After a successful freshman season at Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Miss., safety Rakeim Ashford was confident that he was ready to make the big jump.

And not just a four-year college or the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. Ashford was thinking Power Five, and as fate had it NC State came calling over the summer.

Ashford, 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, had 39 tackles, four interceptions and five pass breakups during the 2019 season for Jones County and was named first-team all-conference. He also blocked a kick, forced a fumble and recovered one, while being an honor roll student off the field.

“I believed I was ready to come to an ACC, Power Five school,” Ashford confirmed.

That opportunity became official when Ashford made the jump, skipping a sophomore year at Jones County, and enrolled at NC State shortly before the start of preseason camp. The last-minute addition to the 2020 roster went through the expected adjustment period, which he estimated lasted 2-3 weeks.

“At first, I was the quiet guy on the team,” Ashford admitted. “I was talking to nobody. When I got here, it was coming fast.”

He went through a similar experience in game one against Wake Forest, a season-opening 45-42 win for the Wolfpack on Saturday.

Starter and junior Tanner Ingle, a team captain, were sent to the sideline two plays into the contest with an apparent injury. That meant Ashford, who had made a quick impression on the Wolfpack coaches during preseason camp, was the next man up on the depth chart.

Ashford would log 80 snaps against Wake Forest’s up-tempo offense and was one of three Wolfpack defenders who had double-digit tackles, piling up 10.

Ashford also had a pass breakup that he nearly intercepted on Wake Forest’s final fourth-down incomplete pass.

“I got too excited,” Ashford confessed. “Once I broke on the ball, I just saw open field. I thought it was going to be tipped, but I guess it wasn’t.

“When the ball got into my hands, I was just going to take off with it.”

Ashford felt that he “had a pretty decent game,” but he also sees room for improvement. Much like the adjustment he faced when he arrived at NC State, he had another similar experience in the game.

“The first couple of possessions it was going fast. … It moved way faster than juco,” he said.

“It started slowing down, I’d say, probably second half after I had seen how it was running.”

By the end of the night, he may have confirmed to others what he was confident about before: he was ready to make that leap from Jones County to NC State.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook