[1] He attended and played football, baseball, and basketball for D. H. Conley High School in Greenville.
As a four-year starter and a team captain, Ahlers he led D. H. Conley to four straight playoff appearances and three conference titles.
He was one of North Carolina's most prolific passers as he finished as the state's third all-time leader in passing yards with 11,198.
[4] As a sophomore in 2015, Ahlers threw for 2,457 yards and ran for 1,142 and was named team MVP and earned All-County honors.
Against Charles B. Aycock High School in an 83–68 victory he set the single-game total offense record of 618 yards,[8] beating the previous record that was set a week prior against JH Rose High School in a 67–77 loss.
[10] He was named Raleigh News & Observer Player of the Year and earned Greenville Daily Reflector's First-Team All-State honors.
Out of 13 games, he surpassed the 300-yard mark in six, including a season-high 464 against West Craven High School.
He made his college football debut in week 2 against North Carolina, where he attempted one incomplete pass and ran eight times for 36 yards and two touchdowns, the first of which coming in the second quarter to give the Pirates the lead.
[18] After losing to Tulane 18–24 the next week,[19] he led the team to its third and final win on the season against UConn, where he went 22 of 31 for 242 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
[20] He finished the year with a 6–56 loss to Cincinnati in which he suffered an injury to his knee and non-throwing hand, causing him to miss the season finale against NC State.
In the season-opener against NC State he went 22 of 39 for 168 yards and an interception before being pulled in favor of Reid late in the game.
[36] The team lost four-straight against Navy (which Ahlers missed due to COVID-19),[37] Tulsa, Tulane, and Cincinnati.
[54] The team finished the season with a 7–5 record and earned a bid in the Military Bowl against Boston College, which was ultimately canceled due to COVID-19.
[59] For the third-straight year he was named Fourth-Team Preseason All-AAC team by Athlon Sports.
[65] Ahlers led East Carolina past UCF and BYU before being stumped by Cincinnati and Houston.
[66] Ahlers tossed three touchdown passes, including the game-winning strike with a minute left, to beat Temple 49–46.
He threw a touchdown to Michael Ezeike and led his team to a 16–13 win, earning game MVP honors.
[83] Ahlers is the founder and co-founder of Built When Broken, a Christian-based apparel company that was founded following the unexpected death of his friend in 2017.