After completing their season as state champions, seniors Darius Hodge, Mason Gilbert and Jake Campbell signed their National Letter of Intent for their futures in football.
Senior linebacker Darius Hodge had previously committed during his junior year to play football at NC State. After finding a better fit for him, he decided to sign with Marshall University.
“Giving up NC State was tough. I wanted to go there since I was a freshman, so the hardest part was giving up the pack to go to Marshall,” Hodge said.
Coming to the realization that Marshall was a better fit for him, it didn’t take long before Hodge knew where he belonged.
“When I got back from my official visit I knew that I wanted to be a part of the Herd,” Hodge said.
In addition to Hodge’s signing, fellow linebackers, Mason Gilbert and Jake Campbell both signed to Limestone University in Gaffney, SC.
Campbell and Gilbert are excited to play alongside each other at the next level.
“We were really surprised how that all worked out, but God has a plan, and it all worked out for us,” Campbell said.
Limestone really stood out to Gilbert, leaving them as a clear decision for where he would continue his football career.
“Really the whole coaching staff made me feel like I had already been a part of it for a while, just like a family,” Gilbert said.
Gilbert praised Wake Forest with how they prepared him and set him up for success.
“It has just been a blessing being a part of this program and just being able to find Limestone and having the opportunity for them to recruit me,” Gilbert said.
After all of the long hours and hard work that was invested into the sport, Campbell felt very excited to know that it all paid off.
Campbell said, “It definitely feels great. I didn’t know where I was going to be a couple of months ago, and I’m very thankful that this opportunity came upon me.”

Tyler Murray contributed to this story as well