A little more than a month ago, twins Fred and Ced Seabrough were undecided about where they would spend their collegiate years. Multiple schools were after the brothers, yet they kept their options open. That changed over the weekend, however, when the Seabroughs officially committed to NC State.
In an interview Monday night, Ced vouched the decision was not one he and his brother took lightly. It took the two months to whittle their list down to the top 3, then another two weeks before they decided on their school of choice.
“We really started trying to make a decision in the last few weeks. We had originally planned to commit at a later time, but COVID-19 impacted recruiting a lot. Plus, this whole virus has taught everybody you never know what’s going to happen. With that in mind, we wanted to be prepared, focus on football, and get better, so we went ahead and chose,” Ced explained. “Fred and I had a lot of conversations one-on-one about our top 3, which ended up being Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, and NC State obviously. Once we got that far, we sat down with our family and talked it over, and now we’re here. NC State just felt like the right place.”
Read any of the numerous NC State football blogs and you’ll find the general consensus by Pack fans is that NC State had good fortune in scoring the twins, but what you can’t call it is luck. Ced expounded on their top reasons for choosing the Raleigh-based school, starting with the fact that NC State’s coaching staff has shown “nothing but love” from the jump.
“Fred and I had a big game last year against Washington County. Somebody made us a highlight reel and did an interview with us after that game. NC State started hitting us hard then and never stopped. The amount of love they showed us from the beginning helped make our decision a lot easier. The more we got to know the coaching staff, especially Coach [Todd] Goebbel, who works with the tight ends, the clearer it became. They check up on us every day, sometimes multiple times a day,” Ced said. “They always shoot us straight, too. They never cut any corners. They didn’t just tell us what we wanted to hear. They’ve been riding with us from the start, and we just really think they have our best interest at heart. The type of offense they run matches up with our game really well, and we think we’ll be able to play early there. All of it just came together.”
One other factor kept replaying in the twins’ heads as they volleyed mentally about where to commit. Fred and Ced traveled to NC State last fall when the Wolfpack took on Clemson. There, they got the full gameday experience at Carter-Finley Stadium.
“It was so awesome! Every single coach made sure they introduced themselves that day, and they personally let us know they would be the ones working to make us the best versions of ourselves. That was important, but so were the fans. We recruits got to walk out on the field before the game, and the fans went crazy hyping us up! The stadium was so packed the bleachers up top were shaking. That moment proved to us that was the kind of atmosphere we want to be in.”
Of course, athletics weren’t the only factor that mattered for the brothers, who have been adamant all along they will not separate after high school. Both of them are interested in studying graphic design, so they vetted what kind of quality opportunities they would have to do that at NC State. They were also drawn to the general area of the school; Ced and his brother have done their homework on the Tarheel State, having a genuine appreciation for North Carolina being the fastest growing place for men right now. With that will come a bounty of opportunities for life after football.
Once the decision was finalized in their home, Ced sent a text to head coach Dave Doeren last Friday, July 3, who was, as to be expected, super stoked to receive the commitment from his three-star tight ends. “As soon as I sent him that text, he called us. He was so excited and wanted to make it official. He immediately welcomed us to the family, but we waited until July 4 to put it on social media. When we did, it blew up in a good way.”
Pack faithful have taken to Twitter, Facebook, and message boards to express their delight. The twins’ athleticism is a given draw for fans. Both brothers are around 6’4” and 220 lbs., and both had stellar junior years as Swainsboro High School Tigers. Ced caught 58 passes for 800 yards and 13 touchdowns while Fred had 37 passes for 703 yards and 8 scores. When fans consider those numbers and add in the fact that NC State will have an immediate need at tight end in 2021 with three players at that position scheduled to graduate, it’s obvious why Pack Nation is thrilled to welcome the Swainsboro High School standouts.
As of this past weekend when they committed, Fred and Ced make up the 14th and 15th members of a strong 2021 recruiting class for NC State. Others in that class are three-star running back Demie Sumo; four-star quarterback Aaron McLaughlin; four-star wide receivers Julian Gray and Micah Crowell; three-star wide receiver Jakolbe Baldwin; four-star defensive end Travali Price; three-star long snapper/nose guard Jayden Tate; three-star defensive backs Mario Love, Sean Brown, and Nate Evans; three-star offensive linemen Jaleel Davis and Thornton Gentry; and three-star linebacker Camden Fordham. Many of those players Tweeted their support as soon as Fred and Ced publicized their commitment on social media, and the brothers were soon added to a Snapchat group with all their fellow 2021 commits.
“The coaching staff is one thing. They’ve become like our second family,” Ced commented, “but we’ve really gotten a lot of love from our future teammates, too. We know we made the right decision. We’re not sure when we’ll arrive on campus yet after graduation next year; we have the opportunity to go early, but we haven’t thought that far ahead. No matter what, we’re ready to get to Raleigh, work hard, and make our family and our hometown proud.”
On the short-term agenda, the twins are giving their best effort at summer workouts for the upcoming season. Despite committing, they plan to remain multi-sport athletes at Swainsboro. The brothers still have some important goals to check off their list, namely staying healthy, winning a championship in football, and getting another ring for basketball. In the meantime, you can count on them to keep impressing—and to be looking forward to National Signing Day to officially “pick the Pack.”
