ECU Player Throws Jab at Alabama on Social Media, Crimson Tide Athletes Respond

A picture is worth a thousand words, and a now-deleted Instagram post from East Carolina defensive back Derrion Horsley caught the attention of Alabama players.

The Crimson Tide will host the Pirates on Sept. 5 for the 2026 season opener, and Horsley provided some bulletin-board material before taking the post down. Horsley pointed at Alabama's script A logo, which was placed on the wall above every other ECU opponent, before captioning the photo with two middle fingers followed by three shushing emojis.

Derrion Horsley Instagram Photo Pointing at Alabama | Obtained from Derrion Horsley's Instagram

Numerous Crimson Tide football players responded in the comments. Defensive back Red Morgan said, "We tolerate no disrespect bruddah," and Horsley responded "see ya soon" with another shushing emoji. Also in the secondary, freshman safety Jireh Edwards commented a strong arm emoji.

A pair of Alabama tight ends also got into the mix, as Marshall Pritchett wrote "Ight," while Danny Lewis Jr. used the heart eyes emoji. Lewis clearly likes the bulletin-board material being added to the matchup.

Horsley's post reached another Alabama sport, as former Crimson Tide guard Labaron Philon Jr. commented "aiming at the wrong team mud" with a crying emoji. Philon also responded to Morgan's aforementioned message with a crying emoji.

Alabama received some jabs entering last year's season opener as well. Former Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos even doubled down on his comments. When asked about it last summer, Tide players used some variation of the line "all disrespect will be addressed accordingly." However, the Seminoles had the last laugh and pulled off the shocking upset in Tallahassee.

Like Alabama, this is also the season opener for East Carolina. Regardless of the conference that their Week 1 opponent resides in, the Pirates haven't had the best of luck in openers. In fact, ECU has only won twice since 2016.

The Pirates' schedule pretty much only gets easier after facing Alabama, as the Tide is their only Power 4 opponent. Old Dominion (Sept. 19), Memphis (Oct. 22), South Florida (Nov. 6) and Army (Nov. 31) are the only programs ECU will face that had winning records last season.

This will be one of three non-conference games that Alabama will play, with Florida State (Sept. 19) and Chattanooga (Nov. 21) being the others. 2026 is the first season of the SEC's newly implemented 9-game conference schedule. As previously stated, the Crimson Tide fell to the Seminoles on the road in Week 1 of last season, which was its first loss in a season opener since 2001.

How to Watch Alabama vs. ECU:

Date: Sept. 5

Time: 11 a.m. CT

TV: ABC

Location: Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Series history: Alabama leads 1-0, with the only matchup occurring on Oct. 16, 1998

Last meeting: The Crimson Tide won 23-22 in Tuscaloosa, despite the Pirates outscoring UA 22-2 (Alabama's Kecalf Bailey returned a blocked PAT to the house) in the second half. Alabama quarterback Andrew Zow completed 21 of 35 pass attempts for two touchdowns, while Shaun Alexander rushed for 86 yards and a score on 22 carries. Travis Carroll and Trevis Smith led the way defensively, with a combined 22 tackles, including seven for loss.

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