The NC State baseball season is off to a strong start as the Pack was overmatching Villanova in the opener as we typed this War Room. From talking to three different sources this week, there were fairly decent expectations for the new-look hitting lineup.
It is a bit ironic that sophomore first baseman Preston Palmeiro hit a homer in the second inning Friday because we had heard from one source last week that Palmeiro had been crushing the ball in preseason. Palmeiro made good contact last season, hitting .284, but not with a lot of power. Just five of his 29 hits were for extra bases, including four doubles and a triple. That was his first home run of his career, and perhaps an indication that rumors of added pop into his bat were true.
The biggest question was going to come down to pitching. It is not surprising to us to hear that freshman Evan Mendoza is going to get a start Saturday because we have heard strong reviews, and reported them in previous War Room, dating back to last fall. Mendoze had a scouting report coming out of high school as being an advanced pitcher when it came to locating pitches, a new priority under first-year pitching coach Scott Foxhall.
One source told us that Foxhall has implanted several new drills to the pitching staff this preseason to emphasize throwing strikes, including having them throw off one knee and when they hit their designated targets X-amount of times backing up for longer throws, repeating until they get to the longest distance in the drill.
Alex Rodriguez's nephew Joe Dunand has had a buzz about him since last fall, but the other frosh that got a lot of positive reviews heading into the opener and thus not surprising us with a start is Tommy DeJuneas. He is in left field for the opener and we are told has the potential to pitch some, too. We have also heard positive stuff about Brian Brown, a left-handed freshman pitcher.
***
The word in football recruiting, for a while likely, is "quiet." As mentioned previously the Pack is slated to take a small class in 2016. The Pack only has 11 scholarship seniors on its maxed out roster. That leads to an educated guess that NC State will take around 15 players in next year's collection.
With six verbal commitments already in the 2016 class, NC State has been very selective moving forward. For instance, there was a time that Asheboro (N.C.) High receiver Emmanuel Jones was close to verbally committing to the Pack. NC State has slowed that recruitment down some however as they sort out the receiving board due to its limited numbers and see how he is doing academically.
Jones for his part is still high on NC State.
Thus it would not be surprising if a few months go by, perhaps towards the spring game, before another pledge comes in. The past two spring games have yielded verbal commitments: three star wide out Brian Sessoms from Winston-Salem (N.C.) Carver High in 2014 and two-star then-tight end and now defensive tackle Garrett Bradbury from Charlotte Christian in 2013.
The low numbers that does have its advantages, chief of which is NC State has already began formulating plans for the 2017 class, as evidence by an offer to top sophomore linebacker Justin Foster from Shelby (N.C.) Crest High this week.
In case you are wondering, NC State has 14 scholarship juniors on the roster, but that number includes offensive tackle Daris Workman, a junior college transfer in the 2015 class who could potentially redshirt, although that would seem unlikely.
***
Durham (N.C.) Hillside senior left tackle Emanuel McGirt wants to be a veterinarian one day, but The Wolfpacker recently asked him to put his recruiting guru hat on after getting to know or playing many of the Wolfpack's class of 2015 members.
McGirt on himself and his journey:
"I'm thankful that some of the things happened, and I'm thankful that I committed to one place (North Carolina] and decommitted for that place, and finally made the right choice.
"Just really the relationship with the coaches and the players, the school and academics. Everything was perfect for me. Des [Kitchings] was great. He was like more of a brother than a coach. You could just call him about anything and talk about movies, girls, everything.
"Coach [Dave] Doeren was the same way. Some coaches tried to force it on me. He just kept it very casual and said 'Whatever you want to do, I'm fine with it and I'll support you.
"I was really torn between NC State and Georgia. When I sat down and prayed about it and thought about it, I knew that NC State was the right place for me overall. I was torn over the summer with UNC too, but lately it was Georgia."
McGirt on coming from a UNC family but picking NC State in the end:
"My family will support me either way, but of course, they kicked me in the foot about going there [to NCSU], but once I sat them down and they got to State and met everybody and see how great a program it was, the reaction was better. They weren't surprised by [NC State's 35-7 win over UNC]. Better things are coming. Next year it will be 50-7."
McGirt on what he wants to prove to offensive line coach Mike Uremovich:
"I'm going to be up there and I'll be working hard and give everything I got. I'll be grinding and put in all the effort."
McGirt on some of the NC State offensive signees:
"We got three running backs that I could block that will be great. I know I have good offensive line teammates. Darian Roseboro and everybody will be good, and we'll be a good team the next couple of years."
On running back Nyheim Hines: "He's a great dude and has been my friend from day one, ever since we started camps and everything. We were going to school together, somewhere."
On running back Johnny Frasier: "I'm just happy he's coming. He's big-time."
On wide receiver Brian Sessoms: "He's a funny guy too, but he's also quiet. I know he's a speedster, so that's a good thing to bring to the table."
On blocking defensive end Darian Roseboro: "I beat him up a lot, even though he's saying I didn't beat him up, I know I did. He's a good player and he's going to be good. He's there early and will have an opportunity to play and start. He's one of my good friends. He is really strong and the strongest guy I've played against, and I've played a lot of dudes. He is the strongest and very quick and elusive. You wouldn't think a guy that big would be so quick."
On safety Jarius Morehead: "He's kind of quiet but he gets it done."
On defensive tackles Quentez Johnson and Eurndraus Bryant: "Quentez is pretty big and it will be fun blocking him too. I had to go against Bryant a couple of times at the Shrine Bowl. He's like 340-plus and pretty big. He's quick too."
On defensive end Emmanuel Olenga: "I went against him at NFTC, and he's pretty good, a good guy and he's intense."
On getting to know fellow offensive line signees T.J. McCoy, Philip Walton, Aaron Wiltz and Daris Workman: "Workman is happy to be close to home like me. We are all happy. I talked to Aaron on his official because we had our official visits together. He's kind of quiet and soft-spoken, but he's a hard-working guy like me, and ready to compete for a spot.
"I never got to meet T.J. McCoy, but I've met everyone else in the class. We've talked a couple of times. I met Walton on a couple of occasions and he's a hard worker too. He's pretty gritty."
***
A potential new target from the Washington, D.C., has emerged in the class of 2016. Fort Washington (Md.) National Christian Academy junior small forward Christian Matthews isn't ranked or rated yet on Rivals.com, but could be a fast riser this spring and summer.
NC State assistant coach Rob Moxley has watched him twice, and the second time included head coach Mark Gottfried last week. He simply gets buckets at 6-foot-6 and 190-pounds. Cincinnati and Rhode Island have offered him, and Saint Joseph's, Maryland, Miami, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia, have him on the radar.
Matthews is averaging around 23 points per game with an inside-outside game, and is expected to play with Team Takeover this spring and summer, which is the traveling team that has produced NCSU post players BeeJay Anya and Lennard Freeman. Getting Matthews down for an unofficial visit would the next step.
National Christian has long produced players, and the last time the Wolfpack looked into a player from that program was future NBA lottery pick Thomas Robinson, who ended up going to Kansas.
It is a bit ironic that sophomore first baseman Preston Palmeiro hit a homer in the second inning Friday because we had heard from one source last week that Palmeiro had been crushing the ball in preseason. Palmeiro made good contact last season, hitting .284, but not with a lot of power. Just five of his 29 hits were for extra bases, including four doubles and a triple. That was his first home run of his career, and perhaps an indication that rumors of added pop into his bat were true.
The biggest question was going to come down to pitching. It is not surprising to us to hear that freshman Evan Mendoza is going to get a start Saturday because we have heard strong reviews, and reported them in previous War Room, dating back to last fall. Mendoze had a scouting report coming out of high school as being an advanced pitcher when it came to locating pitches, a new priority under first-year pitching coach Scott Foxhall.
One source told us that Foxhall has implanted several new drills to the pitching staff this preseason to emphasize throwing strikes, including having them throw off one knee and when they hit their designated targets X-amount of times backing up for longer throws, repeating until they get to the longest distance in the drill.
Alex Rodriguez's nephew Joe Dunand has had a buzz about him since last fall, but the other frosh that got a lot of positive reviews heading into the opener and thus not surprising us with a start is Tommy DeJuneas. He is in left field for the opener and we are told has the potential to pitch some, too. We have also heard positive stuff about Brian Brown, a left-handed freshman pitcher.
***
The word in football recruiting, for a while likely, is "quiet." As mentioned previously the Pack is slated to take a small class in 2016. The Pack only has 11 scholarship seniors on its maxed out roster. That leads to an educated guess that NC State will take around 15 players in next year's collection.
With six verbal commitments already in the 2016 class, NC State has been very selective moving forward. For instance, there was a time that Asheboro (N.C.) High receiver Emmanuel Jones was close to verbally committing to the Pack. NC State has slowed that recruitment down some however as they sort out the receiving board due to its limited numbers and see how he is doing academically.
Jones for his part is still high on NC State.
Thus it would not be surprising if a few months go by, perhaps towards the spring game, before another pledge comes in. The past two spring games have yielded verbal commitments: three star wide out Brian Sessoms from Winston-Salem (N.C.) Carver High in 2014 and two-star then-tight end and now defensive tackle Garrett Bradbury from Charlotte Christian in 2013.
The low numbers that does have its advantages, chief of which is NC State has already began formulating plans for the 2017 class, as evidence by an offer to top sophomore linebacker Justin Foster from Shelby (N.C.) Crest High this week.
In case you are wondering, NC State has 14 scholarship juniors on the roster, but that number includes offensive tackle Daris Workman, a junior college transfer in the 2015 class who could potentially redshirt, although that would seem unlikely.
***
Durham (N.C.) Hillside senior left tackle Emanuel McGirt wants to be a veterinarian one day, but The Wolfpacker recently asked him to put his recruiting guru hat on after getting to know or playing many of the Wolfpack's class of 2015 members.
McGirt on himself and his journey:
"I'm thankful that some of the things happened, and I'm thankful that I committed to one place (North Carolina] and decommitted for that place, and finally made the right choice.
"Just really the relationship with the coaches and the players, the school and academics. Everything was perfect for me. Des [Kitchings] was great. He was like more of a brother than a coach. You could just call him about anything and talk about movies, girls, everything.
"Coach [Dave] Doeren was the same way. Some coaches tried to force it on me. He just kept it very casual and said 'Whatever you want to do, I'm fine with it and I'll support you.
"I was really torn between NC State and Georgia. When I sat down and prayed about it and thought about it, I knew that NC State was the right place for me overall. I was torn over the summer with UNC too, but lately it was Georgia."
McGirt on coming from a UNC family but picking NC State in the end:
"My family will support me either way, but of course, they kicked me in the foot about going there [to NCSU], but once I sat them down and they got to State and met everybody and see how great a program it was, the reaction was better. They weren't surprised by [NC State's 35-7 win over UNC]. Better things are coming. Next year it will be 50-7."
McGirt on what he wants to prove to offensive line coach Mike Uremovich:
"I'm going to be up there and I'll be working hard and give everything I got. I'll be grinding and put in all the effort."
McGirt on some of the NC State offensive signees:
"We got three running backs that I could block that will be great. I know I have good offensive line teammates. Darian Roseboro and everybody will be good, and we'll be a good team the next couple of years."
On running back Nyheim Hines: "He's a great dude and has been my friend from day one, ever since we started camps and everything. We were going to school together, somewhere."
On running back Johnny Frasier: "I'm just happy he's coming. He's big-time."
On wide receiver Brian Sessoms: "He's a funny guy too, but he's also quiet. I know he's a speedster, so that's a good thing to bring to the table."
On blocking defensive end Darian Roseboro: "I beat him up a lot, even though he's saying I didn't beat him up, I know I did. He's a good player and he's going to be good. He's there early and will have an opportunity to play and start. He's one of my good friends. He is really strong and the strongest guy I've played against, and I've played a lot of dudes. He is the strongest and very quick and elusive. You wouldn't think a guy that big would be so quick."
On safety Jarius Morehead: "He's kind of quiet but he gets it done."
On defensive tackles Quentez Johnson and Eurndraus Bryant: "Quentez is pretty big and it will be fun blocking him too. I had to go against Bryant a couple of times at the Shrine Bowl. He's like 340-plus and pretty big. He's quick too."
On defensive end Emmanuel Olenga: "I went against him at NFTC, and he's pretty good, a good guy and he's intense."
On getting to know fellow offensive line signees T.J. McCoy, Philip Walton, Aaron Wiltz and Daris Workman: "Workman is happy to be close to home like me. We are all happy. I talked to Aaron on his official because we had our official visits together. He's kind of quiet and soft-spoken, but he's a hard-working guy like me, and ready to compete for a spot.
"I never got to meet T.J. McCoy, but I've met everyone else in the class. We've talked a couple of times. I met Walton on a couple of occasions and he's a hard worker too. He's pretty gritty."
***
A potential new target from the Washington, D.C., has emerged in the class of 2016. Fort Washington (Md.) National Christian Academy junior small forward Christian Matthews isn't ranked or rated yet on Rivals.com, but could be a fast riser this spring and summer.
NC State assistant coach Rob Moxley has watched him twice, and the second time included head coach Mark Gottfried last week. He simply gets buckets at 6-foot-6 and 190-pounds. Cincinnati and Rhode Island have offered him, and Saint Joseph's, Maryland, Miami, Oklahoma, Virginia and West Virginia, have him on the radar.
Matthews is averaging around 23 points per game with an inside-outside game, and is expected to play with Team Takeover this spring and summer, which is the traveling team that has produced NCSU post players BeeJay Anya and Lennard Freeman. Getting Matthews down for an unofficial visit would the next step.
National Christian has long produced players, and the last time the Wolfpack looked into a player from that program was future NBA lottery pick Thomas Robinson, who ended up going to Kansas.
