East Carolina defensive back Derrion Horsley put an unnecessary target on his back prior to the 2026 college football season by taking aim at Alabama, literally. He has since deleted the post on Instagram.
Unfortunately, his decision to remove the photo from his feed does not remove the photo from the internet.
The college football program in Tuscaloosa will use Horsley’s disrespect as additional fuel to beat the Pirates. Any chance of a sleep, early-morning upset in Week 1 is completely gone. The Crimson Tide will be ready. Horsley better be prepared to back it up.
Who is Derrion Horsley?
At 6-foot-2, 196 pounds, Derrion Horsley is listed as a second-year defensive back at East Carolina University. The former three-star recruit committed to ECU as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2025. Although he was a bit undersized, he’s not a scrub! Seven FBS schools offered him a scholarship out of East Coweta High School in Sharpsburg, Georgia, including Mississippi State, Georgia State, South Florida, Western Kentucky, Troy and Marshall.
Horsley played in only four games as a true freshman and recorded three solo tackles with one pass breakup.
I don’t know where he fits on the depth chart for year two but his standing on the team definitely took a hit over the last few days. His most recent post on social media ruffled a lot of feathers down in Tuscaloosa.
East Carolina will play Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 5. Horsley posted the following photo and caption on Instagram, pretending to shoot the Crimson Tide logo:
The post has since been deleted.
As you could imagine, it spread like wildfire in Alabama. The Pirates’ Week 1 opponent was not happy.
Alabama football players responded to the East Carolina defensive back’s post on Instagram.
I don’t know what Derrion Horsley was thinking. Well, I know he wasn’t.
Not only is Ryan Williams one of the best pass-catchers in the country, Horsley may not even be on the field. The second-year cornerback provided the Crimson Tide with bulletin board material and may not even face the repercussions during the game.
Alabama defensive back Red Morgan responded to his post, “We tolerate no disrespect bruddah 🤞.” Horsley replied, “see ya soon.”
Crimson Tide safety Jireh Edwards commented a strong arm emoji. Tight end Marshall Prichett wrote “Ight” while positionmate Danny Lewis Jr. posted only the heart eyes emoji.
A similar thing happened last season. Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos talked down on Alabama before the season and — to be fair — the Crimson Tide actually lost that game!
Will the same thing happen in 2026? Probably not… but it would be awesome if Horsley seals the upset win in Tuscaloosa with a pick-six.