1. NC State will have Charlotte Mallard Creek senior wide receiver Benjamin Black in for the game, but he hasn’t been offered. The Rutgers commit could get recruited as a cornerback by the Wolfpack, which he’s played sparingly.
Mallard Creek coaches have long thought Black could be a good cornerback down the road, but have been happy with their cornerbacks the last two years, who weren’t high major cornerbacks.
Black in many ways is similar as a prospect as senior wide receiver Franklin Baret of Wake Forest (N.C.) High, in that they have legit speed and measurables. Black has posted a 10.71-second 100-meter dash and helped Mallard Creek win relay titles.
Black grabbed his scholarship from Rutgers and verbally committed June 11, 2023. Other schools have kicked the tires on Black. He’s been pretty good this season. I was able to watch him against Charlotte Myers Park last year, and against Charlotte Independence this season. He played primarily wide receiver and he’s a threat to pop a big play here and there.
Where Black is also similar to Baret is that where he’s really gifted is in the return game. In normal years, that would really help a prospect. However, NC State has some incredibly gifted return guys in the class of 2024 already with wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Jonathan Paylor, and safeties Ronnie Royal and Brody Barnhardt aren’t too shabby either.
The other dynamic when the class starts to get narrowed down to the last few spots, is does it make more sense to grab a player in the portal vs. a high school prospect toward the end.
2. In a past The Run Down, Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg junior defensive lineman Charles House was featured, and he’s unofficially visiting NC State this weekend. He’s one of two intriguing defensive lineman who will be at the game, with Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek junior Trajen Odom the other one.
The interesting conundrum with House is that he has all kinds of national offers, but NC State, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest, haven’t offered him.
The 6-3, 285-pounder has some impressive offers — Auburn, Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
Georgia has been active and they also haven’t seemed to care about players rankings or reputations, evidenced by offering junior wide receiver Nas Newkirk of Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley. So until proven otherwise, I’ll believe House has an offer from Georgia.
The 6-5, 265-pound Odom has been offered by North Carolina, Missouri, Washington, California, Oregon State and UNLV, among others. He’s super intriguing and comes from a family of athletes.
His father DeWayne Odom played football at Cal-Berkley and his mother Trisha Stafford-Odom played hoops there, and then professionally in the WNBA and overseas. His mother then became an assistant coach at UCLA, Duke and UNC, before getting hired as the head coach at North Carolina Central. The Eagles inexplicably fired Odom in Sept., with the timing really weird.
Trajen Odom’s older brother is former Panther Creek quarterback and point guard Amari Odom. He was an impressive quarterback prospect, and helped the squad reach the NCHSAA 4A state title game in hoops. However, he tore his ACL his junior, but still played in the title game despite the injury.
The ACL tear essentially affected Odom’s recruitment as he rehabbed his senior year. He had thrown for 3,729 yards and 40 touchdowns his junior year, and rushed for 335 yards and five scores.
Odom ended up signing with Wofford, and will likely redshirt this season. The 6-5, 195-pounder reminded me of former Rolesville (N.C.) High quarterback Byrum Brown, who has thrown for 1,223 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, and rushed for 330 yards and five scores as a redshirt freshman in South Florida this season.
I’ve long felt Brown would be a great portal addition and we’ll see if Odom tears it up at Wofford and also becomes coveted.
3. NC State is playing Marshall, so it probably makes sense that some of the Wolfpack’s recruits from West Virginia would be at the game.
Huntington (W.Va.) High senior offensive line commit Robby Martin is expecting to attend the contest, and he’s bringing a friend. NC State offered Huntington High junior cornerback Trelious “Zah” Jackson on July 28.
The 5-10, 178-pounder is a terrific athlete with doing 6-8 in the high jump, and has run 11.3 seconds in the 100-meter dash. NC State, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Liberty, Kent State and James Madison have offered him thus far.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is “Mr. West Virginia” which is why there will always be a concern if the jobs open up at either West Virginia or Marshall. Going into the season, the thought was that the Mountaineers could be the one making a change. However, WVU is off to a 4-1 start.
Marshall coach Charles Huff is just 40 years old and has worked for Penn State coach James Franklin and Alabama coach Nick Saban. With the Thundering Herd sitting at 4-0, Huff’s resume is only getting stronger.
Mallard Creek coaches have long thought Black could be a good cornerback down the road, but have been happy with their cornerbacks the last two years, who weren’t high major cornerbacks.
Black in many ways is similar as a prospect as senior wide receiver Franklin Baret of Wake Forest (N.C.) High, in that they have legit speed and measurables. Black has posted a 10.71-second 100-meter dash and helped Mallard Creek win relay titles.
Black grabbed his scholarship from Rutgers and verbally committed June 11, 2023. Other schools have kicked the tires on Black. He’s been pretty good this season. I was able to watch him against Charlotte Myers Park last year, and against Charlotte Independence this season. He played primarily wide receiver and he’s a threat to pop a big play here and there.
Where Black is also similar to Baret is that where he’s really gifted is in the return game. In normal years, that would really help a prospect. However, NC State has some incredibly gifted return guys in the class of 2024 already with wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Jonathan Paylor, and safeties Ronnie Royal and Brody Barnhardt aren’t too shabby either.
The other dynamic when the class starts to get narrowed down to the last few spots, is does it make more sense to grab a player in the portal vs. a high school prospect toward the end.
2. In a past The Run Down, Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg junior defensive lineman Charles House was featured, and he’s unofficially visiting NC State this weekend. He’s one of two intriguing defensive lineman who will be at the game, with Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek junior Trajen Odom the other one.
The interesting conundrum with House is that he has all kinds of national offers, but NC State, North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest, haven’t offered him.
The 6-3, 285-pounder has some impressive offers — Auburn, Georgia, Miami (Fla.), Michigan, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
Georgia has been active and they also haven’t seemed to care about players rankings or reputations, evidenced by offering junior wide receiver Nas Newkirk of Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley. So until proven otherwise, I’ll believe House has an offer from Georgia.
The 6-5, 265-pound Odom has been offered by North Carolina, Missouri, Washington, California, Oregon State and UNLV, among others. He’s super intriguing and comes from a family of athletes.
His father DeWayne Odom played football at Cal-Berkley and his mother Trisha Stafford-Odom played hoops there, and then professionally in the WNBA and overseas. His mother then became an assistant coach at UCLA, Duke and UNC, before getting hired as the head coach at North Carolina Central. The Eagles inexplicably fired Odom in Sept., with the timing really weird.
Trajen Odom’s older brother is former Panther Creek quarterback and point guard Amari Odom. He was an impressive quarterback prospect, and helped the squad reach the NCHSAA 4A state title game in hoops. However, he tore his ACL his junior, but still played in the title game despite the injury.
The ACL tear essentially affected Odom’s recruitment as he rehabbed his senior year. He had thrown for 3,729 yards and 40 touchdowns his junior year, and rushed for 335 yards and five scores.
Odom ended up signing with Wofford, and will likely redshirt this season. The 6-5, 195-pounder reminded me of former Rolesville (N.C.) High quarterback Byrum Brown, who has thrown for 1,223 yards, nine touchdowns and three interceptions, and rushed for 330 yards and five scores as a redshirt freshman in South Florida this season.
I’ve long felt Brown would be a great portal addition and we’ll see if Odom tears it up at Wofford and also becomes coveted.
3. NC State is playing Marshall, so it probably makes sense that some of the Wolfpack’s recruits from West Virginia would be at the game.
Huntington (W.Va.) High senior offensive line commit Robby Martin is expecting to attend the contest, and he’s bringing a friend. NC State offered Huntington High junior cornerback Trelious “Zah” Jackson on July 28.
The 5-10, 178-pounder is a terrific athlete with doing 6-8 in the high jump, and has run 11.3 seconds in the 100-meter dash. NC State, West Virginia, Mississippi State, Liberty, Kent State and James Madison have offered him thus far.
NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson is “Mr. West Virginia” which is why there will always be a concern if the jobs open up at either West Virginia or Marshall. Going into the season, the thought was that the Mountaineers could be the one making a change. However, WVU is off to a 4-1 start.
Marshall coach Charles Huff is just 40 years old and has worked for Penn State coach James Franklin and Alabama coach Nick Saban. With the Thundering Herd sitting at 4-0, Huff’s resume is only getting stronger.
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