ROCKINGHAM — Richmond Senior quarterback Caleb Hood was among the host of highly-touted college recruits posting to social media after attending official school visits over the weekend.
But it was one post in particular that caught the attention of fans, media and everything in-between as Hood took to Twitter Sunday night to announce his commitment to play football for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2021.
“I couldn’t wait, I wanted to be a Tar Heel,” the standout junior said of the decision. “I mean, I just figured, don’t wait, because I know I wanted to be there and I didn’t want to play the recruiting game with everybody.”
The three-star quarterback had a handful of offers to choose from, most notably Atlantic Coast Conference schools Duke and Virginia Tech, but said the atmosphere at UNC was unrivaled.
Choosing the Tar Heels also allows Hood to carry out a lifelong dream of playing at the same school his father, Errol Hood.
Errol Hood was a three-year starter at cornerback for UNC and led the Tar Heels in interceptions in 1999 and 2000. He took to Facebook after his son’s announcement and stressed how proud he was and that it natural, not forced.
“The plan was always to turn he and his little brother Kellan into Tar Heels,” Errol Hood’s post said. “Caleb made this decision on his own with no pressure at all from me. I tried to remain open-minded throughout his entire recruitment process.”
Meanwhile, the Raiders’ star was clear and earnest when responding to a question about whether his father’s playing career affected the commitment.
“It was big, but at the same time, it was my decision and I didn’t really base it off of him (Errol),” Caleb Hood said. “It is pretty cool that I’m playing at the same school he played at, but I made this decision for me and it feels like home.”
With Hood under center, Richmond enjoyed one of its best seasons in over a decade, going undefeated in the regular season and making it to the regional semifinal where they were named runner-ups to eventual state champion Vance.
He earned offensive player of the year honors for the Sandhills Athletic Conference after amassing career highs in passing yards (2,175), rushing yards (976) and total touchdowns (37).
The three-year Raiders starter has well over 6,000 yards passing heading into his final high school season and says for now, the UNC coaching staff plans to keep him at quarterback. But he says they did intimate that other options will be on the table including the opportunity to play wide receiver, which Hood calls his “favorite position.”
