Former Northwood football standout Gus Ritchey signed to NC State during the early signing period at Cary High School on Dec. 4.
Ritchey, a three-star tight end and defensive end, transferred from Northwood to Cary prior to the 2024 season. The 6-foot-3, 241-pound prospect joins the list of signees on NC State’s 42nd-ranked 2025 recruiting class, per 247Sports.
“I’m a guy coming in to help lead this team,” Ritchey said. “I’m also a blue-collar guy who plays hard-nosed football. I just can’t wait to fly around in Carter-Finely. I’m looking forward to it.”
During his senior season with the Imps, Ritchey hauled in 23 receptions for 273 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior at Northwood, he caught 39 passes for 845 yards and 9 touchdowns, recording over 100 receiving yards in three games. Against Cummings in 2023, Ritchey went off with nine receptions, 160 yards and a touchdown.
According to Rivals, Ritchey is the 19th-best player in North Carolina’s class of 2025, and he’s the 38th-best tight end in the country for his class.
During his recruitment, Ritchey received other offers from schools across multiple power conferences, notably Georgia, Oregon, Miami, Notre Dame and Michigan to name a few. He initially committed to UNC in August 2023, but weeks later, he flipped to the Wolfpack. UNC recruited Ritchey to play defensive end while NC State scouted him as a tight end.
“He’s a great fit here,” NC State football coach Dave Doeren said about Ritchey after signing day. “I always felt when I first got to know Gus that this was the right school for him. You could tell he’s a tough, blue-collar guy. He loves contact. He’s physical. He’s been at every game we’ve played for two years. Getting around his family, it’s a great fit.”
Said Ritchey, “It always felt right from the second I stepped on campus. The culture suits me. Coach Doeren is building a program with tough, hard-nosed players that want to win, which I want to be a part of.”
Ritchey will enroll early at NC State. He’ll join a program looking to bounce back from a disappointing 6-6 2024 campaign, especially after the Wolfpack were predicted to finish fourth in the ACC and possibly compete for a conference title. Ritchey also won’t be the only incoming tight end as Preston Douglas, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound prospect from Florida, also signed with the Wolfpack’s 2025 class.
“We found in our offense this year how the tight end can be a weapon for us,” Doeren said. “Love the fact that we got two good tight ends in this class to help us with where we’re building and growing in the offense.”
