1. It has been a long three weeks since The Wolfpack Central broke the news that Kevin Concepcion of Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers would announce his decision this weekend, but it's finally here.
The drama this week wasn’t even about his college decision, but how he would announce. The first plan was to announce at Chambers High at 5 p.m., following a walk-through practice today. Chambers plays Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C., as part of a doubleheader.
Then Concepcion changed his plan to wanting to announce right before the game Saturday. Then it became he might announce before the game or during halftime. With the new plan, there will be a lot of people finding out Monday after a long weekend, “Oh, Concepcion picked so and so this weekend.”
I’ll be surprised if it’s not NC State and would view it as a gut punch if he selects North Carolina. My reasoning is two-fold, NC State has recruited Concepcion for at least 14 months and he’s been a regular recruiting visitor.
The second part is that he generally likes hanging out with quarterback commit Lex Thomas of Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage and nickel commit Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville (N.C.) High. That was evident again this past Saturday.
I went out to Wake Forest High to watch the HighSchoolOT prep jamboree, which featured four games. Cooley saw me and came over and we talked for a bit, and then after 15 minutes, Concepcion joined Cooley, while Thomas was on the field playing. Now, for a high school senior to travel 2 1/2 hours from Charlotte, and I think he was with some of his Chambers buddies, I find that is telling. Cardinal Gibbons was also playing Saturday, so it made sense to get a look at them too for Chambers.
I know kids are kids, but to hang out with your NC State buddies one weekend, and then pick UNC the next, seems a foreign idea.
2. Coaches are usually measured with what they want to share and NC State coach Dave Doeren falls in line with that.
Doeren didn’t have to share what was going on in the backup quarterback race, but purposely let it be known that Charleston Southern senior graduate transfer Jack Chambers and incoming freshman MJ Morris were battling for the second-string job, which means that redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley is fourth string.
Considering Chambers and Morris have just arrived, that is telling in so many ways. Now, Finley could be the rare athlete who is just content to be at NC State and will stick it out. Some believe that is why he’s back for this season. Or he could leave, which also makes sense because his clock is ticking.
What is clear is that NC State could be in a position to have just Morris and class of 2023 quarterback commit Lex Thomas next year, if Devin Leary enters the NFL Draft and Finley departs. That screams transfer portal is about to happen.
NC State has struggled in signing and developing prep quarterbacks, but the portal has more than made up for it. NC State has brought in Jacoby Brissett from Florida, Ryan Finley from Boise State, Brandon Mitchell from Arkansas and now Chambers as a walk-on. It’s safe to say that landing Brissett and Finley is why Doeren is the coach in 2022. If either had been a bust, it would have been some rough times in Raleigh, but instead they became NFL players.
It is a truly good sign that Morris is doing well enough to surpass Finley in quick fashion. The hope is Morris will join Leary as successful homegrown players.
Looking back since the class of 2013, here are the Wolfpack prep signees, with Leary and Morris four-star prospects by Rivals.com, and the rest three-stars.
2013 — Bryant Shirreffs: He was a late signee on the recommendation of NCSU alum Jim Donnan out of Georgia. He played Wildcat quarterback and was tried at fullback and other positions. He left after 2013 and transferred to Connecticut. He threw for 6,375 yards, 30 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in 30 games for the Huskies, plus rushed for 1,035 yards and five scores.
2014 — Jalan McClendon: McClendon lost the starting job to Ryan Finley, and left in 2018 for Baylor. He threw for 715 yard, three touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games for the Bears.
2015 — Jakobi Meyers: NC State flipped Meyers late from Kent State, and he was tracking well at quarterback, but then suffered an injury. He switched to wide receiver and the rest is history. He’s a starter for the New England Patriots.
2016 — Dylan Parham: Parham arrived as a quarterback and left as a tight end. He caught 12 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his five years.
2017 — Matt McKay: McKay won the starting job in 2019 but never felt comfortable on the field, and was benched after four games. He threw for 910 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and rushed for 63 yards and four scores for the Wolfpack in 2019. McKay transferred to Montana State, but after a good start, he was replaced before the playoffs, and has transferred to Elon. He threw for 2,021 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions last year, and rushed for 316 yards and two scores.
2018 — Devin Leary: Leary is the poster boy for quarterback development, where he had the arm strength and drive, but he learned on the job, only to suffer a season-ending injury in 2020. He came back better than ever last year, and threw for 3,433 yards, 35 touchdowns and five interceptions, while showing a clutch gene.
2019 — Ty Evans: Evans committed to home state Colorado and then flipped to NC State. He spent two years at NC State and then transferred to Texas State, where he appeared in two games last year.
2020 — Ben Finley: Finley provided a spark against North Carolina in 2020, but otherwise has rarely played. He has thrown for 171 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions last year.
2021 — Aaron McLaughlin: McLaughlin arrived with a big arm and great size at 6-5 and 205 pounds. Some thought he was a no-brainer four-star talent, but Rivals went conservative due to some concerns. He lasted a year and transferred to Jacksonville State.
2022 — MJ Morris: Morris was a big get for NC State and picked the Wolfpack over Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Florida State. it appears he’ll have the chance to be a four-year starter at NCSU if he wins the job in a year.
As an aside, The Wolfpack Central will be watching Matthews (N.C.) Butler sophomore quarterback Zachary Lawrence vs. West Charlotte High and NCSU tackle commit Darion Rivers tonight, weather permitting. He has an offer from Boston College, and he attended NC State’s camp last June.
The drama this week wasn’t even about his college decision, but how he would announce. The first plan was to announce at Chambers High at 5 p.m., following a walk-through practice today. Chambers plays Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Rock Hill, S.C., as part of a doubleheader.
Then Concepcion changed his plan to wanting to announce right before the game Saturday. Then it became he might announce before the game or during halftime. With the new plan, there will be a lot of people finding out Monday after a long weekend, “Oh, Concepcion picked so and so this weekend.”
I’ll be surprised if it’s not NC State and would view it as a gut punch if he selects North Carolina. My reasoning is two-fold, NC State has recruited Concepcion for at least 14 months and he’s been a regular recruiting visitor.
The second part is that he generally likes hanging out with quarterback commit Lex Thomas of Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage and nickel commit Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville (N.C.) High. That was evident again this past Saturday.
I went out to Wake Forest High to watch the HighSchoolOT prep jamboree, which featured four games. Cooley saw me and came over and we talked for a bit, and then after 15 minutes, Concepcion joined Cooley, while Thomas was on the field playing. Now, for a high school senior to travel 2 1/2 hours from Charlotte, and I think he was with some of his Chambers buddies, I find that is telling. Cardinal Gibbons was also playing Saturday, so it made sense to get a look at them too for Chambers.
I know kids are kids, but to hang out with your NC State buddies one weekend, and then pick UNC the next, seems a foreign idea.
2. Coaches are usually measured with what they want to share and NC State coach Dave Doeren falls in line with that.
Doeren didn’t have to share what was going on in the backup quarterback race, but purposely let it be known that Charleston Southern senior graduate transfer Jack Chambers and incoming freshman MJ Morris were battling for the second-string job, which means that redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley is fourth string.
Considering Chambers and Morris have just arrived, that is telling in so many ways. Now, Finley could be the rare athlete who is just content to be at NC State and will stick it out. Some believe that is why he’s back for this season. Or he could leave, which also makes sense because his clock is ticking.
What is clear is that NC State could be in a position to have just Morris and class of 2023 quarterback commit Lex Thomas next year, if Devin Leary enters the NFL Draft and Finley departs. That screams transfer portal is about to happen.
NC State has struggled in signing and developing prep quarterbacks, but the portal has more than made up for it. NC State has brought in Jacoby Brissett from Florida, Ryan Finley from Boise State, Brandon Mitchell from Arkansas and now Chambers as a walk-on. It’s safe to say that landing Brissett and Finley is why Doeren is the coach in 2022. If either had been a bust, it would have been some rough times in Raleigh, but instead they became NFL players.
It is a truly good sign that Morris is doing well enough to surpass Finley in quick fashion. The hope is Morris will join Leary as successful homegrown players.
Looking back since the class of 2013, here are the Wolfpack prep signees, with Leary and Morris four-star prospects by Rivals.com, and the rest three-stars.
2013 — Bryant Shirreffs: He was a late signee on the recommendation of NCSU alum Jim Donnan out of Georgia. He played Wildcat quarterback and was tried at fullback and other positions. He left after 2013 and transferred to Connecticut. He threw for 6,375 yards, 30 touchdowns and 19 interceptions in 30 games for the Huskies, plus rushed for 1,035 yards and five scores.
2014 — Jalan McClendon: McClendon lost the starting job to Ryan Finley, and left in 2018 for Baylor. He threw for 715 yard, three touchdowns and three interceptions in nine games for the Bears.
2015 — Jakobi Meyers: NC State flipped Meyers late from Kent State, and he was tracking well at quarterback, but then suffered an injury. He switched to wide receiver and the rest is history. He’s a starter for the New England Patriots.
2016 — Dylan Parham: Parham arrived as a quarterback and left as a tight end. He caught 12 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in his five years.
2017 — Matt McKay: McKay won the starting job in 2019 but never felt comfortable on the field, and was benched after four games. He threw for 910 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and rushed for 63 yards and four scores for the Wolfpack in 2019. McKay transferred to Montana State, but after a good start, he was replaced before the playoffs, and has transferred to Elon. He threw for 2,021 yards, 17 touchdowns and three interceptions last year, and rushed for 316 yards and two scores.
2018 — Devin Leary: Leary is the poster boy for quarterback development, where he had the arm strength and drive, but he learned on the job, only to suffer a season-ending injury in 2020. He came back better than ever last year, and threw for 3,433 yards, 35 touchdowns and five interceptions, while showing a clutch gene.
2019 — Ty Evans: Evans committed to home state Colorado and then flipped to NC State. He spent two years at NC State and then transferred to Texas State, where he appeared in two games last year.
2020 — Ben Finley: Finley provided a spark against North Carolina in 2020, but otherwise has rarely played. He has thrown for 171 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions last year.
2021 — Aaron McLaughlin: McLaughlin arrived with a big arm and great size at 6-5 and 205 pounds. Some thought he was a no-brainer four-star talent, but Rivals went conservative due to some concerns. He lasted a year and transferred to Jacksonville State.
2022 — MJ Morris: Morris was a big get for NC State and picked the Wolfpack over Nebraska, Georgia Tech and Florida State. it appears he’ll have the chance to be a four-year starter at NCSU if he wins the job in a year.
As an aside, The Wolfpack Central will be watching Matthews (N.C.) Butler sophomore quarterback Zachary Lawrence vs. West Charlotte High and NCSU tackle commit Darion Rivers tonight, weather permitting. He has an offer from Boston College, and he attended NC State’s camp last June.
