How Waxhaw’s ‘agricultural cowboy’ became a bona fide NFL prospect at NC State
Caden Noonkester has been hard to miss during his time at N.C. State. The towering, lanky punter is 6-foot-6, and throughout most of his five-year tenure with the Wolfpack, he sported a flowing mullet and a pencil-thin mustache that would make Errol Flynn do a double-take.
But as he prepares for this week’s NFL Draft, Noonkester is all business. He trimmed his mullet — his trademark locks no longer hit his shoulders — and made his facial hair a tad more conventional ahead of his pro day workout outside the Close-King Indoor Practice Facility in March.
After launching a handful of balls 50 yards down the field — in front of scouts from at least two dozen NFL teams — Noonkester admits that his unique style needed to be toned down to reach his ultimate goal: to join the notable list of N.C. State specialists to make to the NFL.
“Taking this next step, a lot of it is just trying to look as presentable as you can, and a lot of teams, they don’t want a loud personality,” Noonkester told The Charlotte Observer in March. “They just want a guy that’s going to show up. They’re going to give them the result, and then that’s going to be it. They’re not going to have any issues.“
While Noonkester looks a bit more polished these days, the Waxhaw, N.C., native still has a way about him. As his former teammate-turned-trainer, Shane McDonough, points out, Noonkester is a bit of an “oddball” among his peers.
Noonkester, according McDonough, is known tol practice in a cowboy hat and tank top with his teammates. The crop and soil sciences major also has an eclectic set of interests that are unique to most college athletes.
“Oddly enough, he’s very into like finance and things like that,” McDonough said. “But the big thing for him is he loves agriculture — like he would do a side job. He likes to pressure wash people’s driveways and stuff. He likes labor, if that makes sense. He’s very big on labor and stuff like that. And then, yeah, he’s just like, I guess, you would say a blue-collar guy.”
But while Noonkester has a unique vibe, he ultimately wants to live a dream that most aspiring athletes yearn for, and he’s just days away from potentially realizing that accomplishment. As he awaits a call that could change his life, and perhaps his farming future, the punter — and those closest to him — can reflect on his football journey with appreciation.
How the ball bounces ...
Noonkester grew up a soccer player. His father, Matt, says his son was an accomplished goalkeeper during his youth.
The younger Noonkester didn’t pick up football until his junior year at Marvin Ridge High School, and due to his size — he was told he was too tall to be a kicker — he gravitated toward punting.
Due to his relatively short high school football tenure, Noonkester began his college career as a walk-on with the Wolfpack in 2021. He sat behind Trenton Gill, who would go on to be a seventh-round pick of the Chicago Bears in the 2022 NFL Draft.
“I think the biggest thing that stuck out to me is he was willing to listen, learn and develop,” said N.C. State special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel. “Not afraid of the work ahead of him, even though he had a long ways to go in the development phase. And he had a great mentor in Trenton Gill ahead of him, that he embraced — I wouldn’t say trying to completely be Trenton — but kind of follow the path of development Trenton had already done, as far as the time spent, the tireless morning hours, the work ethic behind the scenes. There were a lot of similiarities on how both of them started, and of course, how both of them finished up their college careers.”
When Gill headed to the NFL, N.C. State brought in McDonough — a graduate student who previously played at Towson University — to start. Noonkester worked with McDonough behind the scenes and learned from him as the pair developed a strong bond.
“Just a little bit of an oddball at first, but he’s just a shy kid,” McDonough said. “You just have to open him up. He didn’t really talk too much, honestly, when I first got there. And a lot of the guys in the room said that too, but we would go do drills and jug work together and catch on the machine and kind of open him up a little. And yeah, he’s kind of got that agricultural cowboy-like kind of personality to him.”
McDonough was injured midway through his lone season with the program, so Noonkester was asked to step up. He averaged 43 yards per punt on 29 attempts during his redshirt freshman season in 2022. His net average was 40.2 yards per attempt.
Noonkester earned a scholarship with the program in 2023. He averaged 43.1 yards per punt during his three-year run as the full-time starter. He also landed 40 total attempts inside the 20-yard line during his final two campaigns.
“The lights never get too bright for him,” Goebbel said. “He has a very unique personality — very engaging. Takes things serious but never takes himself too serious, if that makes sense. And so, he’s always pretty calm, cool and collected, even though he had a job to do that was very important. We talk about it all the time, ‘You’ve got one opportunity to make a difference — you don’t get a do-over.’ And I think his personality, his preparation (and) his mindset never let the moment get too big for him.”
Noonkester’s favorite play of his college career followed one his self-described worst punts.
In Novembe, Noonkester launched a short but high punt to Florida State’s return team. The ball hit a Seminoles player in the helmet around the Florida State 34-yard line and bounced all the way back to the N.C. State 40-yard line. And Noonkester was able to recover the ball in one of the rarest turnover scenarios in college football.
Both Noonkester and his father, who was in attendance at the game, had flashbacks to his formative years during the play.
“I’ll tell you, as he was running toward that ball, I was having glimpses back to when he was a goalkeeper,” Matt said. “He was a pretty decorated goalkeeper, very good at it. And the way I saw him slide out and extend his arms and everything, it just reminded me of when he played soccer.”
Chickens: The gateway animal
Noonkester, who grew up a fan of the nearby Carolina Panthers, is hoping to get a shot with an NFL club this spring. He’s used to earning a job, and he’s comfortable with the idea of a training camp competition with a veteran specialist.
“When you’re starting out as a walk-on, it’s similar to being a rookie in the NFL,” Noonkester said. “You’re quietly working and you’re just waiting for an opportunity.”
Noonkester also aspires to own a farm one day. An NFL paycheck can help fund that dream, too.
“The term is homesteading, so trying to grow my own food and raise my own animals,” Noonkester said. “I think it’s a really, really neat way to live.”
Noonkester and McDonough spoke with teams following the pro day workout last month. McDonough thinks his former teammate should be a draw for teams because of his hang time and holding skills.
“A lot of coaches like his hang time,” McDonough said. “Whether you hit your ‘A’ ball or not, hang time is always going to be crucial, especially in the NFL. At his pro day, every ball was high. I think he had five above 50 yards. And even his missed hits — I think he averaged around 4.7, 4.8 seconds of hang time. And that’s like a big key in the NFL.”
“I think they’re getting a kid that’s hungry to continue to improve,” Goebbel said about Noonkester’s potential employers in the NFL. “I think they’re getting a kid that if the lights get bright, he runs to it instead of running away from it.”
For now, though, Noonkester isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch — a relatable metaphor for the young punter, who wants to raise animals on a farm.
“I’ve heard the gateway animal is chickens,” Noonkester said. “So maybe start with chickens.”
But before he can start filling a barn, Noonkester wants to light up the sky in an NFL stadium. He’d like to follow in the footsteps of Gill, A.J. Cole, Stephen Hauschka and other specialists who have gone from N.C. State to the NFL.
He’s just hoping to receive that chance during or after the draft this weekend.
This story was originally published April 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline "How Waxhaw’s ‘agricultural cowboy’ became a bona fide NFL prospect at NC State."
