Former NC State football recruiting target CJ Givers Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK

Priority NC State Football Target Commits to Blue Devils Over Wolfpack

Originally posted on NC State Wolfpack on SI
By Matt Giles | Last updated Jun 20, 2025 5:54 AM ET

Despite scheduling an official visit with the NC State football recruiting team this month and appearing on the Wolfpack's 2026 offer sheet for several months, Fellowship Christian School (Ga.) rising senior CJ Givers did not choose the program in Raleigh as his college landing spot.

Instead, earlier this week, Givers announced his commitment to another of his highly active suitors in Manny Diaz and the Duke Blue Devils. The 5-foot-11, 195-pound three-star running back revealed his pledge via the following post on social media:

ALL GLORY TO GOD‼️‼️ I am proud to announce that I will be continuing my academic and athletic carrer at Duke University‼️Thankyou to everyone who helped me along the way#BleedBlue @DUFBRecruit @Coach_MannyDiaz @CoachC_Foster @ChadSimmons_ @On3Recruits @247Sports… pic.twitter.com/h2h8fKhc7O
— CJ Givers (@cj_givers) June 17, 2025

His finalists consisted of Duke, NC State, Georgia Tech, and Indiana.

CJ Givers, who racked up roughly 30 offers in his recruitment, currently ranks No. 646 overall, No. 37 among running backs, and No. 77 in Georgia on the 247Sports 2026 Composite.

Meanwhile, 13th-year NC State football head coach Dave Doeren and his Wolfpack staff now stack up at No. 62 nationally in the cycle. Their eight-deep collection of 2026 commits, each of the three-star variety, checks in at No. 14 among ACC schools, one notch below the Blue Devils.

This article first appeared on NC State Wolfpack on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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