NC State football camp notebook: Gus Ritchey, elite in-state recruits stand out
NC State hosted its annual 7-on-7 and lineman competitions Thursday, welcoming programs from all over the state and beyond to campus. A few of the top prospects in North Carolina dominated the camp.
Wolfpack tight end Gus Ritchey showed up with his teammates from Cary (N.C.) and played well. He held the staff’s focus throughout the evening session and went through some lengthy one-on-one instruction with offensive coordinator Robert Anae.
Elite in-state recruits Ekene Ogboko and Noah Clark also impressed TheWolfpacker.com in the lineman challenge. Let’s empty the scouting notebook after a long, busy day at NC State’s practice facility.
Keep an eye on ’25 DL Adrian Farrow
Miami (Fla.) Norland High defensive lineman Adrian Farrow picked up an offer from the Pack in May. He made the trip up to Raleigh for today’s lineman challenge and impressed the staff. He received a ton of attention from the coaches.
Most of the recruiting staff, defensive coordinator Tony Gibson and head coach Dave Doeren all watched him go through one-on-one competition. Gibson had a long chat with him at one point.
He is very interested in the Wolfpack. At 6-3, 240 pounds, he is a bit undersized for the system, but it sounds like he is someone who could add the needed weight. A huge part of this official visit was an opportunity to get verified measurements on the lineman.
Farrow told TheWolfpacker.com he is interested in visiting for the June 21-23 official visit weekend, and that sounds like a possibility. Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh have also offered.
His teammates, twin defensive linemen Mandrell Desir and Darryll Desir, both stood out at camp but are already heavily recruited Power Four prospects in the 2025, and I don’t expect NC State to be involved in their recruitment for now.
Gus Ritchey continues to show flashes
Ritchey made one of the best catches I have seen in a camp setting towards the tail end of the 7-on-7 camp. He rose up over two defenders to snatch a ball out of the air with one hand. The tight end caught every catchable ball thrown at him Thursday.
He scored a touchdown early in the day. Ritchey runs routes pretty well and does a good job getting open over the middle. The rising senior could still do a better job getting out of his breaks at times and did go stretches where he struggled to find space when double-teamed with a safety.
After spending the entire evening session evaluating Ritchey, I still see why NC State is so excited about him joining the program. He told TheWolfpacker.com that he has been spending a ton of time on the JUGS machine these days, and that work shows.
Anae spent at least 10 minutes between games coaching up his future tight end. The staff is overall super excited to have him committed, and the Wolfpack offensive coordinator wanted to make sure he spent some time offering advice on Ritchey’s first step and more.
Doeren, Gibson and plenty of other coaches also stopped by to watch Ritchey compete, but Anae spent a lot of time with him.
“It shows what family really means,” Ritchey said after the camp.
He will be back on campus for next Friday’s camp before starting his official visit later that day.
Two sophomore stars dominated
Ogboko and Clark were the two most impressive prospects I saw at camp. They both proved why they are four-star recruits in the 2026 class.
Clark is just absurdly quick for his size at 6-3, 290 pounds. Most underclassmen linemen at his size are nowhere near as agile. He would be a perfect nose tackle in NC State’s system. The rising junior told me his school, Durham (N.C.) Jordan High, won the morning lineman challenge. Looking forward, he plans on returning this spring.
On the other side of the ball, Ogboko dominated one-on-one competition going up against the heavily recruited prospects from Miami Norland High. Standing 6-6, he looked a little skinnier than he will likely be by the fall, but he had no problem winning his reps and recorded one huge pancake.
Like TheWolfpacker.com has said for the past year, he is clearly one of the top recruits in the country. After the camp, he said he could see himself at NC State right now. He likes offensive line coach Garett Tujague, and their bond will be important.
He’s going to keep a close eye on the Wolfpack’s success on the field this fall.
NC State’s Friday camp visitors
NC State will host another regular camp Friday morning before its official visits kick off. Here are the notable prospects slated to attend the event.
*** Three-star ’25 Princeton (N.J.) Hun School linebacker Christian Soltis— Offers from Boston College, West Virginia and Army
*** ’26 Concord (N.C.) Cox Mill High defensive back Marcus Sales Jr.— Offers from Vanderbilt and Charlotte
*** ’26 Loganville (Ga.) Grayson High quarterback Travis Burgess— Offers from Arizona State, Pittsburgh and Boston College
*** ’26 Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic High defensive lineman Dominic Basrawala— Offers from Wake Forest and Georgia Southern
*** ’27 Harper Woods (Mich.) High athlete Dakota Guerrant— Offers from Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan
*** ’27 Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth High athlete Bishop Starling— Offers from Ole Miss, Western Kentucky and Toledo
*** ’25 Highland Springs (Va.) High offensive/defensive lineman Demari Lassiter— Offers from Army, Navy and Charlotte
*** Three-star ’25 Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian School offensive lineman Jake Atha— Offers from UCF, Arkansas State and Central Michigan
*** ’25 Bogart (Ga.) Prince Avenue Christian School linebacker Mac Bradley— Offers from Georgia State and Arkansas State
*** ’26 Ona (W.Va.) Cabell Midland High School offensive lineman Ben Guilliams— Offers from Marshall and Western Michigan
*** ’26 Palm Beach (Fla.) Central High quarterback Chance Routson— Offers from FAU, Georgia State and UMass
*** ’25 Fayetteville (N.C.) Seventy First High linebacker/running back Donovan Frederick— Offers from Charlotte, Navy and Army
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