NC State’s Caden Fordham rose to the challenge when his number was called

Before NC State took the field at Virginia on Friday night, the Wolfpack were short handed as starting MIKE linebacker Devon Betty missed the entire week of practice after the birth of his daughter. 

The Wolfpack defense, however, didn’t miss a beat. And redshirt sophomore linebacker Caden Fordham was the reason why. 

Fordham, who was primarily a special teams player last fall, has been a rotational linebacker this season. But without Betty at practice, Fordham stepped into his shoes — and he excelled. 

Though Betty wasn’t on the practice field for much of the week leading up to the game, he was there for Fordham, and he played seven defensive snaps as the rotational linebacker in Charlottesville.

With an opportunity to start for the first time in his career, Fordham didn’t play like it was. He looked like a natural on the field, which led to more than doubling his career high with 12 tackles, including a tackle for a loss in 64 defensive snaps played during the Wolfpack’s 24-21 win over the Cavaliers.  

“It’s fun,” said Fordham, who had recorded eight tackles through his first 16 games of his NC State career before the season began. “I’d say credit to Betty, he helped me out a lot. He’s a huge part of what goes into it as linebackers. He’s always helping us out. It was fun to get out there and make some plays for the first time.”

Fordham was a key cog in the Wolfpack’s run defense that kept the Cavaliers at bay for the most part on the ground. He recorded an above average run defense grade of 73.3, according to Pro Football Focus. 

And he did so as he played next to SAM linebacker Jaylon Scott and longtime NC State starting WILL linebacker Payton Wilson. Wilson paced the team with 13 tackles at UVA and posted the team’s fourth-best run blocking grade of 75.5, but he was impressed with Fordham’s growth on the team. 

“Caden’s someone that’s super close to me, one of my best friends,” Wilson said. “To see the work that he put in this offseason, to see how he’s changed his body, even changed who he was as a person. [He] became such a leader on this team, became a good person, and to see that finally pay off for him, it’s inspiring to me.”

With the two friends in the middle of NC State’s defense, the Wolfpack limited the Cavaliers to just 2.8 yards per carry and they were only 5-of-14 on third down. 

NC State’s effectiveness on third-and-short — as well as a fourth-and-inches that the Pack stopped at midfield in the first quarter — was led by the linebackers as they made multiple drive-ending tackles. But instead of taking the credit themselves, they passed that along to NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson. 

“It’s fourth down, it’s third down, as a linebacker that’s kind of what we live for,” Wilson said. “Meet me in the A gap and see who wins. But also credit to coach Gibson. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been around at adjusting. Third-and-one, fourth-and-one, he was just calling stuff that we were just in the right place to make a play.”

Fordham couldn’t agree more. 

“Those third-down stops, that’s how you win ball games,” Fordham said. “There were big adjustments during the game that we had to make, but they worked out in the end.”

Fordham wasn’t just loud on the field with his play against the Cavaliers, but he was with his voice, too. But he wasn’t always the most vocal player on the field. He used to be more reserved as a younger linebacker in NC State’s defense as a backup. 

Now that his role has expanded, so have his leadership skills. 

Wilson, one of the Wolfpack’s captains, noticed that over the course of fall camp. And against the Cavaliers, it was Fordham who stepped up with a vocal role on the defense to help minimize Virginia’s offensive attack with freshman quarterback Anthony Colandrea at the helm. 

“He used to be a young guy just playing his role, but now even on the field [at Virginia] he’s taking over the defense, he’s talking a lot, being a really exceptional MIKE linebacker,” Wilson said of Fordham. “From where he used to be, a quiet guy, a shyer guy, kind of kept to himself — just getting out of that shell, and honestly becoming a beast on the field. … It’s super impressive to see, credit to him.”