Jaylen Johnson makes East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List

East Carolina senior receiver Jaylen Johnson has made the East-West Shrine Bowl Watch List, released this week. He’s the lone representative from a Pirate roster that heads into the season with a lot of new faces, at least to people outside the program.

The East-West Shrine Bowl released its list of 1,000 players with the following synopsis on its website: “Every year, approximately 1000 all-star game eligible players are drafted, signed after the draft, or attend a rookie mini-camp. Our aim is for this Shrine Bowl 1000 to serve as a look into our scouting process, as well as begin to preview college players who are currently all-star game eligible for the 2024 East-West Shrine Bowl and 2024 NFL Draft class. Putting together this list was extremely challenging for our team, as we scouted players from all four levels of football and consulted with NFL and college personnel to ensure the selection of the best 1000 players for the NFL level.

The East-West Shrine Bowl is a best-in-class all-star event that will take place at the Dallas Cowboys Facility in Frisco, TX on February 1, 2024. Our players will be coached by NFL coaches, in an NFL facility, and will have access to NFL-level resources, facilities, player-friendly schedules, and opportunities at the highest level.”

Johnson is a former transfer from the University of Georgia, where he started as a preferred walk-on from Peachtree Ridge High School in the state of Georgia, before eventually becoming a key special teams player and reserve wide out for the 2021 national champion Bulldogs.

The 6-foot-2, 197-pounder transferred in to ECU last spring as a graduate student, coming in with two years left to play. Johnson had a solid first season with the Pirates, despite dealing with a back injury at times. He played in 10 games total with 340 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 26 catches. He averaged 13.1 yards per catch.

Johnson heads into the 2023 campaign expected to see an increased role for ECU’s offense, especially following the departures of 1,000-yard receivers C.J. Johnson and Isaiah Winstead. Johnson, who played the outside receiver position last season, has been shifted inside to slot receiver this offseason. He practiced there in the spring as the starter and is likely to be a favorite target of whoever wins the quarterback competition between Mason Garcia and Alex Flinn.

The Pirates finished last season 8-5 overall, including a Birmingham Bowl postseason victory over Coastal Carolina, 53-29, in Alabama. Head coach Mike Houston returns for his fifth season at the helm of the program off back to back seven-win regular season campaigns. This year's ECU team has a projected win total of 5.5, per the latest Vegas Sportsbook odds.

ECU is slated to begin its 2023 season at Michigan on Sept. 2 in Ann Arbor, inside The Big House. The Wolverines have 18 players on the Shrine Bowl Watch List.