1. A.J. Richardson went from the FCS ranks to high major Division I in two years at Norfolk State.
One person that understands Richardson’s game and rapid rise is former Kings Mountain (N.C.) High coach Greg Lloyd, who is now coaching at Shelby (N.C.) Crest. Richardson had 92 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and three fumble recoveries his senior year under Lloyd in 2022.
What was A.J. Richardson like at Kings Mountain High?
“He was probably the most physical player to ever play for me, and he is definitely one of the best leaders that's ever played for me. I've been head coach for 20 seasons, and he is at the top of the list. He was undervalued. He might have been, people might have thought he was a hair short or a hair this or a hair that.
“He just was a little bit undervalued. When he got his opportunity at Norfolk State, he showed out. I'm friends with the head coach at Norfolk State, Dawson Odums, and he just couldn't sing his praises enough when he got there. He immediately set himself apart just because of the kind of worker he is.
“When I heard that he was going to transfer, it does not shock me. He is a really good player, and he's really aggressive, and I think he's going to do well. I think his film probably speaks for itself. Everything I've heard of him is he just continues to do the right things. He's as hard a worker as you're going to find. He's a good one.”
NC State will open with former Kings Mountain linebacker Damian Wilson and East Carolina, and close the year with King Mountain wide receiver Kobe Paysour and UNC. What will it be like to see Richardson on the field with some of your former players?
“It's going to be amazing. It's just, all them Kings Mountain kids, and it's just how far they have come. They're all three fine young men. It just gives you a lot of pride, for sure.”
How did you use Richardson at linebacker?
“He played, mainly the middle linebacker. He played some defensive end. He played some fullback. He played some H-back. We moved around a good bit. He was at home at Mike linebacker, for sure. He's the best hitter, like hitting people, I have ever coached. Like has the strongest neck. He just knew how to hit you. He had some big hits in high school.
“He’s just that kind of kid. He's hungry, too. He always has a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove to people he's as good as he is. He's pretty special.”
Did Richardson play other sports at Kings Mountain?
“He wrestled. He had a good career in wrestling. I don't know if he wrestled his senior year, but he wrestled several years and did really well. I think he finished [in quarterfinals] in the state one year in [NCHSAA] 3A at heavyweight [in 2021]. It might have been in the short COVID year, but he did well.”
2. NC State will use the next two weekends to try and finish off portal/prep recruiting and invite various underclassmen to campus for Junior Days.
NC State has been hit or miss in including basketball games as part of Junior Days, but SMU is coming to town at Noon on Jan. 25, and Clemson is playing at NC State at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 1.
Some of these players will be key targets to come for unofficial visits to NC State, and two were just offered by the Wolfpack.
As college coaches criss-cross the Carolinas, these five players are starting to get some serious high-major offers in the classes of 2027 or 2028.
Matthews Corvian Community High is starting to emerge, making it to the NCHSAA 1A state title game. The football program has sophomore left tackle/defensive lineman Nate Kamba and the hoops program has Ricky “R.J.” Moore Jr. in the class of 2027. Moore’s father played at UConn.
Kamba was offered by Ohio State this month and brings great size at 6-4 and 280 pounds. He had 79 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and eight sacks, and looks pretty legit on the offensive line.
Sequel Patterson is a prospect that caught my attention last July. He proved he was a solid basketball player for Team Loaded VA 15s, and is originally from Charlotte, N.C. He attends high school at Fort Mill (S.C.) Indian Land High, and he gets used in a variety of ways on offense. He’s a true weapon with 52 catches for 758 yards and seven touchdowns, plus 76 carries for 441 yards and three scores. He also completed five passes, including two touchdowns. He even added 23 tackles, eight passes defended and two interceptions on defense.
I had mentioned that sophomore wide receiver Anthony Roberts was impressive in a past The Run Down, and NC State has agreed. NC State offered him Jan. 10, and that caps a big year for him. Roberts caught 46 passes for 914 yards and 11 touchdowns in helping Rolesville High to reach NCHSAA 4A state title game.
Raleigh Millbrook already has one sophomore as a major priority for NC State in star linebacker Quinton Cypher. Now, it could have two with sophomore defensive end Rashad Streets. The 6-4, 230-pounder had 123 tackles, 35.5 tackles for loss, 26.5 sacks and four blocked punts this fall. Florida State became his first P4 offer this past month.
Grayson Williams plays left tackle and some defensive line for Southeast Raleigh, and is listed at 6-4 and 285 pounds, and NC State just offered him Jan. 10. NC State landed both Tyler Baker-Williams and Dylan Parham from Southeast Raleigh High. Williams is the second known class of 2028 prospect with a Wolfpack offer, joining wide receiver Braylon Clark of Charlotte Country Day.
3. One type of prep player has always been missing when it comes to NC State’s recruiting board — fast but smaller pass-rushing defensive ends.
It will be interesting if new NC State defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will change that trend, but the class of 2026 is loaded with those type of players, who with some teaching and refinement, could be good-sized outside linebackers at 6-3 or so and 220-plus pounds. Instead, NC State has been going for safety-sized players with the goal of putting on weight and being outside linebackers.
The best of the bunch is arguably Rodney Dunham of Charlotte (N.C.) Park, and we’ll start it off with him.
Instead of asking who has offered Dunham, it’s easier to ask who hasn’t. Oregon just offered him this past week. NC State has never offered him, but he’ll be a good test case to see if he’s an ideal fit for what Eliot wants to do. Dunham also wants to play college baseball. Maxpreps.com has Dunham with 39 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and five sacks and 16 quarterback hurries.
Ewetade has become a hot recruiting name this week with offers from Ohio State, Georgia, Florida Stat and Michigan State. The local P4 schools obviously know him, but only Duke has offered him. Ewetade had 81 tackles, 28 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 27 quarterback hurries and five forced fumbles.
Littlejohn is the one player on this list that NC State has offered. He’s the size of an outside linebacker, but he is so disruptive on the prep level rushing the passer. UNC won the in-state battle under previous coach Mack Brown, but maybe NC State has a chance again. He had 84 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 24 quarterback hurries and two passes broken up in eight games between Charlotte Christian and Charlotte West Mecklenburg this season.
McCallum has some good Group of Five offers, but broke through this fall with Duke and Virginia jumping in with offers, along with Georgia Tech. NC State wide receivers coach Joker Phillips checked in with him this past week. The 6-4, 220-pound pass-rusher is explosive off the edge or when he blitzes for Harrisburg (N.C.) Hickory Ridge. The team struggled, going 0-10, but McCallum impressed with 44 tackles, 18 tackles for loss and 12 sacks this season.
Spencer earned his first offer from North Carolina this month, which signals that the Tar Heels will still have a place for the small edge specialists. NC State should give the Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond Senior standout a hard look. He plays downhill and closes fast. He had 101 tackles, 36 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and five passes broke up.
One person that understands Richardson’s game and rapid rise is former Kings Mountain (N.C.) High coach Greg Lloyd, who is now coaching at Shelby (N.C.) Crest. Richardson had 92 tackles, 38 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and three fumble recoveries his senior year under Lloyd in 2022.
What was A.J. Richardson like at Kings Mountain High?
“He was probably the most physical player to ever play for me, and he is definitely one of the best leaders that's ever played for me. I've been head coach for 20 seasons, and he is at the top of the list. He was undervalued. He might have been, people might have thought he was a hair short or a hair this or a hair that.
“He just was a little bit undervalued. When he got his opportunity at Norfolk State, he showed out. I'm friends with the head coach at Norfolk State, Dawson Odums, and he just couldn't sing his praises enough when he got there. He immediately set himself apart just because of the kind of worker he is.
“When I heard that he was going to transfer, it does not shock me. He is a really good player, and he's really aggressive, and I think he's going to do well. I think his film probably speaks for itself. Everything I've heard of him is he just continues to do the right things. He's as hard a worker as you're going to find. He's a good one.”
NC State will open with former Kings Mountain linebacker Damian Wilson and East Carolina, and close the year with King Mountain wide receiver Kobe Paysour and UNC. What will it be like to see Richardson on the field with some of your former players?
“It's going to be amazing. It's just, all them Kings Mountain kids, and it's just how far they have come. They're all three fine young men. It just gives you a lot of pride, for sure.”
How did you use Richardson at linebacker?
“He played, mainly the middle linebacker. He played some defensive end. He played some fullback. He played some H-back. We moved around a good bit. He was at home at Mike linebacker, for sure. He's the best hitter, like hitting people, I have ever coached. Like has the strongest neck. He just knew how to hit you. He had some big hits in high school.
“He’s just that kind of kid. He's hungry, too. He always has a chip on his shoulder. He wants to prove to people he's as good as he is. He's pretty special.”
Did Richardson play other sports at Kings Mountain?
“He wrestled. He had a good career in wrestling. I don't know if he wrestled his senior year, but he wrestled several years and did really well. I think he finished [in quarterfinals] in the state one year in [NCHSAA] 3A at heavyweight [in 2021]. It might have been in the short COVID year, but he did well.”
2. NC State will use the next two weekends to try and finish off portal/prep recruiting and invite various underclassmen to campus for Junior Days.
NC State has been hit or miss in including basketball games as part of Junior Days, but SMU is coming to town at Noon on Jan. 25, and Clemson is playing at NC State at 1:30 p.m. on Feb. 1.
Some of these players will be key targets to come for unofficial visits to NC State, and two were just offered by the Wolfpack.
As college coaches criss-cross the Carolinas, these five players are starting to get some serious high-major offers in the classes of 2027 or 2028.
Kamba was offered by Ohio State this month and brings great size at 6-4 and 280 pounds. He had 79 tackles, 26 tackles for loss and eight sacks, and looks pretty legit on the offensive line.
3. One type of prep player has always been missing when it comes to NC State’s recruiting board — fast but smaller pass-rushing defensive ends.
It will be interesting if new NC State defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot will change that trend, but the class of 2026 is loaded with those type of players, who with some teaching and refinement, could be good-sized outside linebackers at 6-3 or so and 220-plus pounds. Instead, NC State has been going for safety-sized players with the goal of putting on weight and being outside linebackers.
The best of the bunch is arguably Rodney Dunham of Charlotte (N.C.) Park, and we’ll start it off with him.
