1. With official visit season in June becoming the most important part of the recruiting calendar, the Wolfpack welcome 10 official visitors this weekend.
All 10 players were highlighted with content this past few days, it’s clear that several players will be visiting NC State and then making a decision sometime in the next few weeks (or sooner). There was also four mid-week visitors, with three of the four taking off Friday morning for weekend visits to other colleges.
Add in Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna senior cornerback Cam Strong picking among NC State, Georgia Tech and West Virginia, at 8 p.m. tonight, it’s a busy time. Every indication is that the Wolfpack lead for Strong, but he has been the rare recruit who has made both the Yellow Jackets and Mountaineers also feel good at times this past week.
NC State can then turn its attention to mid-week defensive back target Jontae Gilbert of Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass High. He’ll be announcing among Central Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, NC State and Georgia State. He’s been clear with the media if the Bulldogs want him, he wants to go there.
Speaking of Georgia, Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills wide receiver Ja’Rel Bolder had some people wondering if he’d just end his recruitment this week and pick the Bulldogs. Apparently, UGA was finally able to answer the one big question — how badly do the Bulldogs want Bolder? I’m under the impression they want him.
After getting recruited for two full years, there was no way I could see Bolder just blow off his NC State official visit this week.
Some recruitments are easier to predict than others, especially if they don’t want to wait on picking a college. For instance, it would be shocking if Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers wide receiver Arrion Concepcion didn’t end up at NC State to play with his older brother Kevin Concepcion. NC State has made sure Kevin Concepcion is extremely well taken care of to ensure he didn’t transfer to another college.
Shamarius Peterkin of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor is essentially down to NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Some UNC insiders claim he isn’t a top priority for the Tar Heels, which if true, would take out the biggest threat. Peterkin grew up a UNC fan.
Speedy Malik Clark at wide receiver has always been an interesting recruitment. The Rock Hill (S.C.) High product is in Gamecocks country on the other side of Charlotte. Yet, North Carolina has gotten buzz while NC State has been smooth and steady.
Getting a handle on running back Kentrell Rinehart’s recruitment has been somewhat straight-forward, but then you tend to wonder if something might pop up. Rinehart could be down to NC State and Iowa, but this one seems to be the Wolfpack’s to lose and it won’t be a Kendrick Raphael scenario. With R.J. Boyd picking between NC State and Duke on June 23, the running back spot should be taken care of.
Center Isaac Sowells and offensive lineman Michael Gibbs are must-gets for the Wolfpack. They’ve put in the time and effort, and both have been on campus multiple times. They are probably opposites as players, with one being a center and other a likely guard, who also can play tackle in a pinch. They are good examples where it will take them some time to adjust because they have enjoyed and loved the recruiting process. They might end up doing more interviews this past year than over the next four years of whatever college they attend.
The easy tip-off on linebacker targets Cameron White of Seffner (Fla.) Armload, Jaiden Braker of Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett and Donovan Darden of Havelock (N.C.) High will be if NC State offers other senior linebackers. They are the board at the moment and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson has proven adept at finding linebackers or getting players to flip from other schools.
The recruit that really feels like speed dating is defensive lineman Omarian Abraham, how is versatile enough to be a strongside defensive end or a nose tackle if he gains weight. He’s a natural 4-3 defensive tackle, but with more and more teams using three-man line he’s versatile enough to alter his game. He’d be the recruit where it would feel like the next few months are actually his real recruitment, even if he picks a college soon. NC State has only been on him a little over a month.
2. One of the interesting parts of such a busy month with a lot of moving parts is when players officially visit and what players end up not visiting.
NC State by design or happenstance had players from the same position visit at the same time. The first big weekend, it was about the cornerbacks and the defensive lineman. Both linebackers visited together this week. The wide receivers are visiting this weekend.
What is good about following the now “former” targets is to see how good they are in college, which validates NC State’s ability to evaluate players. Sometimes, you have to take into account that some players would have turned out better if they had gotten into NC State’s system of progress.
Some good scenarios have emerged. For instance, NC State offered running backs Isaiah Groves of Cross Plains (Tenn.) East Robertson High and R.J. Boyd of Waycross (Ga.) Ware County. When it came to go time, NC State went with Boyd over the Wolfpack legacy Groves.
Groves picked Georgia Tech and Boyd will pick between NC State and Duke on June 23. Adding a twist to things is that the Yellow Jackets passed on recruiting Boyd for Groves. NC State zeroed in on Boyd and Kentrell Rinehart of Columbus (Ohio) Westland, and should get both. NC State has also offered Wolfpack freshman linebacker Elijah Groves' brother, defensive end Zach Groves, who is ranked No. 198 overall in the class of 2026.
NC State has four wide receivers visiting this weekend and has landed Jamar Browder already. One wide receiver who didn’t make his way to campus was the incredibly fast Gabe Daniels of Atlanta (GA.) Greater Atlanta Christian.
NC State had hoped to get several offensive lineman on campus this month. That has proven to be the toughest position for the Wolfpack to fill. There was hope that 6-8, 250-pound Chastan Brown of Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside School for a visit. He ended up visiting Central Florida, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Miami (Fla.) landed tackle Demetrius Campbell of Orlando (Fla.) Christian before the Wolfpack could host him. NC State had scheduled an official visit with big tackle Toby Mealer, but knew he was a backup option, so decided to hold off until some other players made decisions.
Along those lines, if NC State doesn’t fill some defensive line needs in the near future, it could easily circle back with Nikolas Alston of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, who quickly picked Liberty. He could be a flip target this fall if he is needed.
The dance with Cincinnati (Ohio) Taft nose tackle Drayden Pavey was interesting, but he elected to remain in the midwest and will pick among Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana.
NC State was close to bringing in nose tackle Dior Garner of Canton (Ohio) McKinley for an official visit, and then walked it back and he picked Bowling Green on Wednesday.
Four cornerbacks that NC State liked and strongly considered bringing in for an official visit included Charles Bell of Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, Serious Stinyard of Tampa (Fla.) Gaither, Jayden Shipps of Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding and Shawn Lee of Harrisburg (Pa.) High. Stinyard picked West Virginia and Lee is going to Pittsburgh, while Bell is perceived to be Rutgers lean and Shipps a Maryland lean.
NC State also was hot and heavy with Orlando safeties Ja’Torian Mack and Maliki Wright, but seemingly backed off after getting Tristan Teasdell. Wright is going to Duke and will play with former NCSU target Gerritt Kemp of Dacula (Ga.) Hebron Christian Academy, who also could end up at wide receiver.
Another player that NC State might circle back on is versatile defensive back Jordan Crim of Camden (S.C.) High, who has officially visited Georgia Southern and Duke, and just had Virginia Tech offer him this past week.
All 10 players were highlighted with content this past few days, it’s clear that several players will be visiting NC State and then making a decision sometime in the next few weeks (or sooner). There was also four mid-week visitors, with three of the four taking off Friday morning for weekend visits to other colleges.
Add in Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna senior cornerback Cam Strong picking among NC State, Georgia Tech and West Virginia, at 8 p.m. tonight, it’s a busy time. Every indication is that the Wolfpack lead for Strong, but he has been the rare recruit who has made both the Yellow Jackets and Mountaineers also feel good at times this past week.
NC State can then turn its attention to mid-week defensive back target Jontae Gilbert of Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass High. He’ll be announcing among Central Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, NC State and Georgia State. He’s been clear with the media if the Bulldogs want him, he wants to go there.
Speaking of Georgia, Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills wide receiver Ja’Rel Bolder had some people wondering if he’d just end his recruitment this week and pick the Bulldogs. Apparently, UGA was finally able to answer the one big question — how badly do the Bulldogs want Bolder? I’m under the impression they want him.
After getting recruited for two full years, there was no way I could see Bolder just blow off his NC State official visit this week.
Some recruitments are easier to predict than others, especially if they don’t want to wait on picking a college. For instance, it would be shocking if Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers wide receiver Arrion Concepcion didn’t end up at NC State to play with his older brother Kevin Concepcion. NC State has made sure Kevin Concepcion is extremely well taken care of to ensure he didn’t transfer to another college.
Shamarius Peterkin of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor is essentially down to NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Some UNC insiders claim he isn’t a top priority for the Tar Heels, which if true, would take out the biggest threat. Peterkin grew up a UNC fan.
Speedy Malik Clark at wide receiver has always been an interesting recruitment. The Rock Hill (S.C.) High product is in Gamecocks country on the other side of Charlotte. Yet, North Carolina has gotten buzz while NC State has been smooth and steady.
Getting a handle on running back Kentrell Rinehart’s recruitment has been somewhat straight-forward, but then you tend to wonder if something might pop up. Rinehart could be down to NC State and Iowa, but this one seems to be the Wolfpack’s to lose and it won’t be a Kendrick Raphael scenario. With R.J. Boyd picking between NC State and Duke on June 23, the running back spot should be taken care of.
Center Isaac Sowells and offensive lineman Michael Gibbs are must-gets for the Wolfpack. They’ve put in the time and effort, and both have been on campus multiple times. They are probably opposites as players, with one being a center and other a likely guard, who also can play tackle in a pinch. They are good examples where it will take them some time to adjust because they have enjoyed and loved the recruiting process. They might end up doing more interviews this past year than over the next four years of whatever college they attend.
The easy tip-off on linebacker targets Cameron White of Seffner (Fla.) Armload, Jaiden Braker of Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett and Donovan Darden of Havelock (N.C.) High will be if NC State offers other senior linebackers. They are the board at the moment and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson has proven adept at finding linebackers or getting players to flip from other schools.
The recruit that really feels like speed dating is defensive lineman Omarian Abraham, how is versatile enough to be a strongside defensive end or a nose tackle if he gains weight. He’s a natural 4-3 defensive tackle, but with more and more teams using three-man line he’s versatile enough to alter his game. He’d be the recruit where it would feel like the next few months are actually his real recruitment, even if he picks a college soon. NC State has only been on him a little over a month.
2. One of the interesting parts of such a busy month with a lot of moving parts is when players officially visit and what players end up not visiting.
NC State by design or happenstance had players from the same position visit at the same time. The first big weekend, it was about the cornerbacks and the defensive lineman. Both linebackers visited together this week. The wide receivers are visiting this weekend.
What is good about following the now “former” targets is to see how good they are in college, which validates NC State’s ability to evaluate players. Sometimes, you have to take into account that some players would have turned out better if they had gotten into NC State’s system of progress.
Some good scenarios have emerged. For instance, NC State offered running backs Isaiah Groves of Cross Plains (Tenn.) East Robertson High and R.J. Boyd of Waycross (Ga.) Ware County. When it came to go time, NC State went with Boyd over the Wolfpack legacy Groves.
Groves picked Georgia Tech and Boyd will pick between NC State and Duke on June 23. Adding a twist to things is that the Yellow Jackets passed on recruiting Boyd for Groves. NC State zeroed in on Boyd and Kentrell Rinehart of Columbus (Ohio) Westland, and should get both. NC State has also offered Wolfpack freshman linebacker Elijah Groves' brother, defensive end Zach Groves, who is ranked No. 198 overall in the class of 2026.
NC State has four wide receivers visiting this weekend and has landed Jamar Browder already. One wide receiver who didn’t make his way to campus was the incredibly fast Gabe Daniels of Atlanta (GA.) Greater Atlanta Christian.
NC State had hoped to get several offensive lineman on campus this month. That has proven to be the toughest position for the Wolfpack to fill. There was hope that 6-8, 250-pound Chastan Brown of Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside School for a visit. He ended up visiting Central Florida, Louisville and Pittsburgh.
Miami (Fla.) landed tackle Demetrius Campbell of Orlando (Fla.) Christian before the Wolfpack could host him. NC State had scheduled an official visit with big tackle Toby Mealer, but knew he was a backup option, so decided to hold off until some other players made decisions.
Along those lines, if NC State doesn’t fill some defensive line needs in the near future, it could easily circle back with Nikolas Alston of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, who quickly picked Liberty. He could be a flip target this fall if he is needed.
The dance with Cincinnati (Ohio) Taft nose tackle Drayden Pavey was interesting, but he elected to remain in the midwest and will pick among Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana.
NC State was close to bringing in nose tackle Dior Garner of Canton (Ohio) McKinley for an official visit, and then walked it back and he picked Bowling Green on Wednesday.
Four cornerbacks that NC State liked and strongly considered bringing in for an official visit included Charles Bell of Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, Serious Stinyard of Tampa (Fla.) Gaither, Jayden Shipps of Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding and Shawn Lee of Harrisburg (Pa.) High. Stinyard picked West Virginia and Lee is going to Pittsburgh, while Bell is perceived to be Rutgers lean and Shipps a Maryland lean.
NC State also was hot and heavy with Orlando safeties Ja’Torian Mack and Maliki Wright, but seemingly backed off after getting Tristan Teasdell. Wright is going to Duke and will play with former NCSU target Gerritt Kemp of Dacula (Ga.) Hebron Christian Academy, who also could end up at wide receiver.
Another player that NC State might circle back on is versatile defensive back Jordan Crim of Camden (S.C.) High, who has officially visited Georgia Southern and Duke, and just had Virginia Tech offer him this past week.
