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Please email hclaussen@jfqlending.com or shoot NC State alum Hunter Claussen a private message (@WolfPackMortgageGuy). You can check out their website JFQLending.com as well.
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Football recruiting has picked up in recent weeks with primarily older targets (i.e. transfers). Here is an updated rundown of the known players being recruited and where things stand, starting with the rapidly unfolding recruitment of three-star linebacker Bryce Steele, who is now enrolled at Millbrook High in Raleigh.
Steele was a player who, in the summer of 2019, NC State once appeared to be a promising player. We can remember speaking to his source very close to Steele around the time of the Alpha Wolf Showcase (which Steele attended) that indicated a strong family desire for Steele to play close to home for college, and at that point the Wolfpack was an appealing option because of its back-to-back nine-win seasons.
We also could pick up that he had some excitement about the Mack Brown hire at UNC, so we knew the Heels were going to be in the mix. Steele himself also seemed a bit enamored with big brand Big Ten schools, specifically Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State.
Steele’s junior season did not go as planned as he missed the year, and from putting two-plus-two together we wonder if that caused some of those Big Ten options to dry up. What we do know is that NC State’s struggles did seem to hurt the Wolfpack as UNC became the local choice.
We have heard from a reliable source that stated Steele at one point may have given UNC a silent commitment, but wanted to wait to go public until a certain date and make some visits in between to be sure about his choice. The rumor goes that the players did not sit well with UNC, and ultimately Steele ended up picking South Carolina.
Who knows if there is some lingering bad feelings towards UNC after that (if the story is true), but if there is that could be a chip in NC State’s pile to play now that Steele has decommitted from South Carolina. Although the Pack faded from his favorites list, the communications never fully ceased. At one point, Steele came out with a top schools group only to amend it later to have NC State back in it.
Of all players committed to other schools, Steele was the one we thought NC State might have the best chance at flipping (although some turmoil at Louisville may have the Cards commit list that is littered with former NC State targets as one to watch). Now Steele is ready to make a quick decision and will announce his new choice on Dec. 1.
What does that mean?
It suggests that Steele had a school in mind when he decommitted and it’s a school he has a fairly good amount of knowledge about. From what we understand, the two favorites are NC State and Boston College, two schools he has visited before. Our guess is Steele probably knows the coaching staff at NC State a little better, but keep in mind the Pack overhauled its defensive coaching staff in the offseason, too.
Steele does know current and soon-to-be NC State players, which may help the Wolfpack out as well. Finally, we cannot disregard our original conversation with a source close to Steele who suggested there is a bit of a family desire for him to be close to home for college.
Speaking of South Carolina, there remains lots of chatter about Oklahoma assistant, former South Carolina assist and son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Shane Beamer as a potential leading candidate.
•••
The strongest likelihood (at the moment) for NC State remains Northern Iowa defensive back and grad transfer Xavior Williams, who will likely pick the Wolfpack barring an offer from Iowa or Iowa State. The other possibilities:
• Georgia Military College offensive tackle Anthony Belton picked up an offer from NC State a couple of weeks ago, and this week he announced he was decommitting from TCU. That is obviously a promising first sign for the Wolfpack. Belton also had official Power Five offers from South Carolina and West Virginia at the time of his commitment to TCU. We doubt the Gamecocks are a serious factor at the moment.
• Fairmount State grad transfer and offensive tackle Chandler Zavala has offers from NC State and Virginia headlining his list, and we are told that there are some family connections that the Wolfpack might be able to use. As we noted earlier, we have picked up some positive tidbits with regards to the Wolfpack's chances.
• Old Dominion defensive line transfer and Garner, N.C., native Keion White currently headlines NC State’s board on the defensive front, but there have not been much new in that recruitment that we have heard about.
•••
In a development to watch, we understand that Tennessee has now officially offered NC State three-star defensive line commit Travali Price’s brother Jayden Tate. The Vols have maintained communications with Price, and this was a must-development if they wanted to flip him.
That said, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt has been losing support after five straight losses, all by double digits, with just contests against No. 6 Florida and No. 5 Texas A&M remaining on its schedule.
Please email hclaussen@jfqlending.com or shoot NC State alum Hunter Claussen a private message (@WolfPackMortgageGuy). You can check out their website JFQLending.com as well.
•••
Football recruiting has picked up in recent weeks with primarily older targets (i.e. transfers). Here is an updated rundown of the known players being recruited and where things stand, starting with the rapidly unfolding recruitment of three-star linebacker Bryce Steele, who is now enrolled at Millbrook High in Raleigh.
Steele was a player who, in the summer of 2019, NC State once appeared to be a promising player. We can remember speaking to his source very close to Steele around the time of the Alpha Wolf Showcase (which Steele attended) that indicated a strong family desire for Steele to play close to home for college, and at that point the Wolfpack was an appealing option because of its back-to-back nine-win seasons.
We also could pick up that he had some excitement about the Mack Brown hire at UNC, so we knew the Heels were going to be in the mix. Steele himself also seemed a bit enamored with big brand Big Ten schools, specifically Michigan, Penn State and Ohio State.
Steele’s junior season did not go as planned as he missed the year, and from putting two-plus-two together we wonder if that caused some of those Big Ten options to dry up. What we do know is that NC State’s struggles did seem to hurt the Wolfpack as UNC became the local choice.
We have heard from a reliable source that stated Steele at one point may have given UNC a silent commitment, but wanted to wait to go public until a certain date and make some visits in between to be sure about his choice. The rumor goes that the players did not sit well with UNC, and ultimately Steele ended up picking South Carolina.
Who knows if there is some lingering bad feelings towards UNC after that (if the story is true), but if there is that could be a chip in NC State’s pile to play now that Steele has decommitted from South Carolina. Although the Pack faded from his favorites list, the communications never fully ceased. At one point, Steele came out with a top schools group only to amend it later to have NC State back in it.
Of all players committed to other schools, Steele was the one we thought NC State might have the best chance at flipping (although some turmoil at Louisville may have the Cards commit list that is littered with former NC State targets as one to watch). Now Steele is ready to make a quick decision and will announce his new choice on Dec. 1.
What does that mean?
It suggests that Steele had a school in mind when he decommitted and it’s a school he has a fairly good amount of knowledge about. From what we understand, the two favorites are NC State and Boston College, two schools he has visited before. Our guess is Steele probably knows the coaching staff at NC State a little better, but keep in mind the Pack overhauled its defensive coaching staff in the offseason, too.
Steele does know current and soon-to-be NC State players, which may help the Wolfpack out as well. Finally, we cannot disregard our original conversation with a source close to Steele who suggested there is a bit of a family desire for him to be close to home for college.
Speaking of South Carolina, there remains lots of chatter about Oklahoma assistant, former South Carolina assist and son of legendary Virginia Tech head coach Shane Beamer as a potential leading candidate.
•••
The strongest likelihood (at the moment) for NC State remains Northern Iowa defensive back and grad transfer Xavior Williams, who will likely pick the Wolfpack barring an offer from Iowa or Iowa State. The other possibilities:
• Georgia Military College offensive tackle Anthony Belton picked up an offer from NC State a couple of weeks ago, and this week he announced he was decommitting from TCU. That is obviously a promising first sign for the Wolfpack. Belton also had official Power Five offers from South Carolina and West Virginia at the time of his commitment to TCU. We doubt the Gamecocks are a serious factor at the moment.
• Fairmount State grad transfer and offensive tackle Chandler Zavala has offers from NC State and Virginia headlining his list, and we are told that there are some family connections that the Wolfpack might be able to use. As we noted earlier, we have picked up some positive tidbits with regards to the Wolfpack's chances.
• Old Dominion defensive line transfer and Garner, N.C., native Keion White currently headlines NC State’s board on the defensive front, but there have not been much new in that recruitment that we have heard about.
•••
In a development to watch, we understand that Tennessee has now officially offered NC State three-star defensive line commit Travali Price’s brother Jayden Tate. The Vols have maintained communications with Price, and this was a must-development if they wanted to flip him.
That said, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt has been losing support after five straight losses, all by double digits, with just contests against No. 6 Florida and No. 5 Texas A&M remaining on its schedule.
