BREAKING: Auburn LB Cam Riley commits to NC State
NC State football landed another transfer portal commitment Monday afternoon. Veteran Auburn linebacker Cam Riley will spend his final season of college eligibility with the Wolfpack, TheWolfpacker.com can confirm.
He was the final transfer portal prospect remaining on the program’s recruiting board going into the spring. Riley picked NC State over Florida State.
The former SEC defender is a 6-5, 242 pound senior who played an important role in the Tigers’ defense over the past two seasons. Riley brings 120 career tackles, including 8 for loss and 2.5 sacks, to a Wolfpack defense that needs to replace a lot of last year’s linebacker production.
With ACC defensive player of the year Payton Wilson and senior starter Jaylon Scott exhausting their eligibility, NC State went into this offseason looking for new players to step into their roles. The former Auburn linebacker was the program’s only transfer visitor at his position.
Riley could potentially contribute at multiple spots in the Pack linebacker room, but he primarily played “Will” with the Tigers. He spent four years with Auburn, playing in at least 11 games each season.
After playing 311 snaps last year, he finished with a 66.7 Pro Football Focus (PFF) grade, including an outstanding 85.1 tackling mark. Riley missed 2 tackles all season and finished the 2023 campaign with 7 receptions allowed on 11 targets for 95 yards.
He projects to be an instant contributor to the Pack and now reunites with his former Auburn teammate and Wolfpack safety commit Donovan Kaufman, who announced his decision earlier this year.
Both transfer defenders officially visited in January and have now decided to run with the Wolfpack. When Kaufman committed to NC State, he shared that him and Riley were working out together as they finish up their degrees in Auburn.
“We still work out together, talk, so of course I’m trying to recruit,” Kaufman said in January. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
The linebacker joins a packed portal class for the Pack that ranks top-10 nationally and includes wide receiver Noah Rogers, quarterback Grayson McCall, cornerback Devon Marshall, tight end Justin Joly, defensive back Tamarcus Cooley, wide receiver Wesley Grimes, cornerback Corey Coley Jr. and offensive linemen Valen Erickson, center Zeke Correll, running back Hollywood Smothers, running back Jordan Waters and Kaufman.
Riley will be eligible to join the program for the first summer semester in June. Per TheWolfpacker.com’s count, NC State is up to 84 scholarship players for the 2024 season.
