In our monthly update to the mock class, we have added an extra name to the defensive class. In the last edition, the defense had a dozen members. It now features 13 to bring the total class size to 24, when including the offense. The extra spot comes in the secondary.
Here is the complete fourth edition of the mock recruiting class for defense.
DE – Three-star Zyun Reeves, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Reeves continues to be in our mock classes. He is shaping up as a NC State, Florida State and South Carolina battle, but there is a general feeling that the Gamecocks may be further behind the other two. It is worth noting that NC State's new defensive line coach, Charley Wiles, is well-liked around East Forsyth.
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 our last mock class. He verbally 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 last mock class, 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
Two mock class editions ago, we took a shot at a potential offer in Jacquez Williams from Jenkins High in Savannah, Ga., and then we replace Williams with three-star Marquise Brunson from Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, Va. Now we have a new name. As you can tell, this is a tough position to nail down.
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. Lyles also could technically delay his decision a year. 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.
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 has been consistently included in our mock classes, but this is far from a given. Both South Carolina and Virginia Tech remain serious challengers. Poole had intended to announce a decision on July 1, but then decided to delay any announcement. The expectation is that Poole will still announce a decision by the end of the summer.
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.
CB - Three-star Javon Bullard, Milledgeville (Ga.) Baldwin High
The 6-foot, 170-pounder is a new addition to the mock class and a bit of a gamble on our part. There are other serious challengers for Bullard, like Louisville, South Carolina, Tennessee and perhaps Georgia. Of Bullard's favorites, he has only visited NC State, and he admits he has one of his stronger relationships with the Wolfpack coaching staff.
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 class. 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
We included Hattley in our last mock class and called it a bit of a roll of the dice. 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, although the word is Hattley is willing to be patient.
S – Rakeim Ashford, Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Miss.
Ashford remains in our mock class after being included for the first time last month. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder had 39 tackles and four interceptions as a freshman for Jones County, one of the better junior college programs in the country. He was also an honor roll student.
NC State is Ashford's lone reported Power Five offer. We also considered another junior college product, Baltimore native Chad Brown playing at Fresno (Calif.) Community College, and we would not be surprised if more names emerged on the safety board in the coming months.
Here is the complete fourth edition of the mock recruiting class for defense.
DE – Three-star Zyun Reeves, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Reeves continues to be in our mock classes. He is shaping up as a NC State, Florida State and South Carolina battle, but there is a general feeling that the Gamecocks may be further behind the other two. It is worth noting that NC State's new defensive line coach, Charley Wiles, is well-liked around East Forsyth.
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 our last mock class. He verbally 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 last mock class, 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
Two mock class editions ago, we took a shot at a potential offer in Jacquez Williams from Jenkins High in Savannah, Ga., and then we replace Williams with three-star Marquise Brunson from Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, Va. Now we have a new name. As you can tell, this is a tough position to nail down.
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. Lyles also could technically delay his decision a year. 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.
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 has been consistently included in our mock classes, but this is far from a given. Both South Carolina and Virginia Tech remain serious challengers. Poole had intended to announce a decision on July 1, but then decided to delay any announcement. The expectation is that Poole will still announce a decision by the end of the summer.
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.
CB - Three-star Javon Bullard, Milledgeville (Ga.) Baldwin High
The 6-foot, 170-pounder is a new addition to the mock class and a bit of a gamble on our part. There are other serious challengers for Bullard, like Louisville, South Carolina, Tennessee and perhaps Georgia. Of Bullard's favorites, he has only visited NC State, and he admits he has one of his stronger relationships with the Wolfpack coaching staff.
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 class. 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
We included Hattley in our last mock class and called it a bit of a roll of the dice. 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, although the word is Hattley is willing to be patient.
S – Rakeim Ashford, Jones County Junior College in Ellisville, Miss.
Ashford remains in our mock class after being included for the first time last month. The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder had 39 tackles and four interceptions as a freshman for Jones County, one of the better junior college programs in the country. He was also an honor roll student.
NC State is Ashford's lone reported Power Five offer. We also considered another junior college product, Baltimore native Chad Brown playing at Fresno (Calif.) Community College, and we would not be surprised if more names emerged on the safety board in the coming months.
