NC State RB Jordan Houston to redshirt remainder of 2023 season

NC State has suffered a midseason blow to its skill position depth, with running back Jordan Houston set to redshirt before graduating later this fall.

The program announced the news on Thursday on the team’s official Twitter account.

Houston was the team’s leading running back, trailing only quarterback Brennan Armstrong in rushing this season. He had logged 25 carries for 96 yards. He had also caught three passes for -3 yards.

A senior, Houston earned the team’s Ted Brown Award for Offensive Back of the Year in 2022. He ran for 544 yards, while catching 25 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown as well. His rushing total ranked 10th in the ACC.

In his career, Houston has run for 1,392 yards and six touchdowns. He has also caught 60 passes for 398 yars and a touchdown.

Prior to his arrival at NC State, Jordan Houston was a lightly recruited back out of Virginia. He was a three-star prospect and was ranked No. 606 overall nationally in the 2019 recruiting class.

Houston was the No. 48 running back in his class and the No. 18 overall player in the state of Virginia, hailing from Oakton (Va.) Flint Hill School.

Jordan Houston leaves a hole

The good news for NC State is that they’ve been rotating fairly liberally at running back even before the Houston news came down.

While Houston had the most touches in the backfield, two others were not far behind. Both Kendrick Raphael and Delbert Mimms III have logged 19 carries on the season, for 92 yards and 64 yards, respectively. Mimms has scored three times on the ground.

There’s also the contributions that could come from running back Michael Allen, who has run 11 times for 81 yards, showing perhaps the best big-play potential in the group.

Finally, quarterback Brennan Armstrong is already taking plenty of carries and leads the team in rushing with 37 carries for 161 yards and three touchdowns.