PITTSBORO – Less than two weeks after committing to UNC, standout high school recruit Gus Ritchey has sent a ripple through the local college football scene by swapping his commitment to in-state rival NC State.
Ritchey, a rising junior at Northwood High School, had initially announced his commitment to the Tar Heels on the Inside Carolina Noon Dish Podcast on Aug. 1. But in a statement on his social media accounts on Aug. 12, he laid out his decision to decommit from UNC and commit to the Wolfpack.
“To all UNC coaches, staff and fans, I want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me and my family,” Ritchey said in his statement. “Thank you for taking your time to recruit me and for being so great to me throughout the process. I realize this is a quick turnaround, but after committing, I felt that my heart was pulling me in a different direction. Having said that, I will be decommitting from the University of North Carolina and making my commitment to NC State University. I am shutting my recruitment down and am putting all of my effort into helping my high school team win games and getting a start in helping recruit a top class for 2025. This is a personal decision, and I wish nothing but the best for UNC, but I am so excited to get to work as part of the Wolfpack family.”
The three-star recruit was ranked 30th in the state and 363rd nationally and held offers from nearly 20 Division-I programs, including Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Florida, Penn State and Oregon, but chose to remain close to home.
At 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, Ritchey plays both defensive end and tight end at Northwood. During his sophomore season, Ritchey totaled 61 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 10 sacks and two forced fumbles on the defensive side of the ball and caught 32 passes for 490 yards and five touchdowns on offense.
Ritchey joins quarterback/defensive tackle Will Wilson of Columbia, South Carolina, as the second member of the Wolfpack’s 2025 recruiting class.
The commitment is a huge win for the Wolfpack and follows a similar path as that of standout linebacker Payton Wilson, who decommitted from UNC to instead commit to NC State back in 2017, albeit in a much more provocative way.
The Chargers finished last season with a 4-6 record, but with a new head coach in Mitch Johnson, Northwood is looking to make some noise.
Ritchey and the Chargers will kick off their 2023 season at home on Friday against Riverside-Durham, which finished last season with a 6-5 record.