1. Gaffney (S.C.) High junior quarterback Jayvon Gilmore has pushed back his commitment day a bit, and will announce Aug. 1. That is allowing him to see Arkansas on July 27 and Louisville on July 30.
In a perfect recruiting world, Gilmore would have gone to Alpha Wolf on July 26, and then announce July 28, which was his original decision day. In mid-April, NC State was in terrific shape with Gilmore, but he wasn’t as coveted a recruit by other schools at that time. His offer list really evolved this winter and spring, and he shed the label of being a quarterback, who could end up as a flex tight end if being a quarterback didn’t work out.
Texas A&M is the fourth college on his list, but the fact that he’s seeing the Razorbacks and Cardinals might show they are higher on the priority list than the Aggies.
Gilmore is seeing big picture with his decision, but if NIL helps breaks a tie, he has some heavy NIL hitters on the list.
As mentioned in the June 21 version of The Run Down, NC State was able to get the commitment of senior quarterback Will Wilson on June 24, 2023. Current redshirt freshman quarterback Lex Thomas committed June 23, 2021, as a class of 2023 commit.
What having an early quarterback commit does is help give the class a leader in getting other players to join. Thomas had that down to an art form, though some players needed to transfer to NC State after seeing life on the other side (Noah Rogers, Daylan Smothers, Wesley Grimes).
Wilson isn’t overt about recruiting others, but he’s efficient with it and he’s tried to open up doors with recruits in South Carolina.
That is where for a school to land Gilmore this early, it helps. Same when Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley junior quarterback Faizon Brandon announces Aug. 3. Part of the massive amount of NIL that will go to Brandon is not just because a recruiting network has him at No. 1 in the country, but also that getting him will definitely lead other recruits to join him.
Brandon will go to Tennessee on July 27 and LSU on July 29, and he really likes former NC State staffer Jatavis Sanders, who is at Alabama.
2. Truth be told, when I wrote about the linebacker board needing a reset, I didn’t anticipate all three targets to announce after that particular The Run Down, and I didn’t envision NC State going 0-fer on Cameron White (Central Florida), Jaidan Braker (South Carolina) and Donovan Darden (South Carolina). White in particular has a chance to be a star in college.
NC State scrambled late on all three and it didn’t work, but did scramble late to land three of the four defensive line commits. Credit defensive line coach Charley Wiles for searching far and wide to end up with defensive end Mykah Newton and nose tackles Makhi Williams-Lee and Omarian Abraham. Those three joined previous commit Colby Cronk in what should be a versatile group of defensive lineman.
Williams-Lee and Newton were both offered May 14, 2024, and Abraham was offered 10 days later May 24. NC State will use the next few months to really get to know the three prospects and watch them in a prep game in the fall.
As we have said many times in the past, it’s never going to be easy for NC State to recruit defensive lineman to the 3-3-5 scheme. Nose tackles get double-teamed often and defensive ends tie up blockers to free up linebackers to make big plays in the scheme.
Every defensive lineman has been ingrained at a young age that their worth is tied to how many sacks they get. We see that in the NFL in contract negotiations all the time, and not every sack is created equal. Some sacks are in big moments late in a game or on a key third down, and some could be in garbage time.
In a perfect recruiting world, Gilmore would have gone to Alpha Wolf on July 26, and then announce July 28, which was his original decision day. In mid-April, NC State was in terrific shape with Gilmore, but he wasn’t as coveted a recruit by other schools at that time. His offer list really evolved this winter and spring, and he shed the label of being a quarterback, who could end up as a flex tight end if being a quarterback didn’t work out.
Texas A&M is the fourth college on his list, but the fact that he’s seeing the Razorbacks and Cardinals might show they are higher on the priority list than the Aggies.
Gilmore is seeing big picture with his decision, but if NIL helps breaks a tie, he has some heavy NIL hitters on the list.
As mentioned in the June 21 version of The Run Down, NC State was able to get the commitment of senior quarterback Will Wilson on June 24, 2023. Current redshirt freshman quarterback Lex Thomas committed June 23, 2021, as a class of 2023 commit.
What having an early quarterback commit does is help give the class a leader in getting other players to join. Thomas had that down to an art form, though some players needed to transfer to NC State after seeing life on the other side (Noah Rogers, Daylan Smothers, Wesley Grimes).
Wilson isn’t overt about recruiting others, but he’s efficient with it and he’s tried to open up doors with recruits in South Carolina.
That is where for a school to land Gilmore this early, it helps. Same when Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley junior quarterback Faizon Brandon announces Aug. 3. Part of the massive amount of NIL that will go to Brandon is not just because a recruiting network has him at No. 1 in the country, but also that getting him will definitely lead other recruits to join him.
Brandon will go to Tennessee on July 27 and LSU on July 29, and he really likes former NC State staffer Jatavis Sanders, who is at Alabama.
2. Truth be told, when I wrote about the linebacker board needing a reset, I didn’t anticipate all three targets to announce after that particular The Run Down, and I didn’t envision NC State going 0-fer on Cameron White (Central Florida), Jaidan Braker (South Carolina) and Donovan Darden (South Carolina). White in particular has a chance to be a star in college.
NC State scrambled late on all three and it didn’t work, but did scramble late to land three of the four defensive line commits. Credit defensive line coach Charley Wiles for searching far and wide to end up with defensive end Mykah Newton and nose tackles Makhi Williams-Lee and Omarian Abraham. Those three joined previous commit Colby Cronk in what should be a versatile group of defensive lineman.
Williams-Lee and Newton were both offered May 14, 2024, and Abraham was offered 10 days later May 24. NC State will use the next few months to really get to know the three prospects and watch them in a prep game in the fall.
As we have said many times in the past, it’s never going to be easy for NC State to recruit defensive lineman to the 3-3-5 scheme. Nose tackles get double-teamed often and defensive ends tie up blockers to free up linebackers to make big plays in the scheme.
Every defensive lineman has been ingrained at a young age that their worth is tied to how many sacks they get. We see that in the NFL in contract negotiations all the time, and not every sack is created equal. Some sacks are in big moments late in a game or on a key third down, and some could be in garbage time.
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