This is the second edition of The Wolfpacker’s mock class for NC State football recruiting in 2021.
In the first mock class we had 23 signees. This time we went with 24 players, right in the middle of our projected range of 23-25 likely recruits to be signed. On offense, we are currently projecting a dozen players.
QB – Four-star Aaron McLaughlin, Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark High
At this point, our best guess is that McLaughlin is willing to be patient, perhaps to get a chance to visit Miami before making a decision. Given how the schools are recruiting at this point, it seems that Louisville, whom we perceive to be in McLaughlin’s top three with the Pack and Miami, is the most aggressive in recruiting other quarterbacks. Miami, on the other hand, seems to be putting all its eggs in McLaughlin, for now. NC State is in between.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound McLaughlin threw for 2,018 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
RB – Three-star Caleb McDowell, Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County High
The athletic McDowell (5-foot-9, 175 pounds) made us look good when we projected him in our last mock class by since committing to NC State. Of the four current commits, McDowell would be the one to watch closest if he blows up as a senior, especially since his visits to NC State at this point have been virtual and not physical. Athletically, McDowell is off the charts, but most of his playing time last year was in the secondary. The plan as a senior is to be strictly a running back.
RB – Two-star Demie Sumo, Willingboro (N.J.) High
In the last mock class, we had Knightdale (N.C.) High three-star Trevion Cooley listed here, but our sources indicate that Duke and South Carolina have built up a nice lead, so we switched gears and now have Sumo, whom we wrote about this week. Sumo is a do-it-all 6-foot, 200-pounder. In 12 games as a junior, Sumo carries 65 times for 648 yards, averaging almost 10.0 yards per rush, and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 21 passes for 430 yards and eight scores. He averaged 24.8 yards on eight kickoff returns, running one back the distance.
Defensively he had 53 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. He picked off two passes (including a pick six), recovered two fumbles and forced four loose balls.
NC State is Sumo’s lone Power Five offer with mid-majors Temple, Northern Illinois and Buffalo also chasing. Sources told us that NC State has amped up its pursuit of Sumo in the past week.
WR – Three-star Jakolbe Baldwin, Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County High
While Baldwin has added a couple of offers (Michigan State and Vanderbilt) since committing to NC State, we don’t see those schools as severe threats to the Wolfpack. Baldwin (6-foot, 175 pounds) caught 34 passes for 687 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games as a junior.
WR – Four-star Micah Crowell, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Our projections have NC State targeting a bigger receiver for this final wideout spot in the class, and like we did in our first mock class, that nod goes to Crowell. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Crowell missed his junior season with a torn ACL, and that may have caused some colleges to back off. That does not appear to be the case with the Wolfpack, who have fairly consistently been ranked among Crowell’s top schools along with Wake Forest. Crowell will announce his decision on June 2, and we expect it to be either one of those two teams.
As a sophomore, Crowell caught 25 passes for 511 yards and seven scores on a state-title winning team.
WR – Three-star Julian Gray, Huntersville (N.C.) Hopewell High
Gray has already committed to NC State and brings speed and production to the slot. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder caught 57 passes for 1,217 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior, and he has been timed at under 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Yes, South Carolina did offer Gray recently, but Gray is a lifelong Wolfpack fan (so he claims, at least).
TE – Three-star Charlie Browder, Fletcher (N.C.) Christ School
Our hunch is that Browder could be a Kentucky-NC State battle depending on who else gets involved. Browder plays his high school football in the state of North Carolina, and one of his teammates (cornerback Aydan White) signed with NC State last year. However, Browder is also a Tennessee native so the SEC nostalgia may be strong.
The 6-foot-7, 235-pounder hauled in 20 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games last season.
NC State has done a good job with the tight end board, but that doesn’t mean it is going to fall well despite your best work. Last time we had three-star Gunnar Greenwald from Satellite Beach (Fla.) High, but he surprisingly (to us) committed to South Florida. We think it would behoove NC State to have two tight ends in this class, but for now we don’t see a feasible option although we think the Pack is still in the picture with three-star Miles Campbell from South Paulding High in Douglasville, Ga. Campbell will decide next week with Tennessee and Florida State in the mix.
OL – Two-star Zeek Biggers, Mt. Ulla (N.C.) West Rowan High
We’ve made a couple of changes to the offensive line in our mock class, including moving Biggers from nose tackle to the offense. We noted in the previous mock class that the caveat on Biggers is that the 6-foot-5, 320-pounder could be viewed as an OL. We have since confirmed that is the case, and that NCSU looks at Biggers as a guard. NC State has to beat out Georgia Tech for Biggers, and a decision could come soon.
OT – Three-star Jaleel Davis, Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County High
He’s got a teammate in Baldwin who has already committed to NC State, and we could see the Pack getting a duo from one of the best teams in the state. Davis is a 6-foot-5, 300-pounder.
OL – Two-star Thornton Gentry, Chapin (S.C.) High
Offensive tackle is the priority, but we think between Biggers and Gentry, the Pack is poised to get a couple of interior linemen. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder has a better offer list than a two-star, and we think ultimately, at the moment, Virginia Tech is a bigger challenger.
OL — Three-star Yousef Mugharbil, Murphy (N.C.) High
It will not be easy to land the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder, but Mugharbil has developed a strong relationship with NC State offensive line coach John Garrison, which is helping the Pack’s cause. Mugharbil was not in our last mock class.
OL — Three-star Diego Pounds, Raleigh (N.C.) Millbrook High
This one is another leap of faith on our part, but that’s part of the fun of doing a mock class. Pounds is a national-level recruit and it would take a great sales job to get him to pick NC State, but the Wolfpack laid a very good level of groundwork on this recruitment. We went with a fifth offensive lineman in this mock class rather than two tight ends, but it could still be the other way around.
In the first mock class we had 23 signees. This time we went with 24 players, right in the middle of our projected range of 23-25 likely recruits to be signed. On offense, we are currently projecting a dozen players.
QB – Four-star Aaron McLaughlin, Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark High
At this point, our best guess is that McLaughlin is willing to be patient, perhaps to get a chance to visit Miami before making a decision. Given how the schools are recruiting at this point, it seems that Louisville, whom we perceive to be in McLaughlin’s top three with the Pack and Miami, is the most aggressive in recruiting other quarterbacks. Miami, on the other hand, seems to be putting all its eggs in McLaughlin, for now. NC State is in between.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound McLaughlin threw for 2,018 yards and 17 touchdowns last season.
RB – Three-star Caleb McDowell, Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County High
The athletic McDowell (5-foot-9, 175 pounds) made us look good when we projected him in our last mock class by since committing to NC State. Of the four current commits, McDowell would be the one to watch closest if he blows up as a senior, especially since his visits to NC State at this point have been virtual and not physical. Athletically, McDowell is off the charts, but most of his playing time last year was in the secondary. The plan as a senior is to be strictly a running back.
RB – Two-star Demie Sumo, Willingboro (N.J.) High
In the last mock class, we had Knightdale (N.C.) High three-star Trevion Cooley listed here, but our sources indicate that Duke and South Carolina have built up a nice lead, so we switched gears and now have Sumo, whom we wrote about this week. Sumo is a do-it-all 6-foot, 200-pounder. In 12 games as a junior, Sumo carries 65 times for 648 yards, averaging almost 10.0 yards per rush, and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 21 passes for 430 yards and eight scores. He averaged 24.8 yards on eight kickoff returns, running one back the distance.
Defensively he had 53 tackles, including 5.5 for loss. He picked off two passes (including a pick six), recovered two fumbles and forced four loose balls.
NC State is Sumo’s lone Power Five offer with mid-majors Temple, Northern Illinois and Buffalo also chasing. Sources told us that NC State has amped up its pursuit of Sumo in the past week.
WR – Three-star Jakolbe Baldwin, Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County High
While Baldwin has added a couple of offers (Michigan State and Vanderbilt) since committing to NC State, we don’t see those schools as severe threats to the Wolfpack. Baldwin (6-foot, 175 pounds) caught 34 passes for 687 yards and eight touchdowns in 12 games as a junior.
WR – Four-star Micah Crowell, Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High
Our projections have NC State targeting a bigger receiver for this final wideout spot in the class, and like we did in our first mock class, that nod goes to Crowell. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Crowell missed his junior season with a torn ACL, and that may have caused some colleges to back off. That does not appear to be the case with the Wolfpack, who have fairly consistently been ranked among Crowell’s top schools along with Wake Forest. Crowell will announce his decision on June 2, and we expect it to be either one of those two teams.
As a sophomore, Crowell caught 25 passes for 511 yards and seven scores on a state-title winning team.
WR – Three-star Julian Gray, Huntersville (N.C.) Hopewell High
Gray has already committed to NC State and brings speed and production to the slot. The 5-foot-11, 180-pounder caught 57 passes for 1,217 yards and nine touchdowns as a junior, and he has been timed at under 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Yes, South Carolina did offer Gray recently, but Gray is a lifelong Wolfpack fan (so he claims, at least).
TE – Three-star Charlie Browder, Fletcher (N.C.) Christ School
Our hunch is that Browder could be a Kentucky-NC State battle depending on who else gets involved. Browder plays his high school football in the state of North Carolina, and one of his teammates (cornerback Aydan White) signed with NC State last year. However, Browder is also a Tennessee native so the SEC nostalgia may be strong.
The 6-foot-7, 235-pounder hauled in 20 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games last season.
NC State has done a good job with the tight end board, but that doesn’t mean it is going to fall well despite your best work. Last time we had three-star Gunnar Greenwald from Satellite Beach (Fla.) High, but he surprisingly (to us) committed to South Florida. We think it would behoove NC State to have two tight ends in this class, but for now we don’t see a feasible option although we think the Pack is still in the picture with three-star Miles Campbell from South Paulding High in Douglasville, Ga. Campbell will decide next week with Tennessee and Florida State in the mix.
OL – Two-star Zeek Biggers, Mt. Ulla (N.C.) West Rowan High
We’ve made a couple of changes to the offensive line in our mock class, including moving Biggers from nose tackle to the offense. We noted in the previous mock class that the caveat on Biggers is that the 6-foot-5, 320-pounder could be viewed as an OL. We have since confirmed that is the case, and that NCSU looks at Biggers as a guard. NC State has to beat out Georgia Tech for Biggers, and a decision could come soon.
OT – Three-star Jaleel Davis, Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County High
He’s got a teammate in Baldwin who has already committed to NC State, and we could see the Pack getting a duo from one of the best teams in the state. Davis is a 6-foot-5, 300-pounder.
OL – Two-star Thornton Gentry, Chapin (S.C.) High
Offensive tackle is the priority, but we think between Biggers and Gentry, the Pack is poised to get a couple of interior linemen. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder has a better offer list than a two-star, and we think ultimately, at the moment, Virginia Tech is a bigger challenger.
OL — Three-star Yousef Mugharbil, Murphy (N.C.) High
It will not be easy to land the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder, but Mugharbil has developed a strong relationship with NC State offensive line coach John Garrison, which is helping the Pack’s cause. Mugharbil was not in our last mock class.
OL — Three-star Diego Pounds, Raleigh (N.C.) Millbrook High
This one is another leap of faith on our part, but that’s part of the fun of doing a mock class. Pounds is a national-level recruit and it would take a great sales job to get him to pick NC State, but the Wolfpack laid a very good level of groundwork on this recruitment. We went with a fifth offensive lineman in this mock class rather than two tight ends, but it could still be the other way around.
