Ben Queen/USAToday sports
Wolfpack Offensive Line Ready to Face Former Mentor
Joshua Fedd-Jackson probably wouldn't be at NC State today if it wasn't for Dwayne Ledford.
The former Wolfpack offensive line coach won the promising recruit over in 2016 by doing what most effective recruiters have a knack for doing.
Winning over the player's mother.
"I was kind of a knucklehead in high school and my mom took his word for it about a good school for me where I won't slack off," said Fedd-Jackson, a junior offensive guard who has started 22 games in his college career.
"She met Ledford and the day after my official visit and I committed. I was like 'mom, was that a good choice?' And she said 'yeah, you're going to NC State."
Fedd-Jackson and his fellow linemen had a strong bond with Ledford. It's a relationship that will make Saturday's game against Louisville all the more emotional for everyone involved.
Ledford is now the Cardinals' offensive coordinator.
Although Fedd-Jackson and his teammates still consider him a mentor and a friend, those feelings will be put aside as the Wolfpack looks to break a three-game losing streak and keep its hopes for bowl eligibility alive.
"It's game time," Fedd-Jackson said. "It's personal until its over."
Ledford is also taking a business-like approach to the the game. But he also admitted that it will feel just a little bit strange returning to Carter-Finley Stadium and sending his current players up against a group of youngsters he recruited, coached and nurtured for the past three seasons.
"NC State, being there, being with those guys, (there's) a lot of relationships with those guys over there -- the staff, the players," Ledford said. "It's going to be a fun game.
"I'm sure it will be (strange) when you get out there, but the thing is getting the guys ready to play and then getting them to the field and watching them perform. ... When you're coaching on the sidelines, you're not going to get caught up in the crowd, because you're focused on your kids."
Fedd-Jackson said that he hasn't spoken with Ledford -- a two-time Broyles Award nominee as the nation's top assistant coach -- since the season began. But he does still stay in touch with Ledford's wife Meredith.
"I sent her a picture of my baby because she and I had our own little relationship," the 6-foot-3, 332-pound New Jersey native said. "She was like a team mom for the offensive line while she was here."
Because of that relationship, Fedd-Jackson said he plans to seek Ledford out after the game and give him a hug.
He already knows what he's going to say to his former coach.
"I'll say 'Hey coach,'" Fedd-Jackson said. "'Great game, because we just won.'"
