Connect with us

Football Recruiting

PI EXCLUSIVE: 4-Star TE Gus Ritchey Breaks Down His Commitment to NC State

Published

9 months ago

on

This past Saturday, 4-Star 2025 Tight End Gus Ritchey flipped his verbal commitment from UNC to NC State. I caught up with Ritchey to get his take.

Less than two weeks after verbally committing to UNC, Ritchey made the tough decision of flipping his commitment to run with the Wolfpack.

“I’ve been developing a great relationship with Coach Goebbel and Quint Cottingham (Assistant Director of Player Personnel) for a couple years and once I met Coach Doeren and Anae, it strengthened even more,” said Ritchey. “When I went to UNC, I loved it and was really excited about my commitment, but I just kept thinking about State. I honestly was stressing about it so much that I wasn’t sleeping. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy to decommit so quickly, but it also wouldn’t be fair to string UNC along just to make it easier for me. It was tough, but a huge weight was lifted off of me once I got it out there.”

When Ritchey initially moved here from Indiana when he was 7, his family initially was drawn to UNC, but when he stepped on campus at NC State, things began to shift.

“I actually grew up in Indiana, but once I moved here, we started out getting into UNC a little more,” said Ritchey. “Once I made my first trip to NC State that changed. I knew I fit in there right off the bat.”

UNC recruited Ritchey to play Defensive End, while NC State recruited him to play Tight End.

“Yeah, UNC liked me coming off the edge,” said Ritchey. “State has always been offense. In fact, most schools like me as a TE and thought I projected there.”

The standout out of Northwood High School in Pittsboro, North Carolina, loves the way new Wolfpack Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae uses Tight Ends in his Offense.

“He uses his TE’s all over the field. That’s exciting because it allows guys to take advantage of their strengths,” said Ritchey. “He is also a great teacher and you just want to listen to everything he says. He has been successful everywhere he goes. I can’t wait to get to work with him.”

Ritchey understands that there is a bitter rivalry between NC State and UNC, and despite his prior commitment, he is confident he will be able to embrace it.

“Oh, most definitely. There is no way I want to lose to UNC now,” said Ritchey. “If anything, it will drive me that much more. I respect UNC, but I want to make sure we win every game.”

Related Topics:

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Football Recruiting

4-Star Safety Jordan Young Includes NC State in Top-8

Published

14 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

4-Star 2025 Safety Jordan Young (6’0″/170) revealed his Top-8 schools today, and NC State made the cut along with Alabama, FSU, UNC, Clemson, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

Image

It’s not shocking that Young included the Wolfpack, because back on April 15th he shared that he had locked in an Official Visit to NC State for June 19-21. He also has Official Visits scheduled to Clemson (May 31), FSU (June 14), and Tennessee (June 21).

All 4 recruiting databases rank Young as a Top-200 prospect nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, with ESPN, 247Sports and ON3 ranking him in the Top-35. 247Sports ranks him as the #29 overall player nationally, the #2 Safety and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

This past season, Young had 66 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 interception and 3 pass breakups for Monroe High School. On the offensive side of the ball, he had 34 receptions for 812 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Young is planning to announce his commitment on October 12th.

Continue Reading

Football Recruiting

4-Star Safety Jontae Gilbert Has Locked in an Official Visit to NC State

Published

4 days ago

on

April 26, 2024

By

4-Star 2025 Safety Jontae Gilbert (6’1″/180) confirmed with me that he has locked in an Official Visit to NC State for the weekend of September 27-29, and he plans for it to be his last Official Visit.

Back in July of 2022, Gilbert committed to Ohio St., but last July he decommitted from the Buckeyes.

Gilbert also has Official Visits scheduled for UCF, South Carolina and USC.

At one point, Gilbert was a 5-star prospect, but now he is a consensus 4-star prospect, and a consensus Top-275 player. Rivals ranks him as the #70 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, and the #8 player in the state of Georgia.

NC State offered Gilbert in April of last year.

Recently, he has taken unofficial visits to, or been visited by Louisville, Auburn, Tennessee, Georgia St., Oregon, Clemson, Texas and South Carolina.

While he doesn’t have an Official Visit set up with Georgia, the Bulldogs are obviously a big player in Gilbert’s recruitment.

Gilbert plays for Douglass High School in Atlanta, Georgia.

Continue Reading

Football Recruiting

3-Star LB Cameron White Has NC State Official Visit Set

Published

1 week ago

on

April 23, 2024

By

3-Star 2025 Linebacker Cameron White (6’1″/225) will be taking an Official Visit to NC State on June 19-21, according to a source.

NC State offered White back on March 1st.

While White hasn’t officially released a Top-8, he did say that the 8 schools that are standing out are NC State, Louisville, Tennessee, West Virginia, UCF, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Utah.

This Spring, he has taken unofficial visits to Tennessee, UCF, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Louisville, Miami. He’s expected to take an Official Visit to Louisville as well.

Rivals ranks White as the #37 Outside Linebacker nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, and the #79 player in the state of Florida.

This past year, White had 81 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 5 sacks for Sumner (Riverview, FL).

Continue Reading

Football Recruiting

3-Star Edge Nik Alston Has Locked in an Official Visit to NC State

Published

1 week ago

on

April 22, 2024

By

According to a source, 2025 3-Star Edge Nik Alston (6’3″/260) has locked in an Official Visit to NC State for June 7-9.

Alston plays for Thompson High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and is ranked as the #40 overall player in the state in the 2025 class according to 247Sports.

Back on April 6th, Alston was in attendance for NC State’s 2024 Spring Game, and he walked away with an offer. He also holds offers from Minnesota, Washington, Liberty, Georgia Tech and Tulane.

He also has Official Visits scheduled for Washington, Minnesota, Liberty and Tulane. Honestly, some of the dates that I have found overlap at this point, but these were all reported at one time.

This past season, Alston had 37 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

When I spoke with Alston in the past, he said NC State would be at the top of his list.

Continue Reading