In his second year in the program, Gerard Stringer is hoping for a breakout season with the East Carolina University football team.

As a true freshman for the ECU football team, former Warrior standout Gerard Stringer was able to see the field. After not playing the first four games of the season with the coaching staff deciding on whether to redshirt him, he finally made his debut against Temple University.

In eight games played, Stringer finished with 16 tackles, seven of them solo. In every game that Stringer competed in, he recorded at least one stop. To this point in his career at ECU, he has a career-high four tackles at North Carolina State University. Overall, Stringer felt like his first season was a learning process and just working his way through everything.

“My first year was a learning experience,” he said. “I got to be second string behind a very smart football player in Devin Sutton. Overall, I felt like my first year was pretty good.”

Stringer was primarily a linebacker in his time at Nansemond River High School. At ECU, he plays a position described as a “hybrid” or a “bandit,” which is a linebacker and defensive back mixed into one position. In ECU’s 4-2-5 defensive scheme, Stringer adds verticality, athleticism and quickness in the middle and back end. He is expected to play an even bigger role on defensive and special teams this season.

“I think I’m going to have a breakout year,” he said. “I improved my game a lot last season, just learning from the veteran guys and getting the actual experience in games. All the pieces are coming together for us this season, and I can’t wait to see how we perform.”

During his senior year at Nansemond River, Stringer helped the Warriors reach the state semifinals while also being All-District, All-Region and All-State. He was the Defensive Player of the Year in the region his senior season. Throughout his high school career, he had multiple All-District and All-Region selections. He chose ECU after having offers from Army, Navy, Rutgers, Ohio University and UNC-Charlotte.