1. So much going on, but lets start with potential positive news like Zack Myers of Arden (N.C.) Christ School deciding today, before going into the other scoop of the week.
By happen stance, The Wolfpack Central has been following Myers’ every step of the way, basically in real time, as he’s marched his way to making a decision. Myers has changed his announcement time from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., presumably at Christ School, with NC State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Tennessee as his options.
Myers officially visited NC State on June 16-18, and had planned to visit Virginia Tech this weekend. However, by the time Myers’ visit ended Saturday afternoon, word started to speculate that he’d likely not make it to Blacksburg, Va.
That proved to be true with Myers wanting to announce his decision Friday.
Where Myers’ recruitment took a turn is when he wanted The Wolfpack Central to break the news that he’d be moving from the class of 2024 to 2023. It was also the start in mid-January of learning over a period interviews of getting to know Myers.
I didn’t know all that much about Myers during the fall and that sometimes is the case with players who are four hours away from Raleigh. In trying to change that narrative, I stopped by Christ School in early February to meet Myers for the first time and watch his sophomore hoops teammate Bryson Cokley. Myers showed he was a solid pass-first point guard and a good athlete.
I also think being at Christ School and also being a reclassed 2024 recruit slowed his recruitment in some ways, which has benefitted NC State. To put this in perspective, his offers where the previous staff at Duke and Tennessee on June 8, 2021. NC State came along and offered July 25, 2021. Unlike the other prospects I talk to on the regular, Myers didn’t get that recruiting grind as much, and that is a good thing.
What proved interesting with Myers and also newly-minted NC State defensive end commit Isaiah Shirley of Boone (N.C.) Watauga, they both went through similar things this spring. Myers had always told me that NC State was high on his list or leading, but Tennessee proved influential. Tennessee hasn’t been a national power in years, but the specter of the Volunteers and NIL money and the SEC, had some thinking they’d get Myers, and also make a big push on Shirley.
In the end, Tennessee wasn’t in Shirley’s top four schools. If my gut instinct is correct, the Volunteers also won’t get Myers.
Spending a few hours around Myers at the NCISAA Division I state track meet at Raleigh Ravenscroft, it became clear how much he liked NC State and safeties coach Joe DeForest. He did like Tennessee, but not as much was the vibe. He made it a point to emphasize to me there was a reason he wanted NC State to be his first official visit, and that there might not be a second visit. He also wanted to see what his worth was by going to some camps and try to get some new offers. Myers has proven to be truthful and accurate in all his assessments.
Looking back, when Myers was in the class of 2024, the first three offers to in-state prospects were to Burlington (N.C.) Cummings wide receiver Jonathan Paylor, Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic tight end Jack Larsen and Myers. Christ School outside linebacker teammate Cayden Jones was offered Sept. 16.
Larsen is deciding at 5 p.m. today among NC State, Notre Dame, Michigan, North Carolina and Clemson. Notre Dame is the heavy favorite, perhaps dating back to going to see UNC at Notre Dame play Oct. 30.
2. Rolesville (N.C.) High senior wide receiver Noah Rogers created a big surprise mainly due to timing and partly because the recruiting experience probably was waning on him.
Wednesday’s decision comes down to three main parts that happened between March 20-April 16, and then what happened this week with Ohio State landing two five-star receivers.
• The buzz about NC State was palpable at the Rivals Camp Series stop March 20 in Fort Mill, S.C. Rogers was there with NCSU quarterback commit Lex Thomas and wide receiver target Nathan Leacock. It was easily peak “Rogers is going to NC State” vibes.
• Whatever his motivation was, Rogers picked going to see North Carolina’s spring game April 9, instead of doing the doubleheader with NC State’s contest coming at 1 p.m. True or not, it was the first time some wondered if Rogers was trying to quell the hype about NC State some.
• Rogers unofficially visited Ohio State on April 14-16 and then the tea leaves starting flowing toward Columbus, Ohio.
Somewhere during this time, Rogers started to go underground a little bit. He didn’t want to tweet about his regular trips to NC State and tried to avoid talking about his recruitment. For a player who plays with excitement and is “loud” with his abilities on the field, he’s not overly comfortable being in the public eye — see last week’s section on Rogers vs. junior wide receiver Jonathan Paylor of Burlington (N.C.) Cummings.
I’ve been around future pros like John Wall, Edrice Adebayo, Dennis Smith Jr., Dexter Lawrence, Nyheim Hines and Alim McNeill, for multiple years when they got recruited, and at some point that public eye becomes glaring in high school. It’s just not Rogers’ thing and I think that was reflected Wednesday. It also probably got a little more complicated with Rolesville not having a head coach the last few weeks. His recruitment was in many ways similar to Lawrence, who picked Clemson over NC State.
Many elite players announce in a variety of ways — national media, hometown media, press conference at their school or hometown spot or some kind of video package. We know a person had been following Rogers around in getting video footage for his college announcement.
Instead, Rogers did it with a simple Tweet, probably did minimal media and kept it moving.
I also think a part of Rogers deciding Wednesday in abrupt fashion, or maybe all of it is Ohio State landed No. 1 wide receiver Carnell Tate of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and No. 2 wide receiver Brandon Inniss of Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage. It’s easy to think Ohio State had a heart-to-heart with Rogers and let him know it was time or some other elite receiver would take his spot with the Buckeyes.
Will Rogers ever show some wiggle room on his college decision? If so, probably follow Thomas on Instagram because that will probably will it start up again. Senior target Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville High could also be in his ear at some point if Cooley picks the Wolfpack.
3. It would be disingenuous to see NC State football recruiting has to pick up the pieces post-Rogers.
Sure, some momentum has been lost or air has been let out of the ballon, but the bottom line is that NC State is still heavily involved with numerous other good players.
The wide receiver position will now center around Kevin Concepcion of Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers and Nathan Leacock of Raleigh Millbrook. Both have been recruited by NC State for over a year and are different as prospects.
Concepcion isn’t going to be a measurables guy at 5-11 and 175 pounds, and probably isn’t a track guy. He’s a four-star prospect (at least for now) because he’s a gamer and productive. Recruiting gurus have a soft spot for those two traits.
What makes Concepcion unique is that he can play both slot receiver but also make plays outside. Add in his potential punt returning ability and ability to run reverses or jet sweeps. He’s proven the last two years in big moments that he’s got a clutch gene.
Leacock has the measurables, measuring at Rivals Camp at 6-2 1/2 and 197.5 pounds, with a 6-4 3/4 wing span. He’s basically the same size as H-back commit Javonte Vereen of Havelock (N.C.) High. Leacock also loves track and wants to do it in college. His father did track and field at NC State and his mother did the same at Jackson State.
Leacock clocked 11.1 seconds in the 100-meter dash last year in the NCHSAA 4A meet — which he called “disappointing” — but did club track this spring.
Speaking of track, NC State will have football/track star Micah Mays coming to Alpha Wolf in late July. The North Palm Beach (Fla.) Benjamin School standout won the Florida 1A state titles in the 400 meters (47.52) and the triple jump (45 feet, 11½ inches) and took third in the high jump (6-1.5), plus was third in the 1,600 relay. That helped his school win the state title.
The 6-1, 174-pound Mays had 12 offers when NC State offered him last January. He’s now up to 38 offers.
By happen stance, The Wolfpack Central has been following Myers’ every step of the way, basically in real time, as he’s marched his way to making a decision. Myers has changed his announcement time from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., presumably at Christ School, with NC State, Virginia Tech, South Carolina and Tennessee as his options.
Myers officially visited NC State on June 16-18, and had planned to visit Virginia Tech this weekend. However, by the time Myers’ visit ended Saturday afternoon, word started to speculate that he’d likely not make it to Blacksburg, Va.
That proved to be true with Myers wanting to announce his decision Friday.
Where Myers’ recruitment took a turn is when he wanted The Wolfpack Central to break the news that he’d be moving from the class of 2024 to 2023. It was also the start in mid-January of learning over a period interviews of getting to know Myers.
I didn’t know all that much about Myers during the fall and that sometimes is the case with players who are four hours away from Raleigh. In trying to change that narrative, I stopped by Christ School in early February to meet Myers for the first time and watch his sophomore hoops teammate Bryson Cokley. Myers showed he was a solid pass-first point guard and a good athlete.
I also think being at Christ School and also being a reclassed 2024 recruit slowed his recruitment in some ways, which has benefitted NC State. To put this in perspective, his offers where the previous staff at Duke and Tennessee on June 8, 2021. NC State came along and offered July 25, 2021. Unlike the other prospects I talk to on the regular, Myers didn’t get that recruiting grind as much, and that is a good thing.
What proved interesting with Myers and also newly-minted NC State defensive end commit Isaiah Shirley of Boone (N.C.) Watauga, they both went through similar things this spring. Myers had always told me that NC State was high on his list or leading, but Tennessee proved influential. Tennessee hasn’t been a national power in years, but the specter of the Volunteers and NIL money and the SEC, had some thinking they’d get Myers, and also make a big push on Shirley.
In the end, Tennessee wasn’t in Shirley’s top four schools. If my gut instinct is correct, the Volunteers also won’t get Myers.
Spending a few hours around Myers at the NCISAA Division I state track meet at Raleigh Ravenscroft, it became clear how much he liked NC State and safeties coach Joe DeForest. He did like Tennessee, but not as much was the vibe. He made it a point to emphasize to me there was a reason he wanted NC State to be his first official visit, and that there might not be a second visit. He also wanted to see what his worth was by going to some camps and try to get some new offers. Myers has proven to be truthful and accurate in all his assessments.
Looking back, when Myers was in the class of 2024, the first three offers to in-state prospects were to Burlington (N.C.) Cummings wide receiver Jonathan Paylor, Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic tight end Jack Larsen and Myers. Christ School outside linebacker teammate Cayden Jones was offered Sept. 16.
Larsen is deciding at 5 p.m. today among NC State, Notre Dame, Michigan, North Carolina and Clemson. Notre Dame is the heavy favorite, perhaps dating back to going to see UNC at Notre Dame play Oct. 30.
2. Rolesville (N.C.) High senior wide receiver Noah Rogers created a big surprise mainly due to timing and partly because the recruiting experience probably was waning on him.
Wednesday’s decision comes down to three main parts that happened between March 20-April 16, and then what happened this week with Ohio State landing two five-star receivers.
• The buzz about NC State was palpable at the Rivals Camp Series stop March 20 in Fort Mill, S.C. Rogers was there with NCSU quarterback commit Lex Thomas and wide receiver target Nathan Leacock. It was easily peak “Rogers is going to NC State” vibes.
• Whatever his motivation was, Rogers picked going to see North Carolina’s spring game April 9, instead of doing the doubleheader with NC State’s contest coming at 1 p.m. True or not, it was the first time some wondered if Rogers was trying to quell the hype about NC State some.
• Rogers unofficially visited Ohio State on April 14-16 and then the tea leaves starting flowing toward Columbus, Ohio.
Somewhere during this time, Rogers started to go underground a little bit. He didn’t want to tweet about his regular trips to NC State and tried to avoid talking about his recruitment. For a player who plays with excitement and is “loud” with his abilities on the field, he’s not overly comfortable being in the public eye — see last week’s section on Rogers vs. junior wide receiver Jonathan Paylor of Burlington (N.C.) Cummings.
I’ve been around future pros like John Wall, Edrice Adebayo, Dennis Smith Jr., Dexter Lawrence, Nyheim Hines and Alim McNeill, for multiple years when they got recruited, and at some point that public eye becomes glaring in high school. It’s just not Rogers’ thing and I think that was reflected Wednesday. It also probably got a little more complicated with Rolesville not having a head coach the last few weeks. His recruitment was in many ways similar to Lawrence, who picked Clemson over NC State.
Many elite players announce in a variety of ways — national media, hometown media, press conference at their school or hometown spot or some kind of video package. We know a person had been following Rogers around in getting video footage for his college announcement.
Instead, Rogers did it with a simple Tweet, probably did minimal media and kept it moving.
I also think a part of Rogers deciding Wednesday in abrupt fashion, or maybe all of it is Ohio State landed No. 1 wide receiver Carnell Tate of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy and No. 2 wide receiver Brandon Inniss of Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage. It’s easy to think Ohio State had a heart-to-heart with Rogers and let him know it was time or some other elite receiver would take his spot with the Buckeyes.
Will Rogers ever show some wiggle room on his college decision? If so, probably follow Thomas on Instagram because that will probably will it start up again. Senior target Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville High could also be in his ear at some point if Cooley picks the Wolfpack.
3. It would be disingenuous to see NC State football recruiting has to pick up the pieces post-Rogers.
Sure, some momentum has been lost or air has been let out of the ballon, but the bottom line is that NC State is still heavily involved with numerous other good players.
The wide receiver position will now center around Kevin Concepcion of Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers and Nathan Leacock of Raleigh Millbrook. Both have been recruited by NC State for over a year and are different as prospects.
Concepcion isn’t going to be a measurables guy at 5-11 and 175 pounds, and probably isn’t a track guy. He’s a four-star prospect (at least for now) because he’s a gamer and productive. Recruiting gurus have a soft spot for those two traits.
What makes Concepcion unique is that he can play both slot receiver but also make plays outside. Add in his potential punt returning ability and ability to run reverses or jet sweeps. He’s proven the last two years in big moments that he’s got a clutch gene.
Leacock has the measurables, measuring at Rivals Camp at 6-2 1/2 and 197.5 pounds, with a 6-4 3/4 wing span. He’s basically the same size as H-back commit Javonte Vereen of Havelock (N.C.) High. Leacock also loves track and wants to do it in college. His father did track and field at NC State and his mother did the same at Jackson State.
Leacock clocked 11.1 seconds in the 100-meter dash last year in the NCHSAA 4A meet — which he called “disappointing” — but did club track this spring.
Speaking of track, NC State will have football/track star Micah Mays coming to Alpha Wolf in late July. The North Palm Beach (Fla.) Benjamin School standout won the Florida 1A state titles in the 400 meters (47.52) and the triple jump (45 feet, 11½ inches) and took third in the high jump (6-1.5), plus was third in the 1,600 relay. That helped his school win the state title.
The 6-1, 174-pound Mays had 12 offers when NC State offered him last January. He’s now up to 38 offers.
