Recruiting reality? Once a can’t-miss Power-4 prospect, LJ Porter finds a home
Back when he was in the eighth grade and got an offer from Tennessee, LJ Porter was seen as a can’t-miss major college football prospect.
Last December, Porter was named all-state and all-Charlotte Observer as a junior defensive back at Charlotte Christian — despite missing two of 11 games with injury. His short list of schools included several Power 4 programs.
He was still can’t miss.
But a lot can change in college football recruiting really fast.
Consider that, in June, Porter announced his final seven possible schools. That list included Georgia Tech, which offered Porter on March 1, Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
Friday, Porter committed to East Carolina, choosing the Pirates over James Madison, Liberty and Sacramento State.
And he made the announcement at Hough High School near Lake Norman, about an hour from his old high school that he transferred from a few weeks ago. At Hough, Porter will play for a coach his father calls one of the “best defensive minds in America.”
“There’s never a dull moment,” Porter Jr. said. “So you’re always striving to get better. You’re never done. A lot of kids get scholarships and think everything is OK and slack off and become lazy. Whenever you play, you’ve got to be tenacious, fast and physical. But it’s a crazy process (recruiting). There are thousands of kids working for the same opportunities that I’ve gotten, and many more have gotten. So you don’t want anyone to ever outwork you.”
Learned a lot about the process
Porter said it’s “been a long winding road” that’s taught him a lot about the recruiting process, about preparation and about believing in yourself no matter what.
“Recruiting,” he said, “has it’s ups and downs. I was blessed for it to begin earlier than most kids. I got my first (offer) in eighth grade and they kept pouring in. So my process was a little different. My ceiling was high and still is high and what I’m doing is based on the best opportunity for me, going somewhere were I can step in there and contribute on Day 1 and (East Carolina) is giving me that.”
Porter is a 6-foot, 215-pounder who will play defensive back, edge rusher and linebacker as a senior at Hough, according to Huskies’ coach Shawn Baker.
247 Sports, which ranks Porter as the No. 58 recruit in North Carolina among seniors, lists him as an athlete nationally. And two area coaches The Observer spoke to think that may have been an issue with Porter’s Power 4 recruiting. The coaches said Porter is seen as a “tweener,” not quite a full-time linebacker but not quite a full-time defensive back at the highest level.
Their thinking is that Porter will take time to develop, where they can get ready-made players, with college experience, from the transfer portal. That would line up with what Porter said was a big reason in deciding on East Carolina, and dropping the major colleges from his finalists. He wants to play now. At linebacker.
Keep it close to the vest
But asked directly about the situation, Porter and his father — former Chambers High baseball coach Lindell Porter Sr. — play a little coy.
“Everybody’s going to talk,” Porter Jr. said. “But also, everyone that knows me knows how I play. They know that. You can watch my film and be like, ‘Of course, he can definitely play at the big schools.’ I know I’m that guy and I bring it, and I don’t believe that there’s a better defensive player than me in the Carolinas region.”
His father said the East Carolina decision was about finding the place that offered his son the “best opportunity.”
Yes, those words again.
“There were a couple schools that were on him pretty strong,” Porter Sr. said, “and they kind of backed off at the end, so whenever they backed off at the end of his recruiting, he had to move on with the ones that were showing the most interest. Recruiting changes daily. It really seems like it.”
Asked if it was frustrating to have everything change so late in the process, Porter Sr. took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.
“I have to count it as a blessing as well,” he finally said. “We’ve been doing this for so long. LJ has been on the national scene for a long time, and even though this has a been a little frustrating, with everything you go through, it’s kind of like a breath of fresh air (to commit). He’s talked to so many schools and coaches, it’s like a burden has been lifted. Well, I don’t want to say anything to make it seem like I’m calling all of this a burden, really. It’s a blessing to get recruited, and to have it all come to an end is also fulfilling.”
Why transfer now?
In early July, Porter Jr. sent some shockwaves through the Charlotte high school football community when he announced a transfer from Charlotte Christian to Hough.
Charlotte Christian has a history of developing high-major talent and has former NFL players heavily involved with the program right now. And Porter had thrived there. Last season, he had 88 tackles in nine games and, at times, was simply a terror on defense.
“I’m glad we don’t have to play against him anymore,” said Chad Grier, coach of Charlotte Christian’s nationally-ranked archrival at Providence Day School in southeast Charlotte. “I think he’s a terrific player and a really good kid and football player. He’s tough and physical and a playmaker. That’s tough for those guys at Christian to lose a guy that talented. I hate it for those guys because (Porter) has been a great player in our league and he’ll be great at Hough.”
Porter said it was hard to leave a place where he had so much on-field success and had built so many off-field relationships. But he decided to move in, full-time, with his father, who lives in the Hough district, and Huskies’ defensive coordinator Chachi Sullivan is a close family relative. With Charlotte Christian likely an hour drive, or more, with traffic down I-77, the Porters said the move to Hough just made sense.
“My cousin is one of the greatest defensive minds in the country,” Porter Sr. said, “and I really felt like it would give LJ the best opportunity to learn his craft. I don’t care how athletic you are, you’re only as good as what you’ve been coached. Christian has NFL guys, and I want to give them the utmost credit for doing a great job with LJ over the years, but it was just time. LJ is excited, and we’re looking forward to holding up that state championship trophy in December.”
Hough head coach Shawn Baker said he was “shocked and surprised” when he found out an all-state, Division-I recruit was dropping into his lap in the middle of the summer. Baker already had a nationally-ranked team. Porter just made them better.
Baker just didn’t know how much.
“He’s been a bright spot,” Baker said. “He can play multiple positions. It’s upped everybody’s level on defense. It makes you feel good as a coach when you’ve got kids like that who want to come into your program. People love to talk about good coaches, but good players make good coaches. And this kid is a quick learner. He’s a beast in the weight room. He’s smart.
“He’s just a football player.”
About now and tomorrow
Porter Jr. has simple goals for now: Win big at Hough and help the school reach its first football state championship game.
He plans to graduate in December and enroll at East Carolina in time for spring practice.
Baker thinks he’ll be an immediate impact player in college, which could mean that the Power-4 schools eventually will come calling again. And if everything works out, maybe Porter’s plan — play immediately at East Carolina vs. possibly sitting somewhere else — lands him in a major conference in a few years with loads of playing experience under his belt vs. standing on the sideline and only getting reps in practice.
There is also this: In the 2025 NFL draft, 18 players were drafted from Group of Five, or mid-major conferences, including six from the American Athletic Conference that East Carolina plays in.
247 Sports, which tracks recruiting nationally, calls Porter one of the best all-around athletes in the Charlotte area.
“On tape,” the website’s report said, “Porter shows excellent burst and a quick first step. Porter could conceivably play all over ECU’s defense, but projects primarily as (an outside linebacker) with the potential to play (middle linebacker) depending on his development.”
Asked what the Pirates were getting in him as a recruit, Porter Jr. said: “A hard working, fast, physical player. The most dominant player you’re ever going to see out of North Carolina.”
And he said committing Friday night was just the start of his story.
“It’s like a dream come true really,” he said. “I’m been dreaming of this day since I was four years old. Seeing it all come around and finally happening? It’s definitely a special moment.”
This story was originally published August 3, 2025 at 5:35 AM.
