1. Portal season is about to explode with regular seasons coming to an end.
The key with transfers for NC State has usually been pre-existing relationships. Cold calls can work, but it’s much harder.
NC State coach Dave Doeren knew Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett, when he recruited him at Wisconsin.
Former NCSU offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz had coached quarterback Ryan Finley at Boise State.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson had coached Derrek Pitts at West Virginia. Tight ends and special teams coach Todd Goebbel had Shane McDonough at Marshall. NCSU wide receiver coach Joker Phillips coached Darryl Jones at Maryland.
NC State has offered three players publicly and a fourth has been bandied about for nearly a year. A lot of times, key things can be learned by what positions NC State is going after, which so far has been wide receiver and tight end. That shows a few things, including how things are going in 2023 recruiting. For instance, NC State had always wanted a “Y” tight end to go with Havelock (N.C.) High “H” tight end commit Javonte Vereen. CJ Jacobsen picked Utah and Ben Marshall had picked California and the board dried up.
Enter 6-foot-7, 245-pound Kyle Morlock from 3-8 Shorter University in Georgia. Morlock is a third-year sophomore from Union County High in Blairsville, Ga., who caught 30 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns this season. He has 57 receptions for 890 yards and 11 scores in 24 career games.
Duquesne third-year sophomore wide receiver Abdul Janneh earned an NC State offer. The 6-3, 180-pounder has a touchdown against Florida State on his resume this past season. He caught 44 passes for 604 yards and nine scores this season. He played to FBS programs, getting three catches for 44 yards and a score in a 47-7 loss at Florida State on Aug. 27, and he had five catches for 50 yards at Hawaii on Sept. 17.
Third-year sophomore wide receiver Andrew Armstrong from Texas A&M-Commerce entered the portal and got a flood of offers, and has set up a visit to Arkansas already. The 6-6, 189-pounder from Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne High caught 62 passes for 1,020 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season.
The next question is will NC State be able to have two Cooley’s enter the program, or one, and which one. To say it’s complicated is an understatement, but if there ever was a coaching staff that knew the complexities of the situation, it’s NC State. Whatever decision they make on Louisville sophomore running back Trevion Cooley will be well thought out. The older brother of current NC State commit Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville (N.C.) High, had quit playing for the Cardinals a few weeks prior to the NCSU at Louisville game.
The 5-10, 211-pounder rushed 145 times for 709 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught 21 passes for 239 yards and three scores in 19 career games. NC State played with five running backs on scholarships this past season, and all five are back, if there is no attrition.
Tamarcus Cooley has been keeping his ears open to colleges for the last month and a half or so. He unofficially visited Maryland two weeks ago with a group of local players for Ohio State at UMD.
2. The NC State coaches were a little busy during the NCHSAA playoffs last Friday, but the coaches can hit the road this Friday.
The most important game for recruiting reasons is Matthews Weddington playing at Greensboro Grimsley in the NCHSAA 4A regional semifinals.
Grimsley has junior wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Alex Taylor, who NC State has both offered. It’s also been interesting watching Taylor and junior wide receiver Jonathan Paylor of Burlington Cummings drop hints on Twitter about teaming up in college, which makes sense with how they have similar schools, especially NC State and North Carolina.
Taylor has become a human highlight film this season and has 62 tackles for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns. Anderson has 57 catches for 1,065 yards and nine scores this season.
Grimsley sophomore defensive end Bryce Davis has all the makings of being a high major prospect. NC State hasn’t offered him yet, and will have to figure out his 6-3, 230-pound frame will develop. He has been credited with 78 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback sacks, all incredible numbers for a sophomore defensive lineman.
Raleigh Millbrook and junior quarterback Mason Fortune is playing at New Bern High in the 4A regional semifinals. The winner gets the winner of Grimsley and Weddington.
New Bern of course has senior defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr., who is getting to crunch time on whether to sign with Florida State or see what the Wolfpack bring to the table.
New Bern crushed Rolesville 70-34 in a rematch from last year’s playoff game. Sampson’s stats haven’t been updated yet, but through Nov. 10, he had 18 sacks on the season.
Fortune, who attended NC State’s camp last June and a game this fall, has thrown 3,820 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season.
NC State has been tracking Fayetteville Seventy-First junior running back Anthony Quinn Jr., and they are at Rocky Mount Northern Nash in the 3A regional semifinals. Quinn has 250 carries for 2,248 yards and 27 touchdowns, and 14 receptions for 122 yards and two scores this season.
An exciting class of 2026 prospect will be on the big stage with Burns at Reidsville in the 2A regional semifinals. Freshman defensive end Kendre’ Harrison of Reidsville has offers from Wake Forest and Louisville, and has some serious potential at 6-5 or 6-6 and 230 pounds. The Wolfpack legacy is also a talented basketball prospect. He has 10 catches for 146 yards and four scores, and 74 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Again, he’s a freshman.
NCHSAA title games schedule
• Dec. 9 — 4A game at UNC at 7 p.m.
• Dec. 10 — 2A game at UNC at 11 a.m.
• Dec. 10 — 1A game at NC State at 3 p.m.
• Dec. 10 — 3A game at NC State at 7 p.m.
3. One of the jokes coming after NC State’s 30-27 double-overtime victory at North Carolina on Friday, is that the Wolfpack now have three starting quarterbacks.
Between Devin Leary, Ben Finley and MJ Morris, it will be fascinating to see how it gets played out between now and August. Each of them have gone through the rumor mill cycle, though Morris not as much. It would be shocking if Morris put his long-term future on the line due to Leary’s short-term plans, but the Leary part will get figure out by mid-January.
Leary has three options — go pro and chase his NFL dream, return to NC State and hope it puts him back on the NFL map, or transferring to another college.
Finley graduates in December and could be a three-year option for another college. Or he could remain at NC State and see if he’s competing with Morris, or Morris and Leary.
What is clear, NC State should have a good quarterback option for the first game of the 2023 season. What is also clear is that the ACC is in serious flux at the quarterback position.
If you look at the depth charts, here is what the other colleges are looking like at quarterback:
Boston College — Rising redshirt sophomore Emmett Morehead
Clemson — Rising senior DJ Uiagalelei
Duke — Rising junior Riley Leonard
Florida State — Rising redshirt junior Jordan Travis
Georgia Tech — Rising redshirt junior Zach Gibson
Louisville — Rising senior Brock Domann
Miami (Fla.) — Rising redshirt junior Tyler Van Dyke
North Carolina — Rising sophomore Drake Maye
Pittsburgh — Rising senior Kedon Slovis
Syracuse — Rising senior Garrett Shrader
Virginia — Rising junior Jay Woolfolk
Virginia Tech — Rising redshirt senior Grant Wells
Wake Forest — Rising redshirt sophomore Mitch Griffis
I’d put the over/under at five for ACC schools looking for a transfer to challenge for the starting job.
The key with transfers for NC State has usually been pre-existing relationships. Cold calls can work, but it’s much harder.
NC State coach Dave Doeren knew Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett, when he recruited him at Wisconsin.
Former NCSU offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz had coached quarterback Ryan Finley at Boise State.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson had coached Derrek Pitts at West Virginia. Tight ends and special teams coach Todd Goebbel had Shane McDonough at Marshall. NCSU wide receiver coach Joker Phillips coached Darryl Jones at Maryland.
NC State has offered three players publicly and a fourth has been bandied about for nearly a year. A lot of times, key things can be learned by what positions NC State is going after, which so far has been wide receiver and tight end. That shows a few things, including how things are going in 2023 recruiting. For instance, NC State had always wanted a “Y” tight end to go with Havelock (N.C.) High “H” tight end commit Javonte Vereen. CJ Jacobsen picked Utah and Ben Marshall had picked California and the board dried up.
Enter 6-foot-7, 245-pound Kyle Morlock from 3-8 Shorter University in Georgia. Morlock is a third-year sophomore from Union County High in Blairsville, Ga., who caught 30 passes for 446 yards and six touchdowns this season. He has 57 receptions for 890 yards and 11 scores in 24 career games.
Duquesne third-year sophomore wide receiver Abdul Janneh earned an NC State offer. The 6-3, 180-pounder has a touchdown against Florida State on his resume this past season. He caught 44 passes for 604 yards and nine scores this season. He played to FBS programs, getting three catches for 44 yards and a score in a 47-7 loss at Florida State on Aug. 27, and he had five catches for 50 yards at Hawaii on Sept. 17.
Third-year sophomore wide receiver Andrew Armstrong from Texas A&M-Commerce entered the portal and got a flood of offers, and has set up a visit to Arkansas already. The 6-6, 189-pounder from Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne High caught 62 passes for 1,020 yards and 13 touchdowns this past season.
The next question is will NC State be able to have two Cooley’s enter the program, or one, and which one. To say it’s complicated is an understatement, but if there ever was a coaching staff that knew the complexities of the situation, it’s NC State. Whatever decision they make on Louisville sophomore running back Trevion Cooley will be well thought out. The older brother of current NC State commit Tamarcus Cooley of Rolesville (N.C.) High, had quit playing for the Cardinals a few weeks prior to the NCSU at Louisville game.
The 5-10, 211-pounder rushed 145 times for 709 yards and three touchdowns, and he caught 21 passes for 239 yards and three scores in 19 career games. NC State played with five running backs on scholarships this past season, and all five are back, if there is no attrition.
Tamarcus Cooley has been keeping his ears open to colleges for the last month and a half or so. He unofficially visited Maryland two weeks ago with a group of local players for Ohio State at UMD.
2. The NC State coaches were a little busy during the NCHSAA playoffs last Friday, but the coaches can hit the road this Friday.
The most important game for recruiting reasons is Matthews Weddington playing at Greensboro Grimsley in the NCHSAA 4A regional semifinals.
Grimsley has junior wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Alex Taylor, who NC State has both offered. It’s also been interesting watching Taylor and junior wide receiver Jonathan Paylor of Burlington Cummings drop hints on Twitter about teaming up in college, which makes sense with how they have similar schools, especially NC State and North Carolina.
Taylor has become a human highlight film this season and has 62 tackles for 957 yards and 12 touchdowns. Anderson has 57 catches for 1,065 yards and nine scores this season.
Grimsley sophomore defensive end Bryce Davis has all the makings of being a high major prospect. NC State hasn’t offered him yet, and will have to figure out his 6-3, 230-pound frame will develop. He has been credited with 78 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 11 quarterback sacks, all incredible numbers for a sophomore defensive lineman.
Raleigh Millbrook and junior quarterback Mason Fortune is playing at New Bern High in the 4A regional semifinals. The winner gets the winner of Grimsley and Weddington.
New Bern of course has senior defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr., who is getting to crunch time on whether to sign with Florida State or see what the Wolfpack bring to the table.
New Bern crushed Rolesville 70-34 in a rematch from last year’s playoff game. Sampson’s stats haven’t been updated yet, but through Nov. 10, he had 18 sacks on the season.
Fortune, who attended NC State’s camp last June and a game this fall, has thrown 3,820 yards, 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions this season.
NC State has been tracking Fayetteville Seventy-First junior running back Anthony Quinn Jr., and they are at Rocky Mount Northern Nash in the 3A regional semifinals. Quinn has 250 carries for 2,248 yards and 27 touchdowns, and 14 receptions for 122 yards and two scores this season.
An exciting class of 2026 prospect will be on the big stage with Burns at Reidsville in the 2A regional semifinals. Freshman defensive end Kendre’ Harrison of Reidsville has offers from Wake Forest and Louisville, and has some serious potential at 6-5 or 6-6 and 230 pounds. The Wolfpack legacy is also a talented basketball prospect. He has 10 catches for 146 yards and four scores, and 74 tackles, 19 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Again, he’s a freshman.
NCHSAA title games schedule
• Dec. 9 — 4A game at UNC at 7 p.m.
• Dec. 10 — 2A game at UNC at 11 a.m.
• Dec. 10 — 1A game at NC State at 3 p.m.
• Dec. 10 — 3A game at NC State at 7 p.m.
3. One of the jokes coming after NC State’s 30-27 double-overtime victory at North Carolina on Friday, is that the Wolfpack now have three starting quarterbacks.
Between Devin Leary, Ben Finley and MJ Morris, it will be fascinating to see how it gets played out between now and August. Each of them have gone through the rumor mill cycle, though Morris not as much. It would be shocking if Morris put his long-term future on the line due to Leary’s short-term plans, but the Leary part will get figure out by mid-January.
Leary has three options — go pro and chase his NFL dream, return to NC State and hope it puts him back on the NFL map, or transferring to another college.
Finley graduates in December and could be a three-year option for another college. Or he could remain at NC State and see if he’s competing with Morris, or Morris and Leary.
What is clear, NC State should have a good quarterback option for the first game of the 2023 season. What is also clear is that the ACC is in serious flux at the quarterback position.
If you look at the depth charts, here is what the other colleges are looking like at quarterback:
Boston College — Rising redshirt sophomore Emmett Morehead
Clemson — Rising senior DJ Uiagalelei
Duke — Rising junior Riley Leonard
Florida State — Rising redshirt junior Jordan Travis
Georgia Tech — Rising redshirt junior Zach Gibson
Louisville — Rising senior Brock Domann
Miami (Fla.) — Rising redshirt junior Tyler Van Dyke
North Carolina — Rising sophomore Drake Maye
Pittsburgh — Rising senior Kedon Slovis
Syracuse — Rising senior Garrett Shrader
Virginia — Rising junior Jay Woolfolk
Virginia Tech — Rising redshirt senior Grant Wells
Wake Forest — Rising redshirt sophomore Mitch Griffis
I’d put the over/under at five for ACC schools looking for a transfer to challenge for the starting job.
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