Holton Ahlers

Ahlers was a consensus three-star recruit among the major recruiting databases. He was recruited by many colleges including: Colorado State, Minnesota, NC State, and West Virginia before on January 30, 2017, he committed to East Carolina.[12]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Holton Ahlers QB	Greenville, North Carolina	D.H. Conley High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Jan 30, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:   247Sports: 543
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

In 2018, Ahlers played in ten games and started five. He did not play against North Carolina A&T in the season opener, but made his college football debut in week two against North Carolina. He would attempt one pass which was incomplete but was a large contributor on the ground. He ran eight times for 36 yards and two touchdowns, the first of which coming in the second quarter to give the Pirates the lead of the Tar Heels.[13] His second came early in the fourth as the game was already out of reach for North Carolina, East Carolina went on to win 41–19. The team's game against Virginia Tech was canceled and he played sparingly against South Florida, Old Dominion, and Temple.[14] Against Houston, after starter Reid Herring and backup Kingsley Ifedi were benched due to poor play, Ahlers came in while down 35–6 early in the fourth. Despite being down big against D'Eriq King, Ahlers led East Carolina to two scoring drives, both of which touchdowns by him, as he finished the game eleven of eighteen for 137 yards and a touchdown alongside being the team's leading rusher with 45 yards on five attempts and a touchdown.[15] He would earn his first career start against UCF the next week. Despite losing 10–37, he would play the entire game going 29 of 53 for 406 yards and a touchdown and interceptions.[16] He started the following four weeks against Memphis, Tulane, UConn, and Cincinnati. Against Memphis, even though he lost 41–59, Ahlers had three touchdown passes and scored the most points of the season to that point since week two against North Carolina.[17] After losing to Tulane 18–24 the next week,[18] he would lead the team to its third and final win on the season against UConn. Against the Huskies he went 22 of 31 for 242 yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He added 130 rushing yards and another touchdown on twelve carries.[19] He finished the year off with a 6–56 loss to Cincinnati in which he left the game early with an injury to his knee and non-throwing hand which caused him to also miss the final game of the season against NC State.[20][21][22]

In 2019, Ahlers started all twelve games for the Pirates after winning the starting job over the offseason.[23] He finished the season with 3,387 yards and 21 touchdowns. In the season-opener against NC State he would finish the game 22 of 39 for 168 yards and an interception before being pulled in favor of Reid late in the game.[24] In the team's home-opener against Gardner–Webb the next week they would get their first win on the season. Ahlers went eighteen of 29 for 195 yards and one interception and touchdown. They would win 48–9 as he also tallied two rushing touchdowns and 85 yards on the ground.[25] He would struggle against Navy in a 10–42 loss before winning back-to-back against William & Mary and Old Dominion.[26] They would go on to lose to Temple, UCF, South Florida, Cincinnati, and SMU before bouncing back against UConn.[27] In the game against Cincinnati he set an East Carolina record for passing yards and total yards in a game with 535 and 556 respectively.[28] Despite also throwing for four touchdowns, a late surge by Desmond Ridder and eighteen points in the fourth quarter by the Bearcats caused the Pirates to fall 43–46.[29] His 535 yards passing is only third to Anthony Gordon's record of 606 and 570.[10] The next week against SMU he once again set an East Carolina record as he threw for six touchdowns. On top of throwing for a record six scores he also completed 32 of 42 passes for 498 yards while scoring 51 total points. Even with his offensive excellence it was not good enough to best Shane Buechele who had five touchdown passes as they would lose 51–59 against the Mustangs.[30] East Carolina won their final and fourth game on the season the following week against UConn. Against the Huskies he went 34 for fifty for 374 yards and one touchdown alongside two interceptions. On the ground he also tallied 22 yards and a touchdown to help lead the Pirates to a 31–24 win.[31] The team could not continue the momentum as they dropped the season finale against Tulsa 24–49.[32]

In 2020, due to COVID-19 the team's first three games against Marshall,[33] South Carolina,[34] and Norfolk State were all canceled.[35] Ahler started eight of nine games missing only the game against Navy due to COVID-19 protocol. On the season he finished with 1,921 yards and eighteen touchdowns. He was named to the Manning Award and Wuerffel Trophy watch lists.[36][37] By Athlon Sports he was a Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC selection.[38] The team's home, and season, opener against No. 13 UCF was a 28–51 loss.[39] Against the Knights he finished fourteen of 29 for 215 yards and three touchdowns, but the team's defense could not stop Dillon Gabriel as he threw for four touchdowns and over 400 yards.[40] After losing to Georgia State 29–49,[41] the team bounced back against South Florida. In that game he threw for 222 yards on seventeen completions in 26 attempts and three touchdowns.[42] The team would lose four-straight against Navy, the game in which Ahlers missed due to COVID-19,[43] Tulsa, Tulane, and Cincinnati.[44] In his return from COVID-19 he threw for 330 yards on 38 completions in fifty attempts alongside three touchdowns as the team narrowly lost 30–34.[45][46] In the second-to-last game of the season against Temple, Ahlers led the Pirates past Temple with two touchdowns through the air while tallying another on the ground.[47] To finish off the season he had one of his best performances of the season against SMU. He went twenty of 29 for 298 yards and four touchdowns. The team outscored the Mustangs 52–38 in the winning effort to finish the season with three wins.[48]

In 2021, Ahlers started all twelve games, finishing the season with eighteen touchdowns and 3,126 passing yards. He was named to the Third-Team Preseason All-AAC pick by Phil Steele's College Football Preview and a Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC selection once again by Athlon Sports.[49][50] During the season he became one of four active FBS quarterbacks with 10,000 career passing yards and 1,000 career rushing yards.[10] He was named to the 2021 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl Big Board watch list while also being on the midseason watch list for the Davey O'Brien Award.[51][52] Ahlers started the season off going 22 of 40 for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception against Appalachian State as they lost 19–33 to the Mountaineers.[53] After going up 14–0 against South Carolina, a 65-yard pick 6 thrown by Ahlers brought the Gamecocks back into the game with a minute left in the first half. In the second half the offense could only manage a field goal which lead to the 17–20 loss.[54] In the rivalry game against Marshall, East Carolina got their first win of the season. He threw for 368 yards and two touchdowns while also scoring another touchdown with his legs. The Pirates bested the Thundering Herd 42–38.[55] After winning back-to-back against Charleston Southern and a 52-point performance against Tulane, East Carolina dropped back-to-back games against UCF and Houston.[56] Against Houston, Ahlers and the Cougars were tied heading into overtime. In overtime, Houston scored first and East Carolina would get the opportunity to match, but a fumble caused on the second offensive play for the Pirates caused them to lose in heart-breaking fashion.[57] The team would then win four-straight games.[56] Against South Florida, Ahlers threw for four touchdowns and against Navy he threw three before struggling against Memphis despite the win with two interceptions.[58][59][60] He would bounce back against Temple and have another three touchdown performance.[61] He would be bested once again by Ridder and Cincinnati as they lost their last regular season game 13–35.[62] The team finished the season with a 7–5 record, their best with Ahlers under center, and earned a bid in the Military Bowl against Boston College. The game was ultimately canceled due to COVID-19.[63][64]

In 2022, Ahlers started all thirteen games leading the Pirates to a career-best eight wins and their first bowl win since 2014. Prior to the season he was once again named to the Wuerffel Trophy watch list,[65] but was also on the watch list for the Golden Arm Award,[66] Davey O'Brien Award,[67] and the Reese's Senior Bowl.[68] For the third-straight year he was named Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC team by Athlon Sports.[69] He finished his career as the lone active quarterback with 13,000 career passing yards.[10] In the season-opener, Ahlers could not get over the hump of No. 13 NC State as he threw two interceptions and two touchdowns in a narrow 20–21 loss. With five seconds left, East Carolina kicker Owen Daffer missed a would-be game winner from 41 yards.[70] He went 25 of 39 for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Old Dominion,[71] and the next week he was a surgical seventeen of twenty for 263 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Campbell.[72] Against Navy, both teams were tied at seventeen going into overtime and East Carolina started with the ball first. Ahlers led the Pirates close enough for a 26-yard field goal to put them up 20–17. Navy would respond with a field goal of their own on back-to-back overtime possessions to go up 20–23. After three-straight incompletions by Ahlers, East Carolina kicker Daffer misses another game-winning kick, this time from 37 yards.[73] The team would bounce back against South Florida as he threw for a tied career-high and team-record six touchdowns.[74] Following the record-tying performance against the Bulls he struggled against Tulane and lost 9–24.[75] In fourth overtime against Memphis, a failed two-point attempt by Seth Henigan caused the Pirates to win 47–45.[76] Ahlers led East Carolina past UCF and BYU before being stumped by Cincinnati and Houston.[77] Despite a five touchdown performance by Temple quarterback E.J. Warner, Ahlers' three touchdown passes, including the game winning strike with a minute left, were good enough to etch past the Owls 49–46.[78] East Carolina finished the regular season 7–5 and earned a bid in the Birmingham Bowl against Coastal Carolina.[79] Against the Chanticleers, and in Ahlers final career game, he threw for 300 yards on 26 completions in 38 attempts alongside five touchdowns. His five passing touchdowns was a Birmingham Bowl record, but as he tallied on another touchdown on the ground, his total of six touchdowns were also a bowl record. The Pirates won 53–29.[80][81]

Following the 2022 season, Ahlers was named to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl American Team. During the game he went nine of twelve for 189 yards and a touchdown.[82] His performance was good enough for a 19–17 win over the National Team and the honors of the game's MVP.[83] He was also invited to the 2023 Hula Bowl where he played for Team Kai. He would throw a touchdown to Michael Ezeike to put Team Kai up 10–3 and the team held onto the lead to win 16–13. Ahlers performance won him the game's MVP.[84][85]

Career records:[10]

• Passing yards: 13,933
• Total offensive yards: 15,373
• Passing touchdowns: 97
• Touchdowns responsible for: 122
• Completions: 1,127
• Pass attempts: 1,857
• Rushing touchdowns by a quarterback: 25

Single season records:

• Passing efficiency rating: 151.1 (2022)

Single game records:

• Passing yards: 535 (2019 vs. Cincinnati)
• Touchdown passes: 6 (2019 vs. SMU; 2022 vs. South Florida)
• Total yards: 556 (2019 vs. Cincinnati)

Career records:[10]

• Total plays: 2,326
• Total offensive yards: 15,373
• Completions: 1,127
• Pass attempts: 1,857
• Passing yards: 13,933
• Touchdowns responsible for: 122

Birmingham Bowl records:

• Touchdown passes: 5 (2022)
• Touchdowns responsible for: 6 (2022)