NC State quarterback commit Gunner Rivers isn’t budging.
Even after Dave Doeren was fired last weekend, Rivers said Friday night that he remains fully committed to the Wolfpack. He made the statement after his team played its final regular-season game of the 2026 season, and he left no doubt about where he stands.
“I want to thank Coach Doeren for everything he did for me,” Rivers wrote in a text to Pack Power. “I knew every time I spoke with him he was gonna tell me the truth, whether good or bad.
And that was something I always appreciated. He definitely left a good impression on me and my family.
“As far as my commitment goes, I'm staying 100% locked in with the PACK! Excited to get to work here in a couple months.”
Rivers, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback from Fairhope (Ala.) St.
Michael, committed to NC State in February while the previous coaching staff was still in place. His recruitment included several trips to Raleigh, among them a visit for the UNC-Chapel Hill game last season.
His father, Philip, has been with him on those visits and is now the leading candidate to be his head coach at NC State next season.
That family connection has been part of Rivers’ development for a long time, and he spoke over the summer about what his father has meant to him as a quarterback.
“He's helped me a lot, honestly, physically, but I'll say mainly mentally more than anything,” Rivers said. “He's the best coach you can have in high school football.
I am a little biased, but I think he's the best high school football coach there is. He definitely could be coaching college or NFL, too.
So, the fact that I get to learn from him at such a young age is special.”
On the field, Rivers is ranked by 247Sports as the No. 4 quarterback and No. 43 overall player in the country. His season has been limited to fewer than seven total quarters because of a knee injury suffered in the opener, but in that action he has thrown for 422 yards with six touchdowns and one interception.
The bigger body of work is even more eye-catching. Before this season, Rivers had already piled up 10,510 passing yards with 114 touchdowns and just 15 interceptions in his career. He has also added 292 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground as a starter since his freshman year.
When he gets to Raleigh in January as an early enrollee, Rivers says the plan is simple: compete, improve and build with his future teammates.
“I'm just a guy that loves to compete, and I just love the game of football,” Rivers said. “I'm going to put everything into it.
I'm not one of those guys that's into all the stuff that comes with football. Obviously, I like to be around my teammates and all that, of course.
I'm trying to go to NC State to get better at football, win games, and just build relationships with all my teammates.”
In Other News...
NC State Just Gave Fans A New Reason To Debate This Team
The first game after a coaching change can tell you plenty about a team, and NC State offered a pretty clear snapshot in Raleigh. With Todd Goebbel taking over on an interim basis, the Wolfpack handled Cal 31-10 behind two touchdown passes from CJ Bailey and a defense that kept the Bears in check for most of the afternoon.
The game was tied 10-10 at halftime before NC State seized control with 21 unanswered points after the break, turning a tense spot into a comfortable finish. Cal managed just 269 total yards and dropped its third straight, while the Wolfpack left fans with a fresh argument about what this team might look like now that the reset has begun. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Finally Gave Wolfpack Fans A Response They Needed
After a sluggish opening half, NC State finally gave its fans the kind of response they had been waiting to see, flipping the game against Cal with a much sharper second-half effort on both sides of the ball. CJ Bailey settled in after the break, the offense found a rhythm, and the Wolfpack defense did its part by keeping Cal from building on its early edge.
The turnaround came at a good time for a team trying to steady itself after a rough stretch, and it was the sort of win that can change the mood around a program in a hurry. The Wolfpack did not look like a team searching for answers once the second half began, which is why this result felt bigger than a single victory and more like a needed reset. [Read more 🡒]
NC States Coaching Search Just Became A Risky Fan Dream
Philip Rivers has quickly become one of the most intriguing names in NC States coaching search, and for good reason. The former Wolfpack quarterback already has deep ties to the program, and his current role at St. Michael Catholic High School gives him a coaching rsum that feels familiar enough to spark real conversation while still leaving plenty of questions about how it would translate to the college game.
The appeal is obvious for a fan base that knows Rivers well, but the leap from high school sidelines to an FBS job is a massive one. NC State is weighing a search that could bring sentiment, familiarity and a built-in connection to the program into the mix, even as the risks of handing a major rebuild to someone without college head-coaching experience remain part of the conversation. [Read more 🡒]