South Carolina WR Planning January Official Visit To NC State
While covering the 7 on 7 circuit last spring there were the usual suspects that impressed every week- Kevin Concepcion, Daylan Smothers, Nate Leacock. One under the radar player that turned heads consistently but didn’t receive as much fanfare was Rock Hill (SC) Northwestern WR Elijah Caldwell . He teamed up with NC State commit Lex Thomas on the Carolina Stars and was impressive.
Caldwell (6-0, 190 pounds) proved he could do it on Friday nights as well- totaling an impressive 77 receptions for 1,365 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior. He also added better than 600 yards on kick returns and accounted for 20 total touchdowns.
With early offers on the table from Coastal Carolina, App State, Utah, Duke, East Carolina and Marshall among others, it was an offer and official visit with West Virginia that led Marshall to commit to the Mountaineers back in July.
Caldwell talked with Inside Pack Sports about what sold him on WVU.
“I love the coaches and I just love how it made me feel on my official visit with the players there and all of that.”
Enter NC State who made the decision to offer Caldwell on Dec 8.
Whether coincidence or not, Caldwell decommitted from West Virginia just 11 days later.
The Pack has Lex Thomas and his relationship with Caldwell to lean on and an official visit to NC State in January is in the works.
“Lex Thomas is my boy,” said Caldwell. “He’s trying to get me. He’s always hitting me up telling me to come but we’re going to see. I’m probably going to visit in January and then see what happens from there.
“I just want to check out NC State and see what they’re offering. I can’t say too much about them until I get a chance to go up there in person and see what they’re offering. Coach Joker (Phillips) was the guy that offered me. I’ve been able to build a good relationship with him. You can tell he’s straight forward. He doesn’t run you around the bush. He just shoots it to you straight and that’s what I love about him.”
Caldwell is a consensus three star receiver and was the leading receiver for the South Carolina squad at this year’s Shrine Bowl- tallying four catches for 61 yards.
