In our monthly update to the mock class, we have subtracted a couple of names from the defensive list. In the last edition, the defense had 13 members. It now features 12 to bring the total class size to 24, when including the offense.
Here is the complete fifth edition of the mock recruiting class for defense.
DE – Three-star Zyun Reeves, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Reeves has been fairly consistently included in our mock classes. He is shaping up as a NC State, Florida State and South Carolina battle, and he will announce his decision on Sept. 1.
Reeves is a 6-foot-6, 240-pounder who projects well as an edge player at NC State. He had 88 tackles, including 13.5 for loss and 7.5 sacks, last season. The Wolfpack would love to be able to add third East Forsyth player to join redshirt freshman safety Khalid Martin and recent commit Micah Crowell. East Forsyth has won back-to-back state titles.
DL – Three-star Travali Price, Lincolnton (N.C.) North Lincoln
Price made us look good after we have included him in early mock classes when heverbally committed to the Wolfpack on June 19. The heavily recruited Price eventually picked NC State over Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder had 84 tackles, including 21 for loss and 5.5 sacks, and 27 quarterback hurries last year.
LS/DT – Two-star Jayden Tate, Lincolnton (N.C.) North Lincoln High
Knowing that brothers Tate and Price were a likely package deal, we included both in our mock classes, and that turned out to be true. Tate joined Price in verbally committing to NC State.
DT — Rasheed Lyles, Athens (Texas) Trinity Valley Community College
This was a tough call for us, but we kept Lyles in our mock class despite a temptation to have three-star Devin Lee from McDonough (Ga.) OLA, who we believe is primarily considering NC State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
The one caveat on the 6-foot-2, 285 pound Lyles, whose lone major offer is NC State, for now intends to wait until November, and perhaps he could get beaten to this spot by Lee or three-star Marquise Brunson from Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne High. As a freshman, Lyles had 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
LB — Three-star Caden Fordham, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles High
Fordham, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder who announced his verbal commitment to NC State in June. Fordham had 64 tackles, including six for loss and five sacks, as a junior. He also made four interceptions and forced two fumbles. Fordham picked NC State over Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Wake Forest and West Virginia, among others.
LB – Three-star Jabril McNeill, Raleigh Sanderson High
When McNeill’s older brother, NC State junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill, was going through the recruiting process, it was not until the end of the summer that he publicly make it clear he was favoring NC State. However, he later admitted to us that he had known for a long time he was going there, and he just wanted to enjoy the recruiting process.
We could see Jabril (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) having a similar process play out. Oregon has probably emerged as the most serious challenger. Like Reeves, we would not be surprised if McNeill begins to wrap up his recruitment soon.
We’re also curious to see if McNeill grows into a defensive end prospect as he continues to fill out his frame nicely. McNeill had 35 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and two sacks, in 11 games last year.
LB – Three-star Jordan Poole, Oakboro (N.C.) West Stanly High
Poole was consistently included in our mock classes, and he announced his verbal commitment to the Wolfpack on Aug. 8 over South Carolina and Virginia Tech.The 6-foot, 215-pounder is an outstanding two-way performer. He ran 113 times for 1,534 yards and 21 touchdowns last year while making 36 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Poole is expected to enroll early.
CB – Three-star Mario Love Jr., Cornelius (N.C.) Hough High
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Love made us look good in our first mock class by picking NC State since then. Love had 23 tackles and an interception for Hough last year.
CB – Three-star Nate Evans, Virginia Beach (Va.) Cox High
Evans surprised us in June when he flipped his commitment from Tennessee to NC State. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder missed most of his junior season with a knee injury.
S – Two-star Sean Brown, Charlotte (N.C.) Hough High
Brown made us look good by verbally committing to NC State on June 21. We have previously included him in the mock classes. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder also had offers from Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri and Wake Forest, but NC State convinced him to join his teammate in the Hough secondary in Love.
Last season, Brown had 65 tackles, including four for loss and three sacks, in 13 games. Brown may also project to be able to play nickel.
S – Three-star Chase Hattley, Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek High
This is the third straight mock class that we have included Hattley, but this is the most comfortable we have felt about having him. He had earlier received scholarship offers from Florida State and Oklahoma, among others. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder is a good athlete and had 29 tackles, nine interceptions and fie pass breakups as a junior. The bet here is that proximity wins out at the end of the day.
DB – Two-star defensive back Brandon Johnson, Newton (N.C.) Newton-Conover High
This is a bit of a reach given that Johnson verbally committed to Duke over NC State and Wake Forest in the summer, but the Pack has not given up on him. Johnson would be ideal for NC State because he could play nickel or corner.
The athletic Johnson shines on both sides of the football. He caught 38 passes for 662 yards and six touchdowns last year, and added 49 tackles, three interceptions, 12 passes defended and two fumble recoveries on defense. He also returned 13 kickoffs for an average of 18.1 yards, and 16 punts for an impressive 11.4 yards per return for the 8-5 Red Devils.
Here is the complete fifth edition of the mock recruiting class for defense.
DE – Three-star Zyun Reeves, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Reeves has been fairly consistently included in our mock classes. He is shaping up as a NC State, Florida State and South Carolina battle, and he will announce his decision on Sept. 1.
Reeves is a 6-foot-6, 240-pounder who projects well as an edge player at NC State. He had 88 tackles, including 13.5 for loss and 7.5 sacks, last season. The Wolfpack would love to be able to add third East Forsyth player to join redshirt freshman safety Khalid Martin and recent commit Micah Crowell. East Forsyth has won back-to-back state titles.
DL – Three-star Travali Price, Lincolnton (N.C.) North Lincoln
Price made us look good after we have included him in early mock classes when heverbally committed to the Wolfpack on June 19. The heavily recruited Price eventually picked NC State over Tennessee. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder had 84 tackles, including 21 for loss and 5.5 sacks, and 27 quarterback hurries last year.
LS/DT – Two-star Jayden Tate, Lincolnton (N.C.) North Lincoln High
Knowing that brothers Tate and Price were a likely package deal, we included both in our mock classes, and that turned out to be true. Tate joined Price in verbally committing to NC State.
DT — Rasheed Lyles, Athens (Texas) Trinity Valley Community College
This was a tough call for us, but we kept Lyles in our mock class despite a temptation to have three-star Devin Lee from McDonough (Ga.) OLA, who we believe is primarily considering NC State, Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
The one caveat on the 6-foot-2, 285 pound Lyles, whose lone major offer is NC State, for now intends to wait until November, and perhaps he could get beaten to this spot by Lee or three-star Marquise Brunson from Virginia Beach (Va.) Princess Anne High. As a freshman, Lyles had 29 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
LB — Three-star Caden Fordham, Jacksonville (Fla.) Bolles High
Fordham, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder who announced his verbal commitment to NC State in June. Fordham had 64 tackles, including six for loss and five sacks, as a junior. He also made four interceptions and forced two fumbles. Fordham picked NC State over Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Wake Forest and West Virginia, among others.
LB – Three-star Jabril McNeill, Raleigh Sanderson High
When McNeill’s older brother, NC State junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill, was going through the recruiting process, it was not until the end of the summer that he publicly make it clear he was favoring NC State. However, he later admitted to us that he had known for a long time he was going there, and he just wanted to enjoy the recruiting process.
We could see Jabril (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) having a similar process play out. Oregon has probably emerged as the most serious challenger. Like Reeves, we would not be surprised if McNeill begins to wrap up his recruitment soon.
We’re also curious to see if McNeill grows into a defensive end prospect as he continues to fill out his frame nicely. McNeill had 35 tackles, including 6.5 for loss and two sacks, in 11 games last year.
LB – Three-star Jordan Poole, Oakboro (N.C.) West Stanly High
Poole was consistently included in our mock classes, and he announced his verbal commitment to the Wolfpack on Aug. 8 over South Carolina and Virginia Tech.The 6-foot, 215-pounder is an outstanding two-way performer. He ran 113 times for 1,534 yards and 21 touchdowns last year while making 36 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Poole is expected to enroll early.
CB – Three-star Mario Love Jr., Cornelius (N.C.) Hough High
The 5-foot-9, 170-pound Love made us look good in our first mock class by picking NC State since then. Love had 23 tackles and an interception for Hough last year.
CB – Three-star Nate Evans, Virginia Beach (Va.) Cox High
Evans surprised us in June when he flipped his commitment from Tennessee to NC State. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder missed most of his junior season with a knee injury.
S – Two-star Sean Brown, Charlotte (N.C.) Hough High
Brown made us look good by verbally committing to NC State on June 21. We have previously included him in the mock classes. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder also had offers from Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri and Wake Forest, but NC State convinced him to join his teammate in the Hough secondary in Love.
Last season, Brown had 65 tackles, including four for loss and three sacks, in 13 games. Brown may also project to be able to play nickel.
S – Three-star Chase Hattley, Cary (N.C.) Panther Creek High
This is the third straight mock class that we have included Hattley, but this is the most comfortable we have felt about having him. He had earlier received scholarship offers from Florida State and Oklahoma, among others. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder is a good athlete and had 29 tackles, nine interceptions and fie pass breakups as a junior. The bet here is that proximity wins out at the end of the day.
DB – Two-star defensive back Brandon Johnson, Newton (N.C.) Newton-Conover High
This is a bit of a reach given that Johnson verbally committed to Duke over NC State and Wake Forest in the summer, but the Pack has not given up on him. Johnson would be ideal for NC State because he could play nickel or corner.
The athletic Johnson shines on both sides of the football. He caught 38 passes for 662 yards and six touchdowns last year, and added 49 tackles, three interceptions, 12 passes defended and two fumble recoveries on defense. He also returned 13 kickoffs for an average of 18.1 yards, and 16 punts for an impressive 11.4 yards per return for the 8-5 Red Devils.
