1. Rivals.com came out with a top 15 in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2024.
Of the 15, I’ve been able to interview 12 of them in recent months, and met a 13th. Sept. 1 was also the first time college coaches could call the class of 2024, though texting was already allowed, and players always have the option of calling a coach.
Here is a brief synopsis of where NC State stands with the current top 15, which seems to have a very solid first 12, and then it will probably get fluid as players emerge.
1. Jadyn Davis, QB, Charlotte Providence Day
NC State offered Davis on Jan. 25, but he’s made it clear that Michigan and Georgia are positioned pretty well, with Clemson, North Carolina and a little bit of Alabama in the mix. The leader seems to be Michigan and that has been a problem for NC State because the Wolverines are also working his teammates.
2. Jonathan Paylor, WR, Burlington Cummings
NC State and North Carolina stick out for sure, but will have major company with Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State all involved. This could go down as the most epic recruiting battle in NC State and North Carolina in the Rivals.com era. He attended the Florida A&M at UNC game last Saturday.
3. Jack Larsen, TE, Charlotte Catholic
NC State loved Larsen and was his top in-state choice, but he picked Notre Dame on June 24, and there likely won’t be any wiggle room unless something radical happened on the Fighting Irish coaching staff. Charlotte Catholic is even passing him the ball at a pretty good clip this season, which is rare with its offensive history.
4. Jordan Shipp, WR, Charlotte Providence Day
Like Paylor, NC State has poured its recruiting resources into Shipp after offering him Jan. 25, 2022. Shipp has been a steady visitor and has formed a good bond with NCSU wide receivers coach Joker Phillips. There is still a sense there will be another jump in his recruitment coming.
5. Alex Taylor, WR, Greensboro Grimsley
Taylor was the main attraction of seeing Reagan at Grimsley last week. NC State, North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia Tech, are sticking out at the moment, but he made it clear he’s ready to listen to colleges outside of driving distance from Greensboro.
6. Micah Gilbert, WR, Charlotte Christian
Perhaps one of the players I’m looking forward to watching the most this season. Gilbert is a teammate of NC State senior running back target Kyron Jones, but the Wolfpack haven’t truly targeted Gilbert yet. At some point the coaches will watch Jones and see Gilbert. His family has deep and extensive ties to Pittsburgh. NC State came in second to Duke on his older brother, cornerback Mark Gilbert.
7. Cayden Jones, OLB, Arden Christ School
The other player I am looking forward to watching the most. It’s pretty rare for a 6-4, 210-pounder with 4.5-second speed, which makes Jones a national recruit. NC State has some work to do, but having teammate Zack Myers coming will help some. USC could be a team to watch and Notre Dame has also offered.
8. Keenan Jackson, WR, Waxhaw Cuthbertson
Jackson last came to NC State in June when he camped and earned a scholarship offer. He’s a good-sized wide receiver with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash. North Carolina offered him in June, and Duke this week. He’s a pretty solid regional recruit at this point.
9. D’Nas White, DT, Concord Robinson
White was part of a previous The Run Down. He’s also been likely helped with the spillover from prep teammate Daevin Hobbs, who is going to attract college coaches to Robinson High’s games — especially from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The massive White, who is listed at 6-6 and at least 315 pounds, has early offers from Florida State, Georgia, Michigan and Virginia Tech.
10. Channing Goodwin, WR, Charlotte Providence Day
If it weren’t for Goodwin’s families connections to Michigan, I’d have NC State right there at the top for Channing. But it’s tough to ignore the fact both his dad and uncle played offensive line at Michigan and he’s been a steady unofficial visitor to Ann Arbor, Mich., despite the distance. Then toss in that his prep quarterback Davis is looking hard at Michigan, as is Shipp and senior cornerback Chris Peal. If Goodwin wants to stay within a few hours of home, NC State and South Carolina are positioned well.
11. Trenton Cloud, WR, Greensboro Northwest Guilford
It truly is the class of wide receivers and Cloud probably gets the least attention of them, yet already has offers Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Not too shabby. NC State has yet to offer Cloud, but that can change after this fall.
12. Brody Barnhardt, S, Charlotte Providence Day
If I had to peg most likely to commit to NC State from this list, Barnhardt would be my choice. NC State has offered and he’s been to campus in June and came back to Alpha Wolf on July 29. Wake Forest and West Virginia, especially the Mountaineers, are also strongly in the mix.
13. Phillip Harris, CB, Matthews Butler
One of the surprise choices in making the top 15. Boston College has offered him thus far, with the Eagles having the former Carrboro (N.C.) High coach and UNC assistant coach on staff. Harris had a relatively quiet game when I saw Butler against West Charlotte, who didn’t score a point in a 27-0 loss.
14. Terrell Anderson, WR, Greensboro Grimsley
Anderson is a good-sized receiver at 6-3 and 184 pounds with quality hands and solid speed. He plays off of Taylor and it’s hard to keep both in check. When colleges get a good feel for Anderson’s ability and potential, his recruitment will take off. He just needs to check off all the boxes.
15. Xavier Chambers, ATH, Kannapolis Brown
The other surprise on the list, along with Harris. Chambers played with NC State freshman linebacker Torren Wright at Brown and in a past The Run Down, his prep coach Mike Newsome predicted that Chambers would have next. Newsome especially liked Chambers at free safety. Missouri and coach Eli Drinkwitz is his first offer.
2. The rare Thursday night schedule popped up last night, and that meant a trip to watch Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage and senior quarterback commit Lex Thomas at Raleigh Broughton. The Capitals were off to a 2-0 start, so there was hope it would be a good game. That went out the window during the second quarter, and the majority of the second half was played with a running clock. Thomas and Heritage cruised to a 57-14 victory to improve to 3-0.
Thomas had a little bit of a scare to his throwing shoulder late in the second quarter, but did play some in the third quarter, but mostly to hand off the ball.
The game had some Wolfpack legacy feel to it for sure. Thomas obviously is a Wolfpack legacy. Broughton quarterback Wade Warren is the son of former NCSU basketball player Mike Warren.
One of the big stars of the game was junior defensive back and wide receiver Brandon Crutchfield of Heritage. He’s the younger brother of former NC State women’s basketball player Kai Crutchfield. Brandon Crutchfield had a big interception and then caught a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
What will help Thomas at NC State is having receivers that can take the five slant and do something after the catch, and a receiver who can go and get the 50-50 ball down the sidelines or the corners of the end zone. Those are the two areas where Thomas shows his accuracy and touch at a little over 5-10 and 175 pounds. He’s also running with the ball much better this season compared to last year.
3. The class of 2025 seems to be adding more and more names of players with high major offers.
Simply put, there is a lot to like about Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley sophomore defensive end Bryce Davis.
Hopefully, Davis will be “big” enough to be an NC State defensive end target, with him listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He certainly battled Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan senior right tackle Sam Pendleton last Friday, and won some rounds in the process. Pendleton is committed to Notre Dame and ranked No. 227 overall in the country and No. 23 tackle, though he’ll likely be a guard in college.
I had Davis down for 11 tackles and three tackles for loss in a 40-34 victory against Reagan. Grimsley will vary its look with a four-man line and sometimes a three-man line. Davis plays with Georgia nose tackle commit Jamaal Jarrett, and benefits from that, but at the end of the day, he has the gift of pursuing the ball.
On the recruiting front, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Duke, have offered Davis. I predict that list will explode in the next 18 months. The only question is whether NC State will view Davis in the same way of Jaybron Harvey of Southern Durham (N.C.) High and Tyler Thompson of Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek, who weren’t offered by the Wolfpack. Both ultimately wanted to stay close to home and picked North Carolina.
Davis looks like he’d have the frame to be 240 pounds in two years, but he probably wouldn’t hit 260ish until he gets into a college strength and conditioning program. That would make around the size of NC State backup defensive end Travali Price.
Of the 15, I’ve been able to interview 12 of them in recent months, and met a 13th. Sept. 1 was also the first time college coaches could call the class of 2024, though texting was already allowed, and players always have the option of calling a coach.
Here is a brief synopsis of where NC State stands with the current top 15, which seems to have a very solid first 12, and then it will probably get fluid as players emerge.
1. Jadyn Davis, QB, Charlotte Providence Day
NC State offered Davis on Jan. 25, but he’s made it clear that Michigan and Georgia are positioned pretty well, with Clemson, North Carolina and a little bit of Alabama in the mix. The leader seems to be Michigan and that has been a problem for NC State because the Wolverines are also working his teammates.
2. Jonathan Paylor, WR, Burlington Cummings
NC State and North Carolina stick out for sure, but will have major company with Clemson, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State all involved. This could go down as the most epic recruiting battle in NC State and North Carolina in the Rivals.com era. He attended the Florida A&M at UNC game last Saturday.
3. Jack Larsen, TE, Charlotte Catholic
NC State loved Larsen and was his top in-state choice, but he picked Notre Dame on June 24, and there likely won’t be any wiggle room unless something radical happened on the Fighting Irish coaching staff. Charlotte Catholic is even passing him the ball at a pretty good clip this season, which is rare with its offensive history.
4. Jordan Shipp, WR, Charlotte Providence Day
Like Paylor, NC State has poured its recruiting resources into Shipp after offering him Jan. 25, 2022. Shipp has been a steady visitor and has formed a good bond with NCSU wide receivers coach Joker Phillips. There is still a sense there will be another jump in his recruitment coming.
5. Alex Taylor, WR, Greensboro Grimsley
Taylor was the main attraction of seeing Reagan at Grimsley last week. NC State, North Carolina, Clemson and Virginia Tech, are sticking out at the moment, but he made it clear he’s ready to listen to colleges outside of driving distance from Greensboro.
6. Micah Gilbert, WR, Charlotte Christian
Perhaps one of the players I’m looking forward to watching the most this season. Gilbert is a teammate of NC State senior running back target Kyron Jones, but the Wolfpack haven’t truly targeted Gilbert yet. At some point the coaches will watch Jones and see Gilbert. His family has deep and extensive ties to Pittsburgh. NC State came in second to Duke on his older brother, cornerback Mark Gilbert.
7. Cayden Jones, OLB, Arden Christ School
The other player I am looking forward to watching the most. It’s pretty rare for a 6-4, 210-pounder with 4.5-second speed, which makes Jones a national recruit. NC State has some work to do, but having teammate Zack Myers coming will help some. USC could be a team to watch and Notre Dame has also offered.
8. Keenan Jackson, WR, Waxhaw Cuthbertson
Jackson last came to NC State in June when he camped and earned a scholarship offer. He’s a good-sized wide receiver with 4.6 speed in the 40-yard dash. North Carolina offered him in June, and Duke this week. He’s a pretty solid regional recruit at this point.
9. D’Nas White, DT, Concord Robinson
White was part of a previous The Run Down. He’s also been likely helped with the spillover from prep teammate Daevin Hobbs, who is going to attract college coaches to Robinson High’s games — especially from Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The massive White, who is listed at 6-6 and at least 315 pounds, has early offers from Florida State, Georgia, Michigan and Virginia Tech.
10. Channing Goodwin, WR, Charlotte Providence Day
If it weren’t for Goodwin’s families connections to Michigan, I’d have NC State right there at the top for Channing. But it’s tough to ignore the fact both his dad and uncle played offensive line at Michigan and he’s been a steady unofficial visitor to Ann Arbor, Mich., despite the distance. Then toss in that his prep quarterback Davis is looking hard at Michigan, as is Shipp and senior cornerback Chris Peal. If Goodwin wants to stay within a few hours of home, NC State and South Carolina are positioned well.
11. Trenton Cloud, WR, Greensboro Northwest Guilford
It truly is the class of wide receivers and Cloud probably gets the least attention of them, yet already has offers Boston College, Duke, Louisville, Michigan State, Minnesota, Wake Forest and West Virginia. Not too shabby. NC State has yet to offer Cloud, but that can change after this fall.
12. Brody Barnhardt, S, Charlotte Providence Day
If I had to peg most likely to commit to NC State from this list, Barnhardt would be my choice. NC State has offered and he’s been to campus in June and came back to Alpha Wolf on July 29. Wake Forest and West Virginia, especially the Mountaineers, are also strongly in the mix.
13. Phillip Harris, CB, Matthews Butler
One of the surprise choices in making the top 15. Boston College has offered him thus far, with the Eagles having the former Carrboro (N.C.) High coach and UNC assistant coach on staff. Harris had a relatively quiet game when I saw Butler against West Charlotte, who didn’t score a point in a 27-0 loss.
14. Terrell Anderson, WR, Greensboro Grimsley
Anderson is a good-sized receiver at 6-3 and 184 pounds with quality hands and solid speed. He plays off of Taylor and it’s hard to keep both in check. When colleges get a good feel for Anderson’s ability and potential, his recruitment will take off. He just needs to check off all the boxes.
15. Xavier Chambers, ATH, Kannapolis Brown
The other surprise on the list, along with Harris. Chambers played with NC State freshman linebacker Torren Wright at Brown and in a past The Run Down, his prep coach Mike Newsome predicted that Chambers would have next. Newsome especially liked Chambers at free safety. Missouri and coach Eli Drinkwitz is his first offer.
2. The rare Thursday night schedule popped up last night, and that meant a trip to watch Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage and senior quarterback commit Lex Thomas at Raleigh Broughton. The Capitals were off to a 2-0 start, so there was hope it would be a good game. That went out the window during the second quarter, and the majority of the second half was played with a running clock. Thomas and Heritage cruised to a 57-14 victory to improve to 3-0.
Thomas had a little bit of a scare to his throwing shoulder late in the second quarter, but did play some in the third quarter, but mostly to hand off the ball.
The game had some Wolfpack legacy feel to it for sure. Thomas obviously is a Wolfpack legacy. Broughton quarterback Wade Warren is the son of former NCSU basketball player Mike Warren.
One of the big stars of the game was junior defensive back and wide receiver Brandon Crutchfield of Heritage. He’s the younger brother of former NC State women’s basketball player Kai Crutchfield. Brandon Crutchfield had a big interception and then caught a touchdown on the ensuing drive.
What will help Thomas at NC State is having receivers that can take the five slant and do something after the catch, and a receiver who can go and get the 50-50 ball down the sidelines or the corners of the end zone. Those are the two areas where Thomas shows his accuracy and touch at a little over 5-10 and 175 pounds. He’s also running with the ball much better this season compared to last year.
3. The class of 2025 seems to be adding more and more names of players with high major offers.
Simply put, there is a lot to like about Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley sophomore defensive end Bryce Davis.
Hopefully, Davis will be “big” enough to be an NC State defensive end target, with him listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds. He certainly battled Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan senior right tackle Sam Pendleton last Friday, and won some rounds in the process. Pendleton is committed to Notre Dame and ranked No. 227 overall in the country and No. 23 tackle, though he’ll likely be a guard in college.
I had Davis down for 11 tackles and three tackles for loss in a 40-34 victory against Reagan. Grimsley will vary its look with a four-man line and sometimes a three-man line. Davis plays with Georgia nose tackle commit Jamaal Jarrett, and benefits from that, but at the end of the day, he has the gift of pursuing the ball.
On the recruiting front, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Duke, have offered Davis. I predict that list will explode in the next 18 months. The only question is whether NC State will view Davis in the same way of Jaybron Harvey of Southern Durham (N.C.) High and Tyler Thompson of Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek, who weren’t offered by the Wolfpack. Both ultimately wanted to stay close to home and picked North Carolina.
Davis looks like he’d have the frame to be 240 pounds in two years, but he probably wouldn’t hit 260ish until he gets into a college strength and conditioning program. That would make around the size of NC State backup defensive end Travali Price.
