East Carolina defensive back DJ Speer was ejected from the college football game against North Carolina Central for spitting on an opponent. He issued an apology on Sunday morning.
It came with a promise.
The redshirt freshman hopes the college football fanbase in Greenville will forgive his behavior. Speer has learned from his mistake.
Who is DJ Speer?
Durante ‘DJ’ Speer was rated as a three-star prospect in the recruiting Class of 2024. He ranked as the No. 142 player at his position and a top-2000 player overall out of Columbia high school in Georgia. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounds defensive back made 60 tackles as a senior with one interception. It was a breakout season that put him on the radar of college programs.
UAB, Georgia State, Coastal Carolina, Kent State, UAB, Alabama A&M, Samford, East Carolina and UT Martin offered Speer a scholarship. The Pirates received his commitment. He signed with ECU in December of 2024 and enrolled in January of 2025.
However, Speer did not play at all during his freshman year and took a redshirt. This is year two.
Speer currently sits fourth or fifth on the depth chart. He made a tackle against Alabama in Week 1 and against App State in Week 2. He has not recorded any stats since. Unfortunately, his opportunities may also be limited moving forward.
The East Carolina defensive back was ejected for spitting.
East Carolina got up big on North Carolina Central. The Pirates were able to give some of their younger players an opportunity for live reps during the second half. Speer got in the game. However, he did not stay in the game long.
DJ Speer was ejected from the contest for spitting on an opponent. In college football, spitting is classified as flagrant unsportsmanlike conduct. It results in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic ejection. The player must leave the bench area and must go directly to the locker room under team supervision.
To make matters worse, Speer got in the face of head coach Blake Harrell and kicked over a Gatorade cooler. He lost his temper and crashed out on the sideline.
Any additional punishment beyond the ejection is up to the discretion of the conference and/or the program. Speer could still be suspended by the AAC and/or his coaching staff. Fans called for him to be removed from the team. Nothing official has been announced as of this writing.
He issued the following apology on Sunday morning:
Speer promised “you will see a change” in his behavior moving forward. It will not happen again.
Although he was quick to apologize on X, Speer deleted his Instagram profile. If I had to guess, he was bombarded with hateful comments and decided to remove himself from the situation. The incident is now in the past. The focus is on being better moving forward.