After announcing his flip from South Alabama and signing to NC State last week, St. Michael running back Noah Moss is following in the footsteps of head coach Philip Rivers, committing to the Wolfpack and giving Rivers a chance to see one of his own players carry on his legacy at his alma mater.

“It’s awesome; it’s been really cool,” Rivers said. “I know he was very excited about South (Alabama) — NC State had kind of been picking up a little bit the last few months. Coach (Kurt) Roper got the chance to watch him play in person twice — once last year in Pleasant Grove, and he came to a home game this year. I think they liked him all along.”

Moss ran for 4,396 yards and 70 touchdowns over his three-year varsity career at St. Michael, adding another 992 yards and eight touchdowns receiving. NC State enters the 2025 season with a young running back room and no juniors or seniors, and the program hasn’t had a 1,000-yard rusher since Reggie Gallaspy II in 2018. Moss hopes to change that and make the same kind of impact for the Wolfpack that his head coach, Philip Rivers, once did.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Rivers as a coach and as a man,” Moss said. “He’s encouraged me to lean on my faith throughout this whole recruiting process and I did, and things are working out for the best because of it. It’s awesome to go to his alma mater, I strive to make the same impact there that he did.”

Although Moss is a talented player in his own right, the impact Rivers had on the Wolfpack program in the early 2000s will be tough to match.

During his career at NC State from 2000 to 2003, Rivers set program records that still stand. He remains the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (13,484), passing touchdowns (95) and single-season passing yards (4,491). His single-season passing touchdown record of 34 stood for 18 years before Devin Leary broke it in 2021.

Rivers finished with a 34-17 record as NC State’s starting quarterback, making him the winningest QB in school history. He went 3-1 in bowl games and led the best season in program history in 2002, when the Wolfpack went 11-3, won the Gator Bowl over Notre Dame and finished No. 12 in the AP Top 25.

The winningest coach in St. Michael football history is, to say the least, excited to watch one of his players compete for his alma mater.

“The cool part for me was I had no idea it was coming,” Rivers said. “I was out at the pregame when they offered him and they (NC State) didn’t even give me a heads up. It’s special for him (Moss). I know he is excited about it and for me I am excited because you have one of your own players. You always pull for the Pack and now you have one to add to it to make you pull for them even more.”