Another Rivers is heading to Raleigh.
Four-star quarterback Gunner Rivers, the son of eight-time Pro Bowl quarterback and NC State great Philip Rivers, took a page out of his dad’s book this week and committed to the Wolfpack on Monday.
The younger Rivers is a four-star recruit in the Class of 2027, and is the No. 125 overall prospect and No. 10 quarterback in the 247Sports Composite rankings for 2027.
Congrats to our QB on his commitment to NC State @PackFootball @StateCoachD @CoachKurtRoper @CoachAlexFaulk #NuncCoepi pic.twitter.com/5Q8lnKuSgO
— St. Michael Football (@StMichaelFB) February 23, 2026
His commitment to NC State could be one of the most significant of Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren’s career, especially considering Doeren is a defensive-minded coach and the Wolfpack haven’t had double-digit wins since the elder Rivers was running the show in the early 2000s. Gunner, who currently plays at St. Michael Catholic in Fairhope, Ala., also fielded an offer from in-state school Auburn, among many others.
Gunner’s high school head coach is his father, who knows well what his son will face at the next levels of competition. Just this fall, the 44-year-old Philip Rivers returned to the NFL after a five-year hiatus for a three-week stint with the Indianapolis Colts as they hoped to make a playoff push. Rivers also interviewed for the Buffalo Bills’ head coaching job before withdrawing himself from the search last month.
If Gunner is anything like his dad, the Wolfpack are in excellent hands. During his four-year stint with NC State, from 2000 to 2003, Philip finished with an NCAA-record 51 consecutive starts at quarterback. He also passed for 13,484 passing yards, which ranked second nationally at the time and now ranks 21st. He threw 95 touchdown passes before going No. 4 overall in the 2004 NFL Draft. He finished his NFL career with nearly 64,000 career passing yards and 425 touchdowns against 212 interceptions.
NC State needs a quarterback of the future, considering CJ Bailey is entering his third year with the program, so the timing for Rivers to arrive in 2027 works well for the Wolfpack.
Gunner has been a star at St. Michael Catholic. He already has 10,200 career passing yards and 111 passing touchdowns, and had a productive junior season with 3,176 yards passing and 46 touchdowns against just five picks.
