‘I love this game so much’: NC State LB Caden Fordham excited to return after recovering from season-ending knee injury

CHARLOTTE — NC State linebacker Caden Fordham was the go-to defender in the middle of the Wolfpack’s defense last fall. He had big shoes to fill after Payton Wilson departed for the NFL, but through the team’s first six games, Fordham established himself as the Pack’s most consistent linebacker.  The then-redshirt junior led the team with 49 total tackles, just four off his career-best 53 from the 2023 season. It was obvious that Fordham was the engine that powered NC State’s defense, helping anchor the run stopping force, while quarterbacking the unit as the player designated to wear the in-helmet earpiece to relay the play-calls.  But in an early-week practice ahead of the Wolfpack’s Week 7 tilt with Syracuse in mid-October, a routine drill turned costly.  Fordham was battling graduate running back Jordan Waters in a 1-on-1 pass rushing drill when he tried to spin around the former Duke tailback. Waters pushed Fordham’s shoulder as he tried to get past him, which led to the linebacker’s foot planting in the ground while his knee over-rotated.  The Ponte Vedra, Fla., native felt a pop in his leg as he hit the ground. The initial feeling sent a sense of fear through Fordham’s mind, but he got up and walked off the field. He thought that was a good sign, but soon enough Fordham’s knee swelled up, sending him through another scare.  Soon enough, imaging confirmed what ran through Fordham’s mind after the initial fall: a torn ACL. It ended his breakout season just halfway through on what, ironically, was his father’s birthday.  “It was a freak incident,” Fordham said Thursday at ACC Media Day inside the Hilton Uptown Charlotte. “Just two guys competing. It happens. That’s what you sign up for when you play football. It's a tough sport, but I love it.” It’s been eight months since Fordham’s 2024 campaign came to a screeching halt. He has since been cleared for full contact, ready to ramp up during fall camp, which opens July 30, to prepare for his graduate season with the Wolfpack.