Home Local Sports Carolina Calls: Hood to forgo senior season, enroll early at UNC

Carolina Calls: Hood to forgo senior season, enroll early at UNC

Caleb Hood, pictured scoring a touchdown against Butler in 2019, will enroll early at UNC.
Jimmy McDonald — The Richmond Observer.

ROCKINGHAM — An already exciting week for Caleb Hood got even more celebratory Friday for the soon-to-be University of North Carolina running back.  

Two days after signing his National Letter of Intent, Hood announced he would be forgoing his senior season at Richmond Senior High School to enroll early at UNC. 

He was one of five Raiders to join the Division-I college football circuit on Wednesday during the NCAA’s early signing period. 

Hood didn’t make the decision lightly, noting he confided a lot in his family and coaches. The coronavirus pandemic also delayed what would have been his senior season, and the 6-0, 231-pound Tar Heel said he wanted to treat his final year of high school as normal as possible before leaving a semester early. 

“It took a while to decide,” Hood said. “I kind of just didn’t think about it and tried to just go through my senior year first. But after talking to my family and coaches, I just felt like it was best.”

A three-year varsity starter, Hood became the first Raider to start under center as a freshman. A staple of the program, he is Richmond’s all-time passing yards (6,305), completions (394) and single-game completions (26) leader.

Hood finished his 39-game high school career with a 31-8 overall record, including three playoffs wins. 

In that span, he went 394-for-669 through the air with a .589 completion percentage and tossed 59 passing scores. Hood averaged 161.7 passing yards per game and had a 109.9 QB rating.

A dual-threat quarterback, Hood also impressed on the ground. His stat line includes 1,899 rushing yards on 302 attempts, 27 rushing touchdowns and five games of 100 rushing yards or more. 

Single-game career highs include 423 passing yards and four passing scores against Scotland High School his freshman year, four rushing scores against Myers Park in the 2019 playoffs and 160 rushing yards against Butler earlier that season.

Each year, Hood captained a team that made it deeper and deeper into the 4AA state playoffs. His junior season ended in a trip to the West Regional championship.

Although his Richmond career came to an unorthodox end because of the pandemic, Hood isn’t letting that get in the way of recognizing the people he’s enjoyed the process with. 

“Some of my favorite memories would definitely be the relationships with my coaches and teammates,” Hood explained. “I’ve built relationships with them that’ll last a lifetime.”

Among those he’s shared the field with is Kellan Hood, his younger brother and a junior wide receiver at Richmond. The two have been teammates since their days in the Raider Youth program coached by their dad, Errol Hood, as well as at Rockingham Middle School.

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Hood will also compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference against now former Raiders and future N.C. State opponents Jakolbe Baldwin and Jaleel Davis. 

“Being a Raider, and especially being the quarterback, I had to grow up fast,” Hood said of how Richmond prepared him for college. “Also the culture Coach (Bryan) Till ingrained in us is one that most high schools, and maybe even colleges, don’t have.

“I feel like that was a big part of being set to such a high standard. That prepared not just me, but my other teammates as well for the next level.”

Till, who began his tenure at Richmond during Hood’s freshman year, took to Twitter to celebrate the big news.

“Love this young man and all he has done for our program,” Till captioned a retweet of Hood’s announcement. “Thank you and we know you’ll be great! Once a Raider, always a Raider!”

Hood will join a Carolina rushing attack that has made headlines recently. Against Miami on Dec. 12, Javonte Williams and Michael Carter combined for 544 rushing yards, the most rushing yards in a single game by teammates in FCS history. 

Of heading to Chapel Hill, Hood said he hopes “to go in and compete, and show the staff and the players that I’m a competitor who is going to put in the work.”

“It has been a pleasure as a coach to have the time with Caleb and the other seniors we have had,” Till commented. “Caleb has been more than a great athlete. He has been a great ambassador for Raider football in our school and community.  

“I don’t know that I can put all my thoughts into one statement because it has been four great years of experiences. It would be tough to do it justice. I just continue to be proud of him. This was an extremely tough decision for him.”

Set to report to UNC on Jan. 16, Hood plans to learn as much as he can as quickly as he can. He also plans to prepare for a career in the communications field. 

“I’d like to thank my coaches for trusting me and being there for me as a freshman. That gave me a lot of confidence and the relationships I built with them are unmatched and I’m glad I was able to learn from them,” Hood shared. “I’d also like to thank my teachers, from elementary to high school, because they’ve all been supportive.

“I’d like to thank my family,” he closed. “They took countless trips to camps and visits with me and came to every single game I’ve ever had. My sisters could’ve gone and hung out with friends, but they were always willing to be there and I just thank them for all the sacrifices they’ve made for me. 

“Kellan has also been a big support system. God has put me in a situation that kids dream of growing up, and I’ll never be able to thank Him enough. I have so many people and things to be thankful for.”

The hunt for Richmond’s new quarterback will begin this offseason, with Kellan Hood a potential favorite. He was the junior varsity quarterback his freshman season in 2018.



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Kyle Pillar is a 22-time North Carolina Press Association award-winning sports editor with The Richmond Observer. Follow the sports department on X @ROSports_ for the best in-depth coverage of Richmond County sports.