As NC State prepares for Senior Day on Saturday, linebacker Caden Fordham knows the emotions of the moment will hit him harder than most. After five seasons in Raleigh — and a long road back from injury — the veteran defender is bracing for what the day will mean.
“Probably me, honestly,” Fordham said when asked who might get emotional. “At the end of the game, I know I’m going to to get a little emotional, for sure. This university has meant so much to me — these coaches, these players, the brotherhoods I’ve built... I’m just excited I was given this opportunity to come play here, and I’m so blessed for everything this school has done for me.”
Fordham’s path to this point has been far from easy. Last season ended abruptly with a significant knee injury, and this year brought more adversity with injuries along the defense while he battled back to regain his form.
“You’re always going to have hardships,” he said. “For me, it was believing in yourself after the injury, keeping faith in God, your family, and those relationships. At the end of the day, this is a game we all love, but when you can’t play anymore, who do you have left? That’s what I learned — believing in yourself and staying close to your family and Christ.”
Fordham added his family has played a constant role in his journey — especially during rivalry weeks. With deep ties to Florida State, including his father having played there and his younger brother committed to the school, Fordham has become the one member of the family who can claim bragging rights in recent years.
“It was great to win that game,” he said of NC State’s recent win over the Seminoles. “My younger brother’s going there, my dad played there, and since I’ve been here, we haven’t lost to them, so that's always going to be something I remind them of for sure.”
He has similar memories from NC State’s rivalry with North Carolina, even from before he became a starter. Fordham recalled watching the Pack beat UNC early in his career and remembering how much the game meant to older players.
What are his favorite memories from the series?
“Probably when we played them, what was it, my sophomore year, it must have been, when Drake and Payton were both playing really well,” Fordham replied. “It might have been my junior year, I can't remember, but either way, they were here playing against Drake Maye.
“I just remember being a young guy watching them play against UNC, and I was like, wow, this is so awesome, we beat them here one time, but also the Emeka Emezie catch was something I really remember, too, so just seeing how much it means to, the older guys that have played here, it's a very special game.”
To win the game this year will take another strong performance from Fordham, who is having a breakout season. He leads the ACC in tackles with 118 tackles, seventh-most nationally and the most by a P4 defender, and Fordham had double-digit tackles in four of his last five games.
“I feel fully confident in my knee now,” he said. “Just leaving it all out there, playing free. You don’t know how many more guarantees you’ve got, so go give it everything and play for your brothers. These guys mean so much to me, and I’d be doing them wrong if I didn’t play to my full ability.”
