The NC State football program and a couple of its players are on the receiving end of the NCAA’s never-ending benevolence.
The Wolpacker magazine this week reported that tight end Dylan Autenrieth and wide receiver C.J. Riley have each been granted a sixth season of eligibility. By way of their official bios HERE and HERE, the players’ extended eligibility was confirmed by the NC State football program.
Both Autenrieth and Riley will be fifth-year seniors in 2020. That extra season of eligibility will allow the duo to play in 2021 as well.
Autenrieth and Riley were each three-star members of the NC State football Class of 2016. The former played his high school football in Georgia, the latter in Florida.
Both players took a redshirt their true freshman seasons. Riley was sidelined for that initial season after tearing an ACL and undergoing surgery in the summer. He also tore his ACL in the 2019 opener and, obviously, missed the rest of last season as well.
Autenrieth began the 2019 season as the starting tight end for the Wolfpack. In the third game of the year, however, Autenrieth went down with what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury. During his time with the ACC school, Autenrieth caught five passes for 67 yards.
When healthy in 2017 and 2018, Riley totaled 457 yards and two touchdowns on 37 receptions. Riley played in 26 games those two seasons.
NC State had been scheduled to open the 2020 football season against Louisville Thursday, Sept. 3. Because of the Kentucky Derby being moved that weekend, however, that game was moved up to Sept. 2.