GREENVILLE, N.C. – Blake Proehl and Jake Verity, two former ECU student-athletes, have earned membership into the 2021 National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society according to a release from the NFF and College Hall of Fame on Wednesday.

Proehl and Verity were among 910 players nationally to earn the honor, which has been awarded annually since 2007 for outstanding academic achievement.

Proehl finished his ECU career with 130 receptions for 1,576 yards and nine touchdowns in 31 contests (22 starts). His catch total already stands 12th among all-time Pirate receivers in just three years of action. He ranked first on the unit with 577 reception yards on 47 grabs and tallied four TDs in 2020 while authoring two triple-digit yardage outings, which included a team single-game best 182-yard performance against Tulane on Nov. 7 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

An Honor Roll and Dean’s List performer in the classroom with a cumulative grade point average of 3.75, Proehl graduated from East Carolina University on Dec. 4, 2020 with a degree in communication.

Verity, the program’s all-time career leader in points (352), was a multi-year All-American Athletic Conference selection and Lou Groza Watch List member while with the Pirates. He also holds school all-time marks in field goals made (74) while owning single-season standards in field goal accuracy (90.5, 19-for-21 in 2018) and three-pointers made (24 in 2019). Verity closed out his career connecting on 74-of-98 field goals, converted 130-of-133 extra point tries and kicked off 120 times for 7,333 yards (61.1 avg.) with 75 touchbacks.

The Georgia native earned his bachelor’s degree in construction management from ECU on Dec. 4, 2020, graduating with a grade point average of 3.59. As an undergrad, Verity was also a consistent member of either the Dean’s List or Honor Roll.

Both student-athletes announced their intent to enter the 2021 National Football League Draft and forego remaining collegiate eligibility following the end of the 2020 campaign.

The NFF Hampshire Honor Society is comprised of players from all divisions of play who have completed their eligibility and maintained a cumulative 3.20 GPA or better throughout their collegiate career.