GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) — Freshmen Javious Bond and Raheim Jeter are making strong impressions on East Carolina head football coach Mike Houston in spring practice.

They’ve made some impressive plays in the first couple of weeks leading up to ECU’s spring game, but there have also been plenty of growing pains as the early enrollees adjust to playing college football.

“Well (Bond) got rocked the last play of the competition out there,” Houston said after practice Tuesday. “I’ll tell you, he’s gonna be a really good player for us. There’s no doubt about it. He’s got the ‘it’ factor. And he’s got some dog in him. He doesn’t back down from anything.

“But he learned a valuable lesson today. He tried to bounce a zone play on the goal line and got the snot knocked out of him. Some of the things you can do in high school, you can’t do at this level.

“I think he’s a guy that’s gonna get better every time he goes out there,” Houston added. “No different than Raheim Jeter. I thought Raheim looked much better (Tuesday) than he did last week. Every day he’s gonna get more reps, he’s gonna get more comfortable. Those two kids right there, they have a bright future here at East Carolina.”

Bond is from Gray, Ga. He attended Jones County (Ga.) High School. A three-star running back athlete, Bond flipped his commitment from Memphis to ECU, Stephen Igoe reported on Hoist the Colours. Bond played four sports (football, basketball, baseball and track) in high school.

Bond was a two-way star on the football field. On offense, he rushed 281 times for 1,904 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging 6.8 yards per carry and 43.3 yards per game. He also caught 72 passes for 758 yards (10.5 yards per catch) with 10 touchdown receptions. A safety on defense, Bond tallied 244 tackles (142 solo) and five interceptions. He also had 18 pass breakups, four fumble recoveries and one forced fumble.

Jeter is a Spartanburg, S.C., native who attended Spartanburg High School. A three-star prospect, Jeter completed 165 of 252 passes for 2,344 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior. He added 378 rushing yards on 82 carries with three touchdowns. He was named South Carolina Football Coaches Association 5A All-State, and was a finalist for South Carolina’s Mr. Football award, which recognizes the best player in the state.

Spring practices will conclude with ECU’s annual Purple-Gold Spring Game inside Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on April 8.