1. If I had written this on Wednesday, the expectation for this weekend would have included some different names.
NC State had quickly offered jack of all trades offensive lineman Taran Tyo, and he was expected to come this weekend. Instead, the Ohio native has already verbally committed to Cincinnati.
Things move fast in what I dubbed the “Silly Season” around 15 years ago, though that was more in honor of NC State basketball coach Mark Gottfried’s offseason’s, which proved to be his downfall.
Auburn tight end Micah Riley hasn’t caught many passes in his college career, just three, but the 6-5, 266-pounder must be a heck of a blocker. NC State was hoping for him this weekend, but he let me know he was going to be at Texas A&M (Dec. 11-12), Houston (Dec. 13), Illinois (Dec. 13-14) and Miami (Fla.) (Dec. 15-16), coming up.
Michigan offensive lineman Tristan Bounds of Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall has had reports that he’ll be visiting NC State this weekend. Best I can tell, the Wolfpack are holding off on aggressively going after Bounds.
Two offensive lineman targets expected to officially visit NC State for sure this weekend — Michigan interior offensive lineman Dominick Giudice and Utah State right tackle Teague Andersen. Giudice had a Pro Football Focus grade of 53.6, and Andersen received a 68.1.
Andersen is interesting as he is the son of former BYU great Jason Andersen, who played in the NFL from 1998-2002. NC State offensive line coach Garett Tujague and offensive coordinator Robert Anae both have extensive backgrounds at BYU and the state of Utah.
Teague Andersen originally picked Utah State over offers from Air Force, Army, Baylor, Florida Atlantic, Indiana, Marshall and Troy, coming out of Eagle Mountain (Utah) Lehi High. Reports also have Andersen linked to Penn State wanting him early in the transfer portal process.
NC State struck fast with Charlotte senior center Jonny King visiting this past Monday and Tuesday, and Dartmouth nose tackle Josiah Green also came Monday and Tuesday, and then went to Duke and Georgia Tech.
NC State offered former South Carolina tight end Connor Cox and he will be at Kansas and Michigan State this weekend, so maybe he sees some of the Wolfpack at Jayhawks hoops game.
Cox then plans to see NC State early next week if he doesn’t make a quick commitment.
NC State also offered Bowling Green senior tackle Alex Wollschlaeger, who was first-team All-MAC, and his offer list has blown up. NC State, Kentucky, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Nebraska, Florida State, Arkansas, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Kansas State and Florida State have offered in the last 24 hours. Wollschlaeger is visiting Indiana today and Kentucky over the weekend for sure.
2. Odds are good that someone NC State recruited in the past will come back home to play for the Wolfpack in the transfer portal.
Current redshirt freshman Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland), Noah Rogers (Ohio State) and Daylan Smothers (Oklahoma), and junior Wesley Grimes (Wake Forest) fit that niche last year, and it worked out well for all four players. Quarterback Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) and running back Jordan Waters (Duke) weren’t past NC State prep recruiting targets, but also were in-state products.
NC State has already targeted freshman defensive end Kahmari Brown, who attended Jacksonville (N.C.) White Oak High, and the aforementioned Jonny King, who attended Greensboro (N.C.) Southeast Guilford before signing with Charlotte.
The first version of the hot board has a special section of potential targets that are from North Carolina. It doesn’t included North Carolina transfer Travis Shaw, a nose tackle, only because it doesn’t seem realistic to happen.
NC State offered nose tackles Jamaal Jarrett (Georgia), Curtis Neal (Wisconsin) and Keshawn Silver (North Carolina/Kentucky), and have coached some of their former prep teammates. Jarrett, like Shaw, went to Greensboro Grimsley, Neal went to Cornelius Hough and Silver went to Rocky Mounty High.
NC State also offered offensive lineman Mitchell Mayes, who went to Raleigh Sanderson High with former NCSU players Alim McNeill and Trent Pennix, and then he finished up at Leesville Road. King had a 67.3 grade by Pro Football Focus and Mayes was at 61.7.
NC State did not offer Jack Hollifield out of Shelby High, and he went to Virginia Tech as a linebacker/tight end/athlete type. He morphed into a center after transferring to Appalachian State and he had a 74.5 grade by Pro Football Focus, which was third on the Mountaineers offense. His brother, Dax Hollifield, was a standout linebacker at Virginia Tech, and their father played at Wake Forest.
Two former Raleigh Millbrook teammates would be intriguing. NC State fans already know that Tennessee wide receiver Nathan Leacock was a must get in the class of 2023, and fits the bill of what the Wolfpack did with Cooley, Rogers, Smothers and his past teammate Grimes.
Leacock, a NC State legacy, has great size at 6-3 and 200 pounds, and he had a monster senior year with 82 catches for 1,703 yards and 23 touchdowns, where he proved he could do it without Grimes. His dad ran track at NC State, his mother was a standout in track at Jackson State and his brother is running track at Houston.
Outside linebacker David Santiago of Millbrook High had committed to Charlotte and signed with Air Force. If NC State wants a depth guy at outside linebacker, who can also rush the passer on third and longs, Santiago would be that steady veteran. He played 521 snaps in 10 games as a sophomore and has a PFF grade of 69.7.
Jarrett is also in a similar position as Leacock in that he was a crucial and early target by NC State at Grimsley High. The snag in the Jarrett recruitment is that former NCSU offensive line coach John Garrison loved him on the offensive line. Which truth be told, probably was Jarrett’s best long-term position.
Jarrett, who has a gregarious personality, wanted to be the next Jordan Davis as jumbo-sized nose tackle. NC State midway through told Jarrett he could come at nose tackle. By then it didn’t work out, and he picked Georgia over North Carolina.
NC State had quickly offered jack of all trades offensive lineman Taran Tyo, and he was expected to come this weekend. Instead, the Ohio native has already verbally committed to Cincinnati.
Things move fast in what I dubbed the “Silly Season” around 15 years ago, though that was more in honor of NC State basketball coach Mark Gottfried’s offseason’s, which proved to be his downfall.
Auburn tight end Micah Riley hasn’t caught many passes in his college career, just three, but the 6-5, 266-pounder must be a heck of a blocker. NC State was hoping for him this weekend, but he let me know he was going to be at Texas A&M (Dec. 11-12), Houston (Dec. 13), Illinois (Dec. 13-14) and Miami (Fla.) (Dec. 15-16), coming up.
Michigan offensive lineman Tristan Bounds of Wallingford (Conn.) Choate Rosemary Hall has had reports that he’ll be visiting NC State this weekend. Best I can tell, the Wolfpack are holding off on aggressively going after Bounds.
Two offensive lineman targets expected to officially visit NC State for sure this weekend — Michigan interior offensive lineman Dominick Giudice and Utah State right tackle Teague Andersen. Giudice had a Pro Football Focus grade of 53.6, and Andersen received a 68.1.
Andersen is interesting as he is the son of former BYU great Jason Andersen, who played in the NFL from 1998-2002. NC State offensive line coach Garett Tujague and offensive coordinator Robert Anae both have extensive backgrounds at BYU and the state of Utah.
Teague Andersen originally picked Utah State over offers from Air Force, Army, Baylor, Florida Atlantic, Indiana, Marshall and Troy, coming out of Eagle Mountain (Utah) Lehi High. Reports also have Andersen linked to Penn State wanting him early in the transfer portal process.
NC State struck fast with Charlotte senior center Jonny King visiting this past Monday and Tuesday, and Dartmouth nose tackle Josiah Green also came Monday and Tuesday, and then went to Duke and Georgia Tech.
NC State offered former South Carolina tight end Connor Cox and he will be at Kansas and Michigan State this weekend, so maybe he sees some of the Wolfpack at Jayhawks hoops game.
Cox then plans to see NC State early next week if he doesn’t make a quick commitment.
NC State also offered Bowling Green senior tackle Alex Wollschlaeger, who was first-team All-MAC, and his offer list has blown up. NC State, Kentucky, Northwestern, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Iowa State, Nebraska, Florida State, Arkansas, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Kansas State and Florida State have offered in the last 24 hours. Wollschlaeger is visiting Indiana today and Kentucky over the weekend for sure.
2. Odds are good that someone NC State recruited in the past will come back home to play for the Wolfpack in the transfer portal.
Current redshirt freshman Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland), Noah Rogers (Ohio State) and Daylan Smothers (Oklahoma), and junior Wesley Grimes (Wake Forest) fit that niche last year, and it worked out well for all four players. Quarterback Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina) and running back Jordan Waters (Duke) weren’t past NC State prep recruiting targets, but also were in-state products.
NC State has already targeted freshman defensive end Kahmari Brown, who attended Jacksonville (N.C.) White Oak High, and the aforementioned Jonny King, who attended Greensboro (N.C.) Southeast Guilford before signing with Charlotte.
The first version of the hot board has a special section of potential targets that are from North Carolina. It doesn’t included North Carolina transfer Travis Shaw, a nose tackle, only because it doesn’t seem realistic to happen.
NC State offered nose tackles Jamaal Jarrett (Georgia), Curtis Neal (Wisconsin) and Keshawn Silver (North Carolina/Kentucky), and have coached some of their former prep teammates. Jarrett, like Shaw, went to Greensboro Grimsley, Neal went to Cornelius Hough and Silver went to Rocky Mounty High.
NC State also offered offensive lineman Mitchell Mayes, who went to Raleigh Sanderson High with former NCSU players Alim McNeill and Trent Pennix, and then he finished up at Leesville Road. King had a 67.3 grade by Pro Football Focus and Mayes was at 61.7.
NC State did not offer Jack Hollifield out of Shelby High, and he went to Virginia Tech as a linebacker/tight end/athlete type. He morphed into a center after transferring to Appalachian State and he had a 74.5 grade by Pro Football Focus, which was third on the Mountaineers offense. His brother, Dax Hollifield, was a standout linebacker at Virginia Tech, and their father played at Wake Forest.
Two former Raleigh Millbrook teammates would be intriguing. NC State fans already know that Tennessee wide receiver Nathan Leacock was a must get in the class of 2023, and fits the bill of what the Wolfpack did with Cooley, Rogers, Smothers and his past teammate Grimes.
Leacock, a NC State legacy, has great size at 6-3 and 200 pounds, and he had a monster senior year with 82 catches for 1,703 yards and 23 touchdowns, where he proved he could do it without Grimes. His dad ran track at NC State, his mother was a standout in track at Jackson State and his brother is running track at Houston.
Outside linebacker David Santiago of Millbrook High had committed to Charlotte and signed with Air Force. If NC State wants a depth guy at outside linebacker, who can also rush the passer on third and longs, Santiago would be that steady veteran. He played 521 snaps in 10 games as a sophomore and has a PFF grade of 69.7.
Jarrett is also in a similar position as Leacock in that he was a crucial and early target by NC State at Grimsley High. The snag in the Jarrett recruitment is that former NCSU offensive line coach John Garrison loved him on the offensive line. Which truth be told, probably was Jarrett’s best long-term position.
Jarrett, who has a gregarious personality, wanted to be the next Jordan Davis as jumbo-sized nose tackle. NC State midway through told Jarrett he could come at nose tackle. By then it didn’t work out, and he picked Georgia over North Carolina.
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