1. Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College safety Bishop Fitzgerald could be on commitment watch this weekend.
Fitzgerald will be one of two official visitors this weekend, with senior wide receiver Elijah Caldwell of Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern the other (more on him in a bit).
Fitzgerald came out with a top five of NC State, Arizona State, Cincinnati, SMU and Maryland about a week before National Signing Day in December.
At the time, he was on commitment watch for Maryland. He’s from Woodbridge, Va., and attended Dale City (Va.) Gar-Field High. The Terrapins went in another direction, and that opened the door for NC State and the others. He had 50 tackles and six interceptions this season, helping Coffeyville C.C. go 8-3 this past season.
Obviously, one of the reasons he’s on commitment watch is because players will be signing in a few weeks. Besides that though, Fitzgerald would fill a critical need at safety. The 6-foot, 190-pounder would immediately compete for playing time at NC State. After Jakeen Harris, the next wave of safeties included Sean Brown, who was the fourth safety this season, and former junior college transfer Rakeim Ashford, who played on special teams, but then played in the bowl game against Maryland. He had an interception and Pro Football Focus loved his game. He and Tanner Ingle seemed to have a little confusion on one long pass play, but otherwise Ashford held up well in his first extended action.
NC State has class of 2023 safeties Daemon Fagan and Zack Myers coming in. Old Dominion transfer Robert Kennedy can play both nickel and free safety.
2. NC State was looking particularly good for Caldwell following his mutual parting of the ways with West Virginia, and then new schools started to come in, particularly South Carolina on Jan. 6.
The 6-1, 191-pounder had committed to West Virginia on July 1, and then decommitted Dec. 19. NC State made a late rush right before National Signing Day, but due to the Carolinas Shrine Bowl, he couldn’t officially visit. However, the pull of the Wolfpack led to him electing to not want to sign during the first period.
The presence of South Carolina’s new offer has led many to believe he’ll end up with the Gamecocks. That could be the case, but the fact that he’s still visiting NC State does mean something, other than recruits love to take fun official visits.
Will Caldwell make an immediate impact like Fitzgerald hopefully would? Maybe not, but he does fill a crucial need. It’s no secret that NC State’s wide receiving room needs a makeover.
Caldwell has caught 187 passes for 2,939 yards and 37 touchdowns the last three years at Northwestern. He snagged 77 passes the last two years, and he had 1,365 receiving yards and 19 scores this past fall. He could bring some of the abilities that made Emeka Emezie such a quality college receiver at NC State. Caldwell’s eye-hand coordinator and body control was high level, and he made a handful of nice plays at the Shrine Bowl. Of course, his quarterback was LaNorris Sellers, who South Carolina flipped from Syracuse.
3. Having new offensive coordinators at NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson and Tennessee is something that might never happen again.
Here’s a look at how Robert Anae compares to the other new offensive coordinator hires.
NC State OC Robert Anae
Age: 64
Previous job: OC at Syracuse
2022 statistics: 27.7 points per game, 143.2 rushing yards per game and 231.9 passing yards per game.
Previous OC stops: BYU (2005-10, 2013-15), Virginia (2016-21), Syracuse.
•••
North Carolina OC Chip Lindsey
Age: 48
Previous job: OC at Central Florida
2022 statistics: 32.9 points per game, 228.4 rushing yards per game, 241.2 passing yards per game.
Previous head coaching experience: Troy (2019-21), 15-19 overall.
Previous OC stops: Southern Mississippi (2014-15), Arizona State (2016), Auburn (2017-18), UCF.
•••
South Carolina OC Dowell Loggains
Age: 42
Previous job: Tight ends coach at Arkansas.
Previous OC stops: Tennessee Titans (2012-13), Chicago Bears (2016-17), Miami Dolphins (2018), New York Jets (2019-20).
•••
Clemson OC Garrett Riley
Age: 33
Previous job: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Christian.
2022 statistics: 41.1 points per game, 204.5 rushing yards per game, 269.6 passing yards per game.
Previous OC stops: SMU (2020-21).
•••
Tennessee OC Joey Halzle
Age: 36 (soon 37)
Previous job: Quarterbacks coach at Tennessee
Previous OC stops: None.
Fitzgerald will be one of two official visitors this weekend, with senior wide receiver Elijah Caldwell of Rock Hill (S.C.) Northwestern the other (more on him in a bit).
Fitzgerald came out with a top five of NC State, Arizona State, Cincinnati, SMU and Maryland about a week before National Signing Day in December.
At the time, he was on commitment watch for Maryland. He’s from Woodbridge, Va., and attended Dale City (Va.) Gar-Field High. The Terrapins went in another direction, and that opened the door for NC State and the others. He had 50 tackles and six interceptions this season, helping Coffeyville C.C. go 8-3 this past season.
Obviously, one of the reasons he’s on commitment watch is because players will be signing in a few weeks. Besides that though, Fitzgerald would fill a critical need at safety. The 6-foot, 190-pounder would immediately compete for playing time at NC State. After Jakeen Harris, the next wave of safeties included Sean Brown, who was the fourth safety this season, and former junior college transfer Rakeim Ashford, who played on special teams, but then played in the bowl game against Maryland. He had an interception and Pro Football Focus loved his game. He and Tanner Ingle seemed to have a little confusion on one long pass play, but otherwise Ashford held up well in his first extended action.
NC State has class of 2023 safeties Daemon Fagan and Zack Myers coming in. Old Dominion transfer Robert Kennedy can play both nickel and free safety.
2. NC State was looking particularly good for Caldwell following his mutual parting of the ways with West Virginia, and then new schools started to come in, particularly South Carolina on Jan. 6.
The 6-1, 191-pounder had committed to West Virginia on July 1, and then decommitted Dec. 19. NC State made a late rush right before National Signing Day, but due to the Carolinas Shrine Bowl, he couldn’t officially visit. However, the pull of the Wolfpack led to him electing to not want to sign during the first period.
The presence of South Carolina’s new offer has led many to believe he’ll end up with the Gamecocks. That could be the case, but the fact that he’s still visiting NC State does mean something, other than recruits love to take fun official visits.
Will Caldwell make an immediate impact like Fitzgerald hopefully would? Maybe not, but he does fill a crucial need. It’s no secret that NC State’s wide receiving room needs a makeover.
Caldwell has caught 187 passes for 2,939 yards and 37 touchdowns the last three years at Northwestern. He snagged 77 passes the last two years, and he had 1,365 receiving yards and 19 scores this past fall. He could bring some of the abilities that made Emeka Emezie such a quality college receiver at NC State. Caldwell’s eye-hand coordinator and body control was high level, and he made a handful of nice plays at the Shrine Bowl. Of course, his quarterback was LaNorris Sellers, who South Carolina flipped from Syracuse.
3. Having new offensive coordinators at NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Clemson and Tennessee is something that might never happen again.
Here’s a look at how Robert Anae compares to the other new offensive coordinator hires.
NC State OC Robert Anae
Age: 64
Previous job: OC at Syracuse
2022 statistics: 27.7 points per game, 143.2 rushing yards per game and 231.9 passing yards per game.
Previous OC stops: BYU (2005-10, 2013-15), Virginia (2016-21), Syracuse.
•••
North Carolina OC Chip Lindsey
Age: 48
Previous job: OC at Central Florida
2022 statistics: 32.9 points per game, 228.4 rushing yards per game, 241.2 passing yards per game.
Previous head coaching experience: Troy (2019-21), 15-19 overall.
Previous OC stops: Southern Mississippi (2014-15), Arizona State (2016), Auburn (2017-18), UCF.
•••
South Carolina OC Dowell Loggains
Age: 42
Previous job: Tight ends coach at Arkansas.
Previous OC stops: Tennessee Titans (2012-13), Chicago Bears (2016-17), Miami Dolphins (2018), New York Jets (2019-20).
•••
Clemson OC Garrett Riley
Age: 33
Previous job: Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Texas Christian.
2022 statistics: 41.1 points per game, 204.5 rushing yards per game, 269.6 passing yards per game.
Previous OC stops: SMU (2020-21).
•••
Tennessee OC Joey Halzle
Age: 36 (soon 37)
Previous job: Quarterbacks coach at Tennessee
Previous OC stops: None.
