East Carolina played the Military Bowl without starting running back London Montgomery on Saturday. The true sophomore ball-carrier never returned to campus after Christmas break.
He is going to enter the transfer portal.
This frustrating sequence of events is a perfect encapsulation of college football in 2025. Players have to what is best for them, even if that means they must abandon their teammates just days before the bowl game.
London Montgomery was a breakout star.
East Carolina quietly finished with the No. 14-ranked offense in the country this season. The Pirates averaged more than 450 yards and 30 points per game.
Montgomery was a big part of the game plan during his second season with the program.
The 5-foot-11, 197-pound running back, who transferred from Penn State, averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 156 carries (742 yards in total) with seven touchdowns. He finished as the team’s leading rusher by more than 50 carries and more than 200 yards.
Montgomery was all set to play for East Carolina against Pittsburgh in the Military Bowl after a huge breakout campaign. The redshirt sophomore practice with his teammates in the weeks leading up to the game as if he was going to finish what he started in 2025.
And then the Pirates were released for Christmas.
East Carolina lost its starting running back to the transfer portal.
Because they are playing their postseason game on Dec. 27, the team took its “holiday break” a few days prior to the actual holiday on Dec. 25. Montgomery went home to Scranton, Pennsylvania to be with his family.
He did not return.
Players got back to campus for the final bowl practices earlier this week. Their starting running back was not with them. London Montgomery did not make the trip back to Greenville after the Christmas break. He instead decided to enter the transfer portal.
Thus, when East Carolina took the field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis on Saturday, they were forced to give the bulk of carries to backup running backs Marlon Gunn Jr. and TJ Engleman Jr.
“Their starting running back, went home at Christmas and never came back,” said the ESPN broadcast.
Montgomery practiced with his team for the bowl game, went home and talked with his family, and never returned. The rising redshirt junior is going to play elsewhere next season.
Michigan interim head coach Biff Poggi recently spoke about this exact scenario. He did not know what his roster was going to look like for the bowl game because he did not know which players were going to come back after Christmas break. He expected a slew of additional opt-outs, like Montgomery at ECU.
This is college football in 2025. Players make the best decision for themselves on a whim and there is nothing the coaches can do about it!