Over the weekend, East Carolina (unofficially) added a couple of Power Five components to its Group of Five roster.
Tyshon Dye, long considered a heavy lean to transfer from Clemson to Miami, instead surprised many (most?) observers by opting to continue his collegiate playing career at ECU. 247Sports.com first reported the move, with TigerNet.com, among others, subsequently confirming the initial news.
As the running back will be leaving the defending national champions as a graduate transfer, he’ll be eligible to play immediately for the Pirates in 2017.
A four-star member of the Tigers’ 2014 recruiting class, Dye (pictured) was rated as the No. 14 running back in the country. The Georgia high schooler chose Clemson over offers from, among others, Auburn, Georgia, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Tennessee and USC.
After running for what turned out to be a career-high 151 yards as a true freshman, he ran for 91 in 2015. Dye’s 109 yards during the Tigers’ run to the title this past season was tied for sixth on the team.
In mid-January, not long after Clemson beat Alabama for the title, Dye decided to transfer out of the program for his senior season.
In addition to Dye, Gaelin Moore has decided to move on from Minnesota to ECU as well. The defensive end made his announcement on his personal Twitter account.Issa Pirate ☠️ #PIRATES #NoQuarters #ECUndaunted pic.twitter.com/u5m2M5grES
— Gaelin Elmore (@GIVE_87) May 6, 2017
Moore opted for Minnesota over opportunities that included, among others, Arizona and South Carolina.
The 6-6, 275-pound lineman played in 38 games the past three seasons. He started nine of those contests, with six of the starts coming last season.
Like his new teammate Dye, he’ll be eligible to play in 2017 as a graduate transfer.