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How NC State LB Caden Fordham’s recovery from his season-ending knee injury has progressed

2019_WP_Icon512x512by: The Wolfpacker05/14/25TheWolfpacker
Caden Fordham
© Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

By Noah Fleischman

NC State redshirt senior linebacker Caden Fordham was on pace for a career-best season before it was derailed due to injury last fall. The Pack’s starting middle linebacker went down with a season-ending knee injury, which required surgery shortly after, just six weeks into the season. 

Fordham had posted 49 total tackles (just four off his 2023 total), including 4 for a loss, with a sack, a fumble recovery and 2 passes defended. But a freak injury during the Wolfpack’s practice ahead of a date with Syracuse just past the midway point of the year put Fordham on the sidelines the rest of the season. 

Once Fordham went down, it left NC State scrambling at linebacker. The Pack moved graduate Devon Betty, who was the starter on the strong side for the first six games, to the vacated spot in the middle. But Fordham seems to be a natural-born leader, and the Wolfpack’s defense struggled to replace his presence on the field as a result.

“We missed him last year a lot — his leadership, his toughness, his tackling,” NC State coach Dave Doeren told TheWolfpacker.com in a recent one-on-one interview. “When you lose your Mike linebacker, it’s big. We didn’t have somebody behind him who was similar, so that was a painful loss in many ways.”

While NC State managed its way through the injury, allowing redshirt freshman Kamal Bonner to slide into the starting lineup, the Wolfpack is eager to see its star linebacker back on the field this fall. Although he missed the spring practice slate on the field, Fordham’s recovery has exceeded expectations. 

It appears that he will be ready to go for the 2025 season.

“He’s hungry to get back,” Doeren said. “His rehab’s gone great. He’s ahead of schedule, and we’re excited to get him back on the field.”

Even though Fordham wasn’t able to anchor NC State’s defense on the field, the injury has taught him how to lead from afar. It’s similar to what graduate center Zeke Correll did a year ago, working with the offensive line in the meeting room after a spring surgery, which led to him being named a team captain in his only season with the Pack. 

Doeren has seen a similar result from Fordham, who has done everything he can to impact the current NC State defense, a unit that has to replace eight of its 11 starters from a year ago. 

“I thought he did a great job managing leadership from the back because he is one of the alpha leaders on our team,” Doeren said. “He learned how to help guys without being on the field, which is a growth thing for him. He’s become a better teammate through the injury. I think the perspective of being injured is a big thing as a player. You really learn how much you love the game because you miss everything when you can’t do it.” 

Fordham, who owns 110 career tackles, is expected to be a key part of the Pack’s defense this fall, along with Temple transfer linebacker Tra Thomas and redshirt senior Sean Brown. That trio will be leaned upon, not just as the second level of the Pack’s defense, but also as integral pieces of the team’s leadership for the 2025 campaign.

NC State first-year defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot said Fordham has done everything he has needed to this offseason. He’s pushed himself to return to the field as quickly as he can, and he has been an invaluable asset for his teammates. 

“He’s been great,” Eliot said. “He’s really been working hard in the training room to get back on the field as fast as he can. In the meetings, he’s really attentive and he’s sharp. With the players, he does a good job of leading those guys and showing them how they need to handle their business off the field as much as on the field.”

Now, NC State hopes that Fordham’s impact will return to the gridiron as a tackling machine in the middle of the Wolfpack’s defense this fall.

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