We'll start with NCSU's two commitments in attendance: three-stars Kobe Smith, a defensive tackle from Archer High in Lawrenceville, Ga.
Parham's physical maaturation continues to be impressive and I know caught the eye of some of the Rivals' analyst. However, his play is what I noticed most. This was easily the best I had ever seen him throw the ball. Personally, I think he might have topped Austin Kendall, five-star Oklahoma commit, although it was close. The quarterbacks coach agreed, putting Kendall and Parham as the two best there. Parham was throwing accurately with both ropes down field, darts underneath and deep balls. He threw a 30-yard tight spiral rope to tight end Garrett Walston (more on him later) that was as good a throw as you are going to see. His arm strength has noticeably improved.
Smith is a WIDE body for sure, and he is powerful. He threw a wicked punch on the bags and in one-on-ones. On his first rep in one-on-one (the first of an impressive 24 reps for Smith), he literally knocked the offensive lineman on his butt. He relies more on strength than quickness, understandably so.
The good news: both Parham and Smith told us that they will be enrolling early at NC State. However, it is worth noting that Smith, who was sporting NCSU hat before camp started, did say he might take some more visits.
Smiths' teammate, linebacker Donta Evans, was there today, but he did not join Smith at the spring game Saturday. Evans though is high on NC State, but he thinks Ohio State and Tennessee are on the verge of joining his offer list. To me he was one of the more physically impressive looking linebackers there.
Three-star tight end Garrett Walston runs well for a tight end and has some nice hands. He had some nice battles with Scotland linebacker Johnathan Smith (more on him later). Smith had to resort to some pretty obvious defensive holding. He's not the biggest tight end but he has a solid frame. Georgia offered Walston on Friday, so that is a potential loop in his recruitment. He did tell me he still wanted to make a decision by the first of the month. He visited UNC for their spring scrimmage in Charlotte on Saturday after not being able to make it to Chapel Hill for a practice earlier last week.
Two-star Scotland County High linebacker Jonathan Smith has a better offer list than his ranking indicates. NCSU is in the mix, but also an outsider with him. His top four consists of Michigan, UNC, Duke and Georgia Tech. Smith competed hard, which I always like to see.
His teammate, class of 2018 running back Zamir White was also in attendance. He was at the State spring game yesterday and has a bunch of early offers. White is the most touted of the three in-state freshman running backs on NC State's radar already.
Devon Lawrence of Wake Forest High. Lawrence, who was wearing both NCSU and UNC wrist bands, was probably the biggest of the three.
Lawrence is also the younger brother of five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. If you have not figured out by now that Lawrence is a stud: one spectator asked us who was the headliner of the linemen. We told him to watch Lawrence. He got himself into position to get a good look at his one-on-one. Lawrence sent the offensive guard tumbling over on his butt, and the spectator said, "I've seen everything I needed to see." Turned out this guy had watched him play Mallard Creek in the state title game. When we told him he was from Wake Forest, he immediately knew who he was.
Sophomore Wake Forest High defensive end Xach Gill is one of he most physically impressive sophomore defensive ends you will ever see. At times Gill also looked like the second best defensive lineman in attendance behind Lawrence, although overall we would give it to likely Notre Dame-bound Julian Okwara from Charlotte's Ardrey Kell. NCSU has a nice head start with Gill, but others are surely going to give chase.
Three-star defensive end Jimmie Taylor of Jacksvonille (N.C.) Southwest Onslow had his moments and flashed why he could be a good pass rusher in college, but he needs to get stronger. He visited NC State for the spring game, but he was wearing Tennessee orange cleats out there today.
Fayetteville (N.C.) Terry Sanford three-star defensive backs Isaiah Stallings both made it. Gilbert, to me, is a natural in coverage with great size, although he bit badly on a double-move once with Parham throwing. One gets the vibe that Gilbert is very high on NC State, but his recruitment continues to heat up. Good news for State is that Gilbert seems intent on playing AAU so only visits I see him making are local ones.
Stallings was a little more stiff in man coverage, but no one can deny his size (and having seen him play in live action his physicality). Was told that although Clemson has offered that they have not decided to take a safety in this class, so Stallings could be a UNC-NCSU battle.
Charlotte Hough three-star receiver Corey Sutton was at the NC State spring game Saturday, but he said NCSU has told him that he needs to camp to get an offer. Sutton has very nice size/frame for a receiver, but inconsistent getting separation/catching the ball in one-on-ones. Colorado State, Georgia State, Appalachian State and James Madison have offered, but a lot of schools want Sutton to camp, notably Virginia Tech as well.
Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley corner Simeon Gatling is another one on the radar. Gatling camped last year and has been hearing on-and-off from NC State, he told me. He does have an offer from LSU, and he's content to take it but is hearing from enough schools to be a little patient.
The only other note on a senior we have is four-star lefty quarterback Chazz Surratt from Denver (N.C.) East Lincoln. Surratt did not particupate due to injuries but did stop by to do some interviews and check out the action. He did not, however, come to NC State's spring game. He told me that he think he got food poisoning from eating a sub at Subway and did not feel well enough to make the trip. Would not have mattered probably as I think Duke has a big lead here. Vanderbilt has replaced UNC as his primary other favorite.
A few other notes on underclassmen. Both J.T. Cauthen had strong camps although personally I thought Jones did better from what I saw. Jones had a real nice rapport with Parham on his routes. Jones is favoring Tennessee and South Carolina, but the Pack is in play because of family connections.
Sophomore receiver Emeka Emezie does not have the offers Jones and Cauthen have, but he will get a few before it's over. Great size for a young wide out and I saw him make one heck of a catch in a one-on-one once. He's got nice potential. Diehard UNC fan however, so a Heels offer would be tough to beat.
Finally, also got a chance to talk to defensive tackle Grant Gibson, a four-star prospect from Mallard Creek in Charlotte. He has offers from Tennessee and Vanderbilt. He has visited NCSU. He's short for a DT (his listed 6-foot-1 is the high end of his height), but he was solid in one-on-ones.
As you can tell, we have talked to a ton of kids this weekend so a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks.
Parham's physical maaturation continues to be impressive and I know caught the eye of some of the Rivals' analyst. However, his play is what I noticed most. This was easily the best I had ever seen him throw the ball. Personally, I think he might have topped Austin Kendall, five-star Oklahoma commit, although it was close. The quarterbacks coach agreed, putting Kendall and Parham as the two best there. Parham was throwing accurately with both ropes down field, darts underneath and deep balls. He threw a 30-yard tight spiral rope to tight end Garrett Walston (more on him later) that was as good a throw as you are going to see. His arm strength has noticeably improved.
Smith is a WIDE body for sure, and he is powerful. He threw a wicked punch on the bags and in one-on-ones. On his first rep in one-on-one (the first of an impressive 24 reps for Smith), he literally knocked the offensive lineman on his butt. He relies more on strength than quickness, understandably so.
The good news: both Parham and Smith told us that they will be enrolling early at NC State. However, it is worth noting that Smith, who was sporting NCSU hat before camp started, did say he might take some more visits.
Smiths' teammate, linebacker Donta Evans, was there today, but he did not join Smith at the spring game Saturday. Evans though is high on NC State, but he thinks Ohio State and Tennessee are on the verge of joining his offer list. To me he was one of the more physically impressive looking linebackers there.
Three-star tight end Garrett Walston runs well for a tight end and has some nice hands. He had some nice battles with Scotland linebacker Johnathan Smith (more on him later). Smith had to resort to some pretty obvious defensive holding. He's not the biggest tight end but he has a solid frame. Georgia offered Walston on Friday, so that is a potential loop in his recruitment. He did tell me he still wanted to make a decision by the first of the month. He visited UNC for their spring scrimmage in Charlotte on Saturday after not being able to make it to Chapel Hill for a practice earlier last week.
Two-star Scotland County High linebacker Jonathan Smith has a better offer list than his ranking indicates. NCSU is in the mix, but also an outsider with him. His top four consists of Michigan, UNC, Duke and Georgia Tech. Smith competed hard, which I always like to see.
His teammate, class of 2018 running back Zamir White was also in attendance. He was at the State spring game yesterday and has a bunch of early offers. White is the most touted of the three in-state freshman running backs on NC State's radar already.
Devon Lawrence of Wake Forest High. Lawrence, who was wearing both NCSU and UNC wrist bands, was probably the biggest of the three.
Lawrence is also the younger brother of five-star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. If you have not figured out by now that Lawrence is a stud: one spectator asked us who was the headliner of the linemen. We told him to watch Lawrence. He got himself into position to get a good look at his one-on-one. Lawrence sent the offensive guard tumbling over on his butt, and the spectator said, "I've seen everything I needed to see." Turned out this guy had watched him play Mallard Creek in the state title game. When we told him he was from Wake Forest, he immediately knew who he was.
Sophomore Wake Forest High defensive end Xach Gill is one of he most physically impressive sophomore defensive ends you will ever see. At times Gill also looked like the second best defensive lineman in attendance behind Lawrence, although overall we would give it to likely Notre Dame-bound Julian Okwara from Charlotte's Ardrey Kell. NCSU has a nice head start with Gill, but others are surely going to give chase.
Three-star defensive end Jimmie Taylor of Jacksvonille (N.C.) Southwest Onslow had his moments and flashed why he could be a good pass rusher in college, but he needs to get stronger. He visited NC State for the spring game, but he was wearing Tennessee orange cleats out there today.
Fayetteville (N.C.) Terry Sanford three-star defensive backs Isaiah Stallings both made it. Gilbert, to me, is a natural in coverage with great size, although he bit badly on a double-move once with Parham throwing. One gets the vibe that Gilbert is very high on NC State, but his recruitment continues to heat up. Good news for State is that Gilbert seems intent on playing AAU so only visits I see him making are local ones.
Stallings was a little more stiff in man coverage, but no one can deny his size (and having seen him play in live action his physicality). Was told that although Clemson has offered that they have not decided to take a safety in this class, so Stallings could be a UNC-NCSU battle.
Charlotte Hough three-star receiver Corey Sutton was at the NC State spring game Saturday, but he said NCSU has told him that he needs to camp to get an offer. Sutton has very nice size/frame for a receiver, but inconsistent getting separation/catching the ball in one-on-ones. Colorado State, Georgia State, Appalachian State and James Madison have offered, but a lot of schools want Sutton to camp, notably Virginia Tech as well.
Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley corner Simeon Gatling is another one on the radar. Gatling camped last year and has been hearing on-and-off from NC State, he told me. He does have an offer from LSU, and he's content to take it but is hearing from enough schools to be a little patient.
The only other note on a senior we have is four-star lefty quarterback Chazz Surratt from Denver (N.C.) East Lincoln. Surratt did not particupate due to injuries but did stop by to do some interviews and check out the action. He did not, however, come to NC State's spring game. He told me that he think he got food poisoning from eating a sub at Subway and did not feel well enough to make the trip. Would not have mattered probably as I think Duke has a big lead here. Vanderbilt has replaced UNC as his primary other favorite.
A few other notes on underclassmen. Both J.T. Cauthen had strong camps although personally I thought Jones did better from what I saw. Jones had a real nice rapport with Parham on his routes. Jones is favoring Tennessee and South Carolina, but the Pack is in play because of family connections.
Sophomore receiver Emeka Emezie does not have the offers Jones and Cauthen have, but he will get a few before it's over. Great size for a young wide out and I saw him make one heck of a catch in a one-on-one once. He's got nice potential. Diehard UNC fan however, so a Heels offer would be tough to beat.
Finally, also got a chance to talk to defensive tackle Grant Gibson, a four-star prospect from Mallard Creek in Charlotte. He has offers from Tennessee and Vanderbilt. He has visited NCSU. He's short for a DT (his listed 6-foot-1 is the high end of his height), but he was solid in one-on-ones.
As you can tell, we have talked to a ton of kids this weekend so a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks.
