Wake Forest football recruit right at home at Raleigh’s Leesville Road HS

High school athletes commonly change schools, crossing boundaries or attending out-of-state academies. They seek recruiting exposure or a winning program, but it’s also a trickle-down from pro sports and the college transfer portal.

That makes Devin Goldston an old-school homebody.

The senior wide receiver plays for his neighborhood high school, Leesville Road. He arrived from his neighborhood middle school, Pine Hollow. And before that he attended his neighborhood elementary school, Brier Creek.

Leesville hasn’t enjoyed such old-school elite athlete loyalty since, well, Goldston’s brother graduated last year on his way to Winston-Salem State. Deiondre Goldston attended those same neighborhood schools prior to his career as Leesville’s two-year starting quarterback.

“I’ve grown up and gone to school with a lot of the guys at Leesville,” Devin said. “I thought about transferring for my senior year, but I decided I wanted to go out and be the best I can be here. We have a great fan base that shows up for our games. I want to leave an impact on this school for others.”

To be fair, a large percentage of Leesville Road’s athletes remain neighborhood kids, but the point is the Goldston brothers weren’t looking elsewhere when they finished at Pine Hollow or during their high school days.

Leesville Road, which opened in 1993, fosters its community through a unique tri-campus complex linking academic progression, K-through-12: The high school address, 8410 Pride Way; Leesville Road Middle School, 8406 Pride Way; and Leesville Road Elementary School, 8402 Pride Way.

The slogan “Leesville for Life” is the connective tissue.

“We don’t lose many kids,” said seventh-year Pride head coach Ben Kolstad. “But you do have to keep a grip on your kids, or you can lose some.”

Leesville (2-1) has bounced back from a season-opening 22-20 loss to Durham Jordan to beat Wake Forest, 35-14, and Heritage, 50-3. The Pride opens Cap 8A Conference play at home with a 7 p.m. Friday game against Wakefield.

Goldston, who is committed to Wake Forest University, caught a 45-yard touchdown pass last week against Heritage to finish with three catches for 88 yards and a TD. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder also returned a kickoff 95 yards for a score.

“He has really come on this year,” Kolstad said. “Wake Forest sees a high ceiling for him. He was a basketball kid when he came here who bought into the weight room for football. He has transformed his body and is a really good athlete.”

Through three games, Goldston has totaled 17 receptions for 300 yards to average 17.6 per catch with three touchdowns. He also starts at cornerback and has two interceptions. With his “Travis Hunter-like” snap count total, Kolstad said Goldston’s kick return duty was as a backup for primary return man Jayden Lee Perry, who is due back from an injury.

“Jayden Lee is electric, but we decided to put Devin in there for him while he’s out,” Kolstad said. “We don’t want to play Devin too much. We want to protect him from the shots he takes returning kicks.”

Goldston’s first two varsity years he caught passes from his brother. As a sophomore, he finished with 48 catches for 510 yards and three touchdowns. As a junior the catches and yards were similar (48-582) with six TDs.

“My brother pushed me, and I saw his leadership,” Devin said. “He was always on me about studying and doing things right. He was always in my ear. I can still hear him telling me how to improve my game.”

Wake Forest’s campus is in Winston-Salem, which Devin says is a recruiting coincidence. But it’s convenient for their parents, Donald and Michelle, to follow both schools’ games.

Goldston said his brother taught him to focus on techniques and route running rather than relying on size and talent. The attitude has helped his transition to playing with The Pride’s new quarterback, junior Damacio Cueto.

Against Heritage, Cueto checked down to find Goldston for a short pass. Senior tight end Evan List delivered a key block to spring Goldston for the 45-yard score.

“Damacio was our backup quarterback last year, so we’ve grown a lot this year,” Goldston said. “We work out a lot together and we do conditioning running hills. He’s gained a lot of confidence since our (preseason) scrimmage.”

Goldson wasn’t receiving much recruiting interest until recently, which indicates new Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert, who was hired after three seasons as Washington State’s head coach, and his staff found him by hitting new recruiting turf on the run.

Dickert had never previously played or coached east of his home state of Wisconsin. Similarly, wide receivers coach Nick Edwards, who coached 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp at Eastern Washington, arrived with Dickert having coached only in the states of Washington or California, although he was offensive assistant with the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons in 2022.

But Edwards quickly found his way 103 miles east to Leesville Road’s campus.

“Coach Edwards and I talked and then I went to their camp,” Golston said. “He’s always messaging me. I feel like I’m already being coached by him with the advice he gives me. I’m always trying to get better, but I don’t think a lot of high school kids get the kind of information I’m learning from him.”

Goldston’s Pine Hollow days along with other Leesville football players provides a Friday Night Lights bond between the campuses. Pine Hollow athletic director Jason Adams, who has been at the school since it opened in 2016, cited the “positives and negatives” of transfers.

“I like that transfers empower the athlete, but there is a network of support for the homegrown kid that is bigger than your parents,” Adams said. “You’re around more kids and more parents who know you. They can celebrate you when things are going well and help pick you up and dust you off when things get rough. You’re not alone.”

Adams added when he attended last week’s Leesville game, he noticed parents asking Devin’s father how Deiondre was doing at Winston-Salem State.

“That’s the level of caring and support,” Adams said. “Your support group loves you as a person and not just an athlete.”

If Devin didn’t understand that community aspect prior to his senior year, before this interview concluded, he sheepishly admitted he was never leaving Leesville Road.

“My parents aren’t the type to pick up and move just so I could play somewhere else,” he said with a chuckle.

This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 6:00 AM.