Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 1 game
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 10-48@ Alabama | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 1 tackles |
| Total | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 |
#23
Josh Benton
Senior defensive back on East Carolina's 2026 roster.
5′11″ · 200 lb · Jacksonville, FL · Jacksonville
Returning to East Carolina for 2026
The story
4 defensive back on East Carolina's 2026 roster.
The record fills in as he plays.
His career, year by yearJosh Benton
Josh Benton has played for two head coaches in four seasons at East Carolina. The receipt: 1 tackles against Alabama — Week 1, 2026.
1 TACKLES · 0 SACKS
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- season totals
- head-coach lineage
- game log
Career arc
HS
Recruit
—
CFB
College
East Carolina
NFL
NFL Draft
—
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coaches2023–2024
East Carolina
Coaching transition mid-career: Mike Houston → Blake Harrell. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
2026 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
2023East Carolina2-10HC: Mike Houston · Balanced
2024East Carolina8-5HC: Mike Houston · Balanced
2025East Carolina9-4HC: Blake Harrell · Run-leaning, fast tempo
2026East Carolina0-2HC: Blake Harrell · Balanced, slow tempo
Where this defender ranks vs the field
Box-score production percentiles vs the position cohort
Concern: tackles (0th percentile).
Box-score production (6)
Percentiles are versus same-position peers with enough snaps this season, based on box-score production. There are no play-by-play efficiency bars here: CFBD's play-value model credits offensive players only, so no defensive EPA exists to rank.
Splits & context
Splits
Per-game splits
Through 1 game: 1.0 TKL/g, 0.0 TFL/g, 0.0 SACK/g, 0.0 PD/g — splits start at 3 games.
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Blake Harrell
Scheme reads (pass share, tempo, sack rate) need at least 3 team games — 2 games in so far.
Awards
Player standing · 2026
Backup
On the two-deep and pushing for snaps.
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2025 | East Carolina | 11 | 5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2024 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| 2023 | East Carolina | 1 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 14 | 8 | 2.0 | 0.5 | -- | -- | -- |
Game log
How he plays
2026 Outlook
East Carolina
2026 Depth chart
Projected starter
Defensive back · East Carolina
Returning around him
- 1 East Carolina player drafted to NFL
- Transfer portal: -2 net (24 in / 26 out)
2026 Award watch
No preseason watch lists yet (most drop June 15 – July 15)
East Carolina · Last season: 9-4 · Talent rank #83 · 2026 recruiting class #94
Background
Two-year letterman (2024-25) … Played in 23 career games (no starts) … Registered 15 total stops (seven solo) with 2.5 TFLs (-6 yards) that included a half sack (-4 yards) … Credited with quarterback hurry … Booked at least one tackle in eight of 23 games (multiple four times). 2025: Played in al...
The secondary · East Carolina
- #3Zyeir Gamble72 tackles · 2025
- #13Ayden Duncanson33 tackles · 2025
- #4Kevon Merrell27 tackles · 2025
- #8Kamaurri McKinley24 tackles · 2025
- #23Josh Benton11 tackles · 2025
20 more on the roster · East Carolina team page
Stats from CFBD · ESPN · fan discourse. Every figure computed from source tables — not invented. Methodology