Recruiting tends to go quiet in August/September due to the fact that both college coaches and high school prospects shift their focus towards their respective seasons. So it is not surprising that we have not heard much on the trail in recent weeks.
One development we will be watching is to see if the Pack pursues another linebacker now that freshman James Smith-Williams moved from weakside linebacker to defensive end towards the end of preseason camp. Smith-Williams played nickel in the spring prior to moving to linebacker in the summer.
The original intent had been to sign just two linebackers in this class. State though has its share of oversized safeties, noticeably sophomore Germaine Pratt (who continues to get bigger at 230-plus pounds) and redshirt freshman Dexter Wright that could figure into the equation at linebacker due to the crowded depth chart at safety.
We have heard from multiple sources (two this week alone) that the coaches feel that a strong start will be a significant catalyst for the remainder of the class. Assuming the Pack gets to 4-0 before the start of ACC play, the first two conference games against Louisville and at Virginia Tech, which should be high exposure contests, should be the tipping point in terms of perception of State’s program.
If NC State goes 6-0 before the bye, that gives the Pack the ammunition they need when they go on the road to recruit during that bye week. We have been told that the Pack is still having players who have committed to other schools maintaining contact with the program, some of them by the players’ own choice.
They feel like that’s a sign that with a little more evidence to convince recruits that the excitement around Raleigh is real might be what they need. It’s worth noting that last year some recruits, like Nyheim Hines, Johnny Frasier, Darian Roseboro and Emanuel McGirt, felt a lot better about NC State after the Pack showed improvement from Doeren’s first season.
In the it is never too early to start identifying prospects notebook: the first class of 2019 (yes a freshman in high school) name. He is all-purpose back Cameron Cloud from Northwest Guilford High in Greensboro. Cloud had 10 touches for over 100 yards and two scoring receptions in his first prep action and already has a verbal offer from Virginia.
NC State football coaches have another week before they can watch high school football games. One of the misperceptions that is somewhat out there is that NC State should go and watch Wake Forest (N.C.) High senior defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence every single game this season. NCAA rules have taken away what could be called “home-court advantage.”
Wake Forest will play 10 games between Sept. 4 and Nov. 6, and the Wolfpack coaches can only watch them play once. The odds are good that one time will be when Southeast Raleigh and senior quarterback commit Dylan Parham takes on Wake Forest next Friday. That also will count as the one time during the regular season for Parham too.
The playoffs will give NC State a chance to use its home-court advantage. The Wolfpack coaches will get to watch any team in the playoffs, each and every game until they lose or reach the title game.
Another key game in NC State coaching circles is the chance to watch Durham Hillside at Southern Durham on Sept. 4 in the third annual Bull City Classic. Hillside has NCSU senior wide receiver commit Daeshawn Stephens and sophomore running back Jamal Elliott. Odds are pretty good that other younger players will also start to emerge in the future, with both programs steep with talent year-in, year-out.
A good showing by Elliott could lead to an NC State offer. He has been over to campus as much as any non-commit the last few months. Boston College, Duke, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Charlotte have offered the 5-10, 175-pounder.
The coaches will try to use one evaluation visit on all the commitments during the season, preferably matching up their game when they have a high profile opponent. C.B. Aycock in Pikeville, N.C., head coach Steve Brooks told us that he was told Kitchings would come to see junior tight end commit Damien Darden play Rose in Greenville, N.C., on Oct. 30.
Rose, of course, has four-star receiver and Clemson (sometimes soft but for the moment solid) commit Cornell Powell and traditionally puts out a good prospect every couple of years.
The game at Old Dominion will allow corners coach George Barlow to probably scope out a good game in the Tidewater region the Friday before the game, and when NCSU heads to FSU in November they’ll probably use that trip to see a few Florida natives in action.
***
The wide receiver depth chart was really the big question mark left among the ones being released. There is still some work to be decided, as noted by the “Or” between juniors Bra’Lon Cherry and Johnathan Alston.
What remains to be seen is who will be the returners and will freshman Kyle Bambard or redshirt freshman Jackson Maples handle kickoffs. Our hunch is that Hines is the leading candidate, although safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator Clayton White left open the possibility of Cherry or redshirt freshman receiver Maurice Trowell also doing punt returns.
NC State has been very proactive regarding injuries, especially after head coach Dave Doeren’s first season at the helm was partially derailed with a rash of them. They made efforts to retool the strength and conditioning program in an attempt to increase their injury-resistance, if you will.
The latest is a neat technological innovation. We will have a story next week with more details, but the players in the top three of the depth charts are all equipped with chips in their shoulder pads to measure their activity level.
The purpose is to give strength coaches real-time data that will show when a player is reaching an unusually high amount of activity via steps taken and distance covered, making him at a risk to be tired and thus more susceptible to injury.
Strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp and his staff are in charge of monitoring the data while practice is ongoing. Veltkamp talked with us about this latest innovation, which will be in the story. Veltkamp noted that NC State was one of the first schools to use this technology on such a widespread scale with its football team.
One development we will be watching is to see if the Pack pursues another linebacker now that freshman James Smith-Williams moved from weakside linebacker to defensive end towards the end of preseason camp. Smith-Williams played nickel in the spring prior to moving to linebacker in the summer.
The original intent had been to sign just two linebackers in this class. State though has its share of oversized safeties, noticeably sophomore Germaine Pratt (who continues to get bigger at 230-plus pounds) and redshirt freshman Dexter Wright that could figure into the equation at linebacker due to the crowded depth chart at safety.
We have heard from multiple sources (two this week alone) that the coaches feel that a strong start will be a significant catalyst for the remainder of the class. Assuming the Pack gets to 4-0 before the start of ACC play, the first two conference games against Louisville and at Virginia Tech, which should be high exposure contests, should be the tipping point in terms of perception of State’s program.
If NC State goes 6-0 before the bye, that gives the Pack the ammunition they need when they go on the road to recruit during that bye week. We have been told that the Pack is still having players who have committed to other schools maintaining contact with the program, some of them by the players’ own choice.
They feel like that’s a sign that with a little more evidence to convince recruits that the excitement around Raleigh is real might be what they need. It’s worth noting that last year some recruits, like Nyheim Hines, Johnny Frasier, Darian Roseboro and Emanuel McGirt, felt a lot better about NC State after the Pack showed improvement from Doeren’s first season.
***
In the it is never too early to start identifying prospects notebook: the first class of 2019 (yes a freshman in high school) name. He is all-purpose back Cameron Cloud from Northwest Guilford High in Greensboro. Cloud had 10 touches for over 100 yards and two scoring receptions in his first prep action and already has a verbal offer from Virginia.
***
NC State football coaches have another week before they can watch high school football games. One of the misperceptions that is somewhat out there is that NC State should go and watch Wake Forest (N.C.) High senior defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence every single game this season. NCAA rules have taken away what could be called “home-court advantage.”
Wake Forest will play 10 games between Sept. 4 and Nov. 6, and the Wolfpack coaches can only watch them play once. The odds are good that one time will be when Southeast Raleigh and senior quarterback commit Dylan Parham takes on Wake Forest next Friday. That also will count as the one time during the regular season for Parham too.
The playoffs will give NC State a chance to use its home-court advantage. The Wolfpack coaches will get to watch any team in the playoffs, each and every game until they lose or reach the title game.
Another key game in NC State coaching circles is the chance to watch Durham Hillside at Southern Durham on Sept. 4 in the third annual Bull City Classic. Hillside has NCSU senior wide receiver commit Daeshawn Stephens and sophomore running back Jamal Elliott. Odds are pretty good that other younger players will also start to emerge in the future, with both programs steep with talent year-in, year-out.
A good showing by Elliott could lead to an NC State offer. He has been over to campus as much as any non-commit the last few months. Boston College, Duke, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Charlotte have offered the 5-10, 175-pounder.
The coaches will try to use one evaluation visit on all the commitments during the season, preferably matching up their game when they have a high profile opponent. C.B. Aycock in Pikeville, N.C., head coach Steve Brooks told us that he was told Kitchings would come to see junior tight end commit Damien Darden play Rose in Greenville, N.C., on Oct. 30.
Rose, of course, has four-star receiver and Clemson (sometimes soft but for the moment solid) commit Cornell Powell and traditionally puts out a good prospect every couple of years.
The game at Old Dominion will allow corners coach George Barlow to probably scope out a good game in the Tidewater region the Friday before the game, and when NCSU heads to FSU in November they’ll probably use that trip to see a few Florida natives in action.
***
The wide receiver depth chart was really the big question mark left among the ones being released. There is still some work to be decided, as noted by the “Or” between juniors Bra’Lon Cherry and Johnathan Alston.
What remains to be seen is who will be the returners and will freshman Kyle Bambard or redshirt freshman Jackson Maples handle kickoffs. Our hunch is that Hines is the leading candidate, although safeties coach and co-special teams coordinator Clayton White left open the possibility of Cherry or redshirt freshman receiver Maurice Trowell also doing punt returns.
***
NC State has been very proactive regarding injuries, especially after head coach Dave Doeren’s first season at the helm was partially derailed with a rash of them. They made efforts to retool the strength and conditioning program in an attempt to increase their injury-resistance, if you will.
The latest is a neat technological innovation. We will have a story next week with more details, but the players in the top three of the depth charts are all equipped with chips in their shoulder pads to measure their activity level.
The purpose is to give strength coaches real-time data that will show when a player is reaching an unusually high amount of activity via steps taken and distance covered, making him at a risk to be tired and thus more susceptible to injury.
Strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp and his staff are in charge of monitoring the data while practice is ongoing. Veltkamp talked with us about this latest innovation, which will be in the story. Veltkamp noted that NC State was one of the first schools to use this technology on such a widespread scale with its football team.
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