1. As the offensive lineman turns took another turn this week.
Belmont (N.C.) South Point junior offensive tackle Sullivan Absher will have his announcement at 4 p.m. today at his high school. Notre Dame, Clemson and NC State are the three finalists, but the Fighting Irish took a sudden lead after his unofficial visit there. It feels like deja vu in comparison to Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan High junior lineman Sam Pendleton.
The Fighting Irish have been scorching hot on the trail with 12 commits, and the No. 2 class in the class of 2023. The good news for NC State is the head-to-head battles with Notre Dame are probably on hold until 2024 with sophomore tight end Jack Larsen of Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic and outside linebacker Cayden Jones of Arden (N.C.) Christ School.
NC State offensive line coach John Garrison has been ultra aggressive in pursuing new names on the offensive line in both the 2023 class and 2024. The hope was that the success of NC State left tackle Ikem Ekwonu going No. 6 in the NFL Draft would really pay off, and it might, but in smaller ways it appears.
Losing out on Pendleton, Absher and Jamaal Jarrett of Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley stings, but the Wolfpack haven’t landed a four-star offensive line recruit since Emanuel McGirt of Durham (N.C.) Hillside in the class of 2015. Current center Grant Gibson was a four-star defensive tackle prospect out of Charlotte Mallard Creek. The tried and true essence of NC State football in the coaches has always been to “coach them up” and that will continue, starting with West Charlotte tackle commit Darion Rivers.
NC State was the first Power Five Conference program to jump in with Wilkesboro (N.C.) Wilkes Central junior tackle Kamen Smith. He has picked up new offers from Wake Forest and Duke, and Clemson could kick the tires in the post-Absher decision era.
Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb junior tackle Robert Grigsby appears the next offensive lineman who could be picking a college this summer. The three-star prospect is down to NC State, Central Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Vanderbilt, with an official visit to Raleigh coming June 10-12.
Charleston (W.Va.) George Washington High junior lineman Layth Ghannam could be another who is on the fast track this summer. He’s gained 100 pounds in the last year and is now 6-5 and 290 pounds.
NC State also offered a pair of 300-pounders in Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic tackle Oluwatosin Babalade and McDonough (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian tackle D.J. Chester. The two 2023 prospects are both kind of at the beginning of their recruiting spectrum. Chester is also intrigued by playing football and throwing the shot put and discus in college.
Odds are in NC State’s favor to find some new offensive lineman targets at camp in June.
2. Noah Rogers narrowed his colleges down to NC State, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Ohio State.
Most think it is an Ohio State vs. NC State battle, which is only telling that perhaps Clemson isn’t going to just get whoever they want in state of North Carolina, since the Tigers also wanted Absher and Pendleton.
Rogers decision could play a key role in what Raleigh Millbrook junior wide receiver Nathan Leacock does. If Rogers picks NC State, I think Leacock will genuinely want to be in that package deal. If Rogers goes elsewhere, then the pressure rises to land Leacock.
Clemson Rivals had a good story this week that summed up Leacock in a nut shell, and what I picked up on in late March at the Rivals.com camp — Leacock doesn’t want to be in the shadows. He might have a good ideal of where he’d like to attend college, but he wants to have colleges fight fo him and show him attention. It wasn’t a negative that NC State got a lot of early attention in the race for Leacock, but he definitely wanted to see new schools jump in. Well, now he has them and is close to having all the offers he could possibly want.
Leacock’s dad did track and field at NC State, and his mom was a track star at Jackson State. Leacock will want to do track in college along with football. That will also play a key role in his decision making.
Some have said that Leacock really likes North Carolina and has followed the Tar Heels growing up. I’ve gotten the vibe that he didn’t really follow football all that much growing up, but was completely into track.
Another thing to keep in mind with Leacock, he’s approaching his one-year anniversary of getting offered by NC State on June 6. Rogers passed his one-year anniversary on March 25. That is eternity in recruiting a player in this culture.
3. It remains to be seen if it will be NC State’s best offensive line ever, but it certainly is the deepest in quite some time.
NC State with the return of sixth-year senior left guard Chandler Zavala now has four legit options to play the two guard spots. Zavala, senior Bryson Speas, redshirt junior Derrick Eason and redshirt sophomore Dylan McMahon could all complete for the two spots. McMahon could also serve as the backup center behind Grant Gibson, if he passed his audition during the spring game.
Speas, redshirt sophomore Anthony Belton and redshirt sophomore Timothy McKay can rotate at tackle. That can now happen if Speas isn’t playing at guard.
If past history is any indicator — the first five games of last year — Zavala and McMahon would start at the guards, Speas at right tackle and Gibson at center. That would be predicated that massive 6-6, 330-pound Belton can handle the duties at left tackle. He was the choice at the position for the spring game.
If Belton grabs the left tackle spot, it also helps set up 2023, where you could have McMahon at center, Eason at right guard and McKay at right tackle. Then it would come down to finding the best left guard on the roster, which based on the spring game and coaches interviews, redshirt freshman Anthony Carter Jr. could be the clubhouse leader for that spot. If redshirt freshman Lyndon Cooper accelerates his growth, the 2023 line could smoothly come together.
Belmont (N.C.) South Point junior offensive tackle Sullivan Absher will have his announcement at 4 p.m. today at his high school. Notre Dame, Clemson and NC State are the three finalists, but the Fighting Irish took a sudden lead after his unofficial visit there. It feels like deja vu in comparison to Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan High junior lineman Sam Pendleton.
The Fighting Irish have been scorching hot on the trail with 12 commits, and the No. 2 class in the class of 2023. The good news for NC State is the head-to-head battles with Notre Dame are probably on hold until 2024 with sophomore tight end Jack Larsen of Charlotte (N.C.) Catholic and outside linebacker Cayden Jones of Arden (N.C.) Christ School.
NC State offensive line coach John Garrison has been ultra aggressive in pursuing new names on the offensive line in both the 2023 class and 2024. The hope was that the success of NC State left tackle Ikem Ekwonu going No. 6 in the NFL Draft would really pay off, and it might, but in smaller ways it appears.
Losing out on Pendleton, Absher and Jamaal Jarrett of Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley stings, but the Wolfpack haven’t landed a four-star offensive line recruit since Emanuel McGirt of Durham (N.C.) Hillside in the class of 2015. Current center Grant Gibson was a four-star defensive tackle prospect out of Charlotte Mallard Creek. The tried and true essence of NC State football in the coaches has always been to “coach them up” and that will continue, starting with West Charlotte tackle commit Darion Rivers.
NC State was the first Power Five Conference program to jump in with Wilkesboro (N.C.) Wilkes Central junior tackle Kamen Smith. He has picked up new offers from Wake Forest and Duke, and Clemson could kick the tires in the post-Absher decision era.
Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb junior tackle Robert Grigsby appears the next offensive lineman who could be picking a college this summer. The three-star prospect is down to NC State, Central Florida, Mississippi, Mississippi State, North Carolina and Vanderbilt, with an official visit to Raleigh coming June 10-12.
Charleston (W.Va.) George Washington High junior lineman Layth Ghannam could be another who is on the fast track this summer. He’s gained 100 pounds in the last year and is now 6-5 and 290 pounds.
NC State also offered a pair of 300-pounders in Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic tackle Oluwatosin Babalade and McDonough (Ga.) Eagle’s Landing Christian tackle D.J. Chester. The two 2023 prospects are both kind of at the beginning of their recruiting spectrum. Chester is also intrigued by playing football and throwing the shot put and discus in college.
Odds are in NC State’s favor to find some new offensive lineman targets at camp in June.
2. Noah Rogers narrowed his colleges down to NC State, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and Ohio State.
Most think it is an Ohio State vs. NC State battle, which is only telling that perhaps Clemson isn’t going to just get whoever they want in state of North Carolina, since the Tigers also wanted Absher and Pendleton.
Rogers decision could play a key role in what Raleigh Millbrook junior wide receiver Nathan Leacock does. If Rogers picks NC State, I think Leacock will genuinely want to be in that package deal. If Rogers goes elsewhere, then the pressure rises to land Leacock.
Clemson Rivals had a good story this week that summed up Leacock in a nut shell, and what I picked up on in late March at the Rivals.com camp — Leacock doesn’t want to be in the shadows. He might have a good ideal of where he’d like to attend college, but he wants to have colleges fight fo him and show him attention. It wasn’t a negative that NC State got a lot of early attention in the race for Leacock, but he definitely wanted to see new schools jump in. Well, now he has them and is close to having all the offers he could possibly want.
Leacock’s dad did track and field at NC State, and his mom was a track star at Jackson State. Leacock will want to do track in college along with football. That will also play a key role in his decision making.
Some have said that Leacock really likes North Carolina and has followed the Tar Heels growing up. I’ve gotten the vibe that he didn’t really follow football all that much growing up, but was completely into track.
Another thing to keep in mind with Leacock, he’s approaching his one-year anniversary of getting offered by NC State on June 6. Rogers passed his one-year anniversary on March 25. That is eternity in recruiting a player in this culture.
3. It remains to be seen if it will be NC State’s best offensive line ever, but it certainly is the deepest in quite some time.
NC State with the return of sixth-year senior left guard Chandler Zavala now has four legit options to play the two guard spots. Zavala, senior Bryson Speas, redshirt junior Derrick Eason and redshirt sophomore Dylan McMahon could all complete for the two spots. McMahon could also serve as the backup center behind Grant Gibson, if he passed his audition during the spring game.
Speas, redshirt sophomore Anthony Belton and redshirt sophomore Timothy McKay can rotate at tackle. That can now happen if Speas isn’t playing at guard.
If past history is any indicator — the first five games of last year — Zavala and McMahon would start at the guards, Speas at right tackle and Gibson at center. That would be predicated that massive 6-6, 330-pound Belton can handle the duties at left tackle. He was the choice at the position for the spring game.
If Belton grabs the left tackle spot, it also helps set up 2023, where you could have McMahon at center, Eason at right guard and McKay at right tackle. Then it would come down to finding the best left guard on the roster, which based on the spring game and coaches interviews, redshirt freshman Anthony Carter Jr. could be the clubhouse leader for that spot. If redshirt freshman Lyndon Cooper accelerates his growth, the 2023 line could smoothly come together.
