes having to go on the road to face Cincinnati. On the plus side, Houston and UCF have to come to Dowdy-Ficklen.

East Carolina Football Schedule What To Know: That’s one nice start, but …

That’s one bear of a finish.

East Carolina gets four straight home games to start the season, and it’s followed up by road games against USF and Tulane teams that didn’t go bowling last season.

Granted, NC State isn’t a layup, but this program has been able to come up with fun upsets from time to time at home.

If this is going to be any sort of a big year, the win total damage has to be before October 15th because …

East Carolina Football Schedule What To Know: What does it all really mean?

Yeah, Memphis and UCF have to come to Greenville, but neither of those games will be a given. Combine that with the brutal run of at BYU, at Cincinnati, and Houston before closing out at Temple, and three of the final our games are on the road.

That five game stretch before getting the Owls is a problem. However, it’s a manageable enough overall schedule to get to at least six wins.

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

Boston College vs East Carolina: Military Bowl Prediction, Game Preview

Boston College vs East Carolina: Military Bowl prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might or might not win.

Boston College vs East Carolina: Military Bowl prediction, game preview, how to watch: Monday, December 27 


Boston College vs East Carolina: Military Bowl How To Watch

Date: Monday, December 27
Game Time: 2:30 pm ET
Venue: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD
How To Watch: ESPN, Live stream on ESPN+
Records: Boston College (6-6), East Carolina (7-5)

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Boston College vs East Carolina Military Bowl Preview

Boston College already got a big win when QB Phil Jurkovec announced he’s coming back next year. Now the team needs a win to generate a little momentum going into the offseason.

It’s an interesting team coming off a strange year. The defense was amazing at keeping the better passing games in check – the Eagles finished fourth in the nation in pass defense – but there were problems against the run.

And then there’s the offense.

The passing game sputtered when Jurkovec was injured, and just when it seemed like it was bouncing back, it finished the regular season with 19 yards in the loss to Wake Forest.

There was nothing consistent about the Eagles and the ACC’s least-productive offense, and now they’re dealing with a dangerous team that was relatively steady.

East Carolina was deep into the fight with Cincinnati, got a field goal blocked for a touchdown, and that was about it for the regular season. However, the defense was among the best in the nation on third downs, the offense was great at controlling the tempo, and the passing game will keep on pressing.

Can a Boston College offense that failed to score more than 17 points in six of its last eight games keep up the pace if East Carolina gets up early?

Why Boston College, East Carolina Will Win
Prediction, What’s Going To Happen, History
Military Bowl Top Players To Know

NEXT: Why Boston College Will Win, Why East Carolina Will Win, Military Bowl Prediction

Cincinnati vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

Cincinnati vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win this Friday.

Cincinnati vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch: Friday, November 26


Cincinnati vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Friday, November 26
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Dowdy-Ficken Stadium, Greenville, NC
How To Watch: ABC
Record: Cincinnati (11-0), East Carolina (7-4)
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All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Cincinnati vs East Carolina Game Preview


Why Cincinnati Will Win

Now that’s the Cincinnati we’ve all been waiting for over the second half of the season.

SMU isn’t all that great, but it had a great record and a strong offense, and Cincinnati ripped it all apart in a dominant 48-14 win that was even better than the final score.

Now the Bearcats are No. 4 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, they’re getting some measure of respect for being one of three unbeaten teams left in college football, and now the possibility of getting into the tournament really does exist.

However, while the Power Five teams in the CFP mix are all playing monster matchups, anything less than amazing will do – and it’s possible if QB Desmond Ridder continues to play like he has over the last few weeks. For all the concerns and mediocrity at times, the O has kicked it all in with way over 1,000 yards over the last two weeks.

On the other side, the Bearcat defense leads the American Athletic Conference in tackles for loss, the secondary has been a rock, and the takeaways have been coming in key spots. Now it goes against an East Carolina offense that struggles in pass protection and gives the ball away too much.

The Pirate offense turned it over two or more times in five straight games before finally cutting off the mistakes in last week’s win at Navy.

College Football Expert Picks, CFN Week 13

Why East Carolina Will Win

East Carolina expects big things at home when people are paying attention.

It hasn’t always been a rock of a home team, but it pulled off a stunner in a 2016 home win over NC State, destroyed North Carolina in 2018, dominated a decent SMU squad last year, and …

This matters, why, in 2021?

It only seems like QB Holton Ahlers has been around for all of them – he did run for two scores, though, against North Carolina.

The longtime Pirate passer is coming off one of his best games in four years – hitting 85% of his throws for over 400 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Navy. He was fantastic in the 2019 shootout loss to Cincinnati, but was totally miserable in last year’s game.

Playing Cincinnati is hardly new for him.

He’s got the pieces around him to make this work. The Pirates have a running game to control the tempo – they keep the ball for close to 33 minutes – and the defense is good enough on third downs to make up for a slew of other issues.

Just keep getting off the field, feed off the energy of the crowd in this, and hope for Ahlers to use his experience to handle what’s coming.

NFL Expert Picks, CFN Week 12

What’s Going To Happen

SMU was never going to be the problem for Cincinnati.

It was an enough-is-enough moment for the Bearcats, it was Senior Day at home, and it was a game ripe for a blowout. This, though, is dangerous.

The bigger issue is against Houston in the American Athletic Conference Championship, but the Pirates have just the right blend of offensive balance, a defense that can hold serve, and the home side of things to make this interesting.

Cincinnati will come through when it has to.

It’ll get off to a hot start thanks to a few ECU mistakes, but slowly the game will get tighter. Just as it seems like the upset is coming, though, two late scoring drives will keep the dream alive.

Once again, Ridder will be fantastic.

College Football Schedule: Week 13 Predictions, Lines

Cincinnati vs East Carolina Prediction, Lines

Cincinnati 34, East Carolina 27
Line: Cincinnati -14, o/u: 58
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2

Must See Rating: 4

5: The Times and Life of Shawn Carter: Official Video of JAY-Z’s 2021 Rock Hall Induction
1: “Why don’t we have Thanksgiving food the rest of the year?”

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Week 13 Schedule | CFN Expert Picks
Rankings CFPAP | Coaches | CFN 1-130
8 Teams In Playoff ChaseBowl Projections
Bowl Bubble | CFN NFL Expert Picks

Navy vs East Carolina Prediction, Game Preview

Navy vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch, lines, and why each team might – or might not – win this Saturday.

Navy vs East Carolina prediction, game preview, how to watch: Saturday, November 20


Navy vs East Carolina How To Watch

Date: Saturday, November 20
Game Time: 3:30 ET
Venue: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD
How To Watch: CBS Sports Network
Record: Navy (2-7), East Carolina (6-4)
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All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Navy vs East Carolina Game Preview


Why East Carolina Will Win

The East Carolina run defense continues to be stunningly strong.

A disaster a few years ago, and a problem over the last few seasons, the Pirates are doing a great job of holding teams down on the ground, allowing fewer than 200 yards in each of the last seven games.

Overall, the Pirates struggled during the first half of the season and haven’t allowed more than 400 yards of total O over the last five games.

Navy’s offense has to run to win, and it’s not running well. It’s 2-1 when running for over 300 yards, and it’s 0-6 when it doesn’t.

College Football Expert Picks, CFN Week 12

Why Navy Will Win

East Carolina’s D isn’t that good.

Yeah, the run defense is coming up with nice numbers, but it’s not going against a slew of great ground games. Navy still leads the American Athletic Conference in rushing, it dominates the time of possession battle, and it doesn’t make any mistakes to make anything easy.

For all of the good things East Carolina is doing, it turns it over lots and lots and lots of times. The O has given it up 13 times in the last five games and multiple times in the eight games.

Navy needs to be +2 in turnover margin, but …

NFL Expert Picks: CFN Week 11

What’s Going To Happen

East Carolina can control the clock, too.

It’s not going to get destroyed in the time of possession battle – it keeps the ball over 32 minutes per game – with a defense that dominates on third downs.

Navy won’t go on enough long marches, but it’ll score off of two takeaways to stay alive. The Pirates, though, will go into the Cincinnati on a four-game winning streak to keep the momentum going.

College Football Schedule: Week 12 Predictions, Lines

Navy vs East Carolina Prediction, Lines

East Carolina 26, Navy 20
Line: East Carolina -4, o/u: 46.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 3

Must See Rating: 3

5: Tummyache Soak
1: Adele 30

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Rankings CFP | AP | Coaches | CFN 1-130
Bowl Projections | Heisman Race
College Football Playoff Chase, Who’s Alive?
Coach Hot Seat Top 10 | Bowl Bubble: Who’s In, Out