NC State sent out an offer this week to defensive tackle Zeek Biggers from West Rowan High in Salisbury, N.C. He’s one of several in-state prospects we are keeping an eye out for over the next couple of months for potential new offers. Biggers is listed by Rivals.com at 6-foot-2, 297 pounds, but he looked a couple inches taller and heavier when we saw him in person at the Tom Lemming photo shoot.
Biggers, who went to NC State’s junior day after that, may even come across as an offensive line target at first glance, but for now it appears he is being recruited as a potential nose tackle.
Another in-state product to keep an eye on is safety Joshua Sosanya from Wakefield High in Raleigh. He tested fairly well last season at NC State’s summer camp (nearly 6-foot-2, 176 pounds with a good time in shuttle — 4.23 seconds — and marks in the jumps — broad jump of 10-foot-3 and vertical of 34 inches). Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Appalachian State and Temple have offered Sosanya so far.
Durham (N.C.) Southern High running back Jaylen Wright is beginning to explode onto the scene thanks to his blistering track times. Arizona State, Miami, Syracuse and Tennessee have recently offered. Wright ran 89 times for 901 yards and five scores last season, but in track he has been clocked at 6.25 seconds in the 55-meter indoor, which is second fastest in the country this year.
Speaking of track times, NC State signee Anthony Smith from Huntingtown (Md.) High was clocked at the Maryland state indoor championships at 6.36 seconds in the 55-meter, which is tied for the 13th fastest nationally. That was also a Maryland state record, and he set a new state mark with his sprint of 34.49 seconds in the 300.
One source noted to us that what is most impressive about what Smith is doing is that he does not have real formal track training at Huntingtown, and it’s basically his raw, pure speed carrying him through.
That same source said that Maryland is upset that it allowed Smith to fly under their radar and leave the state, and that if this was Smith’s junior year of high school instead, he would be a high-profile, national recruit. It helped NC State that Huntingtown is apparently a bit off the path to find.
We have also picked up a sense that another track star in the 2020 class — defensive back Joshua Pierre-Louis from The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is a good bet to start at nickel. New cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell’s description of his cornerbacks room included one new high school product coming in the fall, which was Aydan White from Christ School near Asheville, N.C.
We don’t think it was an oversight on Mitchell’s part but rather a reflection of where the original intent is for Pierre-Louis.
For those wondering, redshirt sophomore Malik Dunlap and sophomore Cecil Powell both remain at corner. Multiple sources have told us that Powell could be a strong candidate to make a significant jump this spring. He was a late arrival last summer as it took time for his academic transcripts to get straightened out, thus he did not even get to participate in the first couple of practices. He then played both ways last fall.
The expectation is that a full offseason will do him a lot of good. He has impressed with both his athleticism and toughness.
We still have not nailed down all the new recruiting territory responsibilities, but here is what we have gathered thus far:
• Mitchell will have the eastern part of the state, areas that include Rocky Mount, Havelock, Greenville, etc. He will also recruit around Gwinnett County in Georgia.
• Receivers coach George McDonald took over the Charlotte area last year from Eddie Faulkner when the latter left to become a NFL assistant, and McDonald may get some help this cycle from defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tony Gibson. McDonald will continue to recruit Broward County in Florida.
• New nickels coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay will have Triad/Northwestern North Carolina and take over former corners coach George Barlow’s out-of-state responsibilities of “DMV” — D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
• New defensive line coach Charley Wiles will also help out in the Triad.
• As we have noted in the past, we believe new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck will take the local Wake County area while also handling the quarterback position.
• NC State will continue to tag team a recruit with his position coach and area recruiter.
Spring football practices will start next week, and NC State appears to be hunkering down a bit as there is not expected to be any open periods for the media, a change from years past when we were allowed to watch the first half of the first practice. That is unsurprising as NC State is expected to make quite a few changes on offense and defense.
We wonder if the spring game will be the same format this year or it might be modified as to not reveal much. The element of surprise is something we are sure that Dave Doeren and company are hoping to have with such a high profile first two weeks of the season (at Louisville and vs. Mississippi State).
Biggers, who went to NC State’s junior day after that, may even come across as an offensive line target at first glance, but for now it appears he is being recruited as a potential nose tackle.
Another in-state product to keep an eye on is safety Joshua Sosanya from Wakefield High in Raleigh. He tested fairly well last season at NC State’s summer camp (nearly 6-foot-2, 176 pounds with a good time in shuttle — 4.23 seconds — and marks in the jumps — broad jump of 10-foot-3 and vertical of 34 inches). Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, Appalachian State and Temple have offered Sosanya so far.
Durham (N.C.) Southern High running back Jaylen Wright is beginning to explode onto the scene thanks to his blistering track times. Arizona State, Miami, Syracuse and Tennessee have recently offered. Wright ran 89 times for 901 yards and five scores last season, but in track he has been clocked at 6.25 seconds in the 55-meter indoor, which is second fastest in the country this year.
•••
Speaking of track times, NC State signee Anthony Smith from Huntingtown (Md.) High was clocked at the Maryland state indoor championships at 6.36 seconds in the 55-meter, which is tied for the 13th fastest nationally. That was also a Maryland state record, and he set a new state mark with his sprint of 34.49 seconds in the 300.
One source noted to us that what is most impressive about what Smith is doing is that he does not have real formal track training at Huntingtown, and it’s basically his raw, pure speed carrying him through.
That same source said that Maryland is upset that it allowed Smith to fly under their radar and leave the state, and that if this was Smith’s junior year of high school instead, he would be a high-profile, national recruit. It helped NC State that Huntingtown is apparently a bit off the path to find.
We have also picked up a sense that another track star in the 2020 class — defensive back Joshua Pierre-Louis from The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., is a good bet to start at nickel. New cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell’s description of his cornerbacks room included one new high school product coming in the fall, which was Aydan White from Christ School near Asheville, N.C.
We don’t think it was an oversight on Mitchell’s part but rather a reflection of where the original intent is for Pierre-Louis.
For those wondering, redshirt sophomore Malik Dunlap and sophomore Cecil Powell both remain at corner. Multiple sources have told us that Powell could be a strong candidate to make a significant jump this spring. He was a late arrival last summer as it took time for his academic transcripts to get straightened out, thus he did not even get to participate in the first couple of practices. He then played both ways last fall.
The expectation is that a full offseason will do him a lot of good. He has impressed with both his athleticism and toughness.
•••
We still have not nailed down all the new recruiting territory responsibilities, but here is what we have gathered thus far:
• Mitchell will have the eastern part of the state, areas that include Rocky Mount, Havelock, Greenville, etc. He will also recruit around Gwinnett County in Georgia.
• Receivers coach George McDonald took over the Charlotte area last year from Eddie Faulkner when the latter left to become a NFL assistant, and McDonald may get some help this cycle from defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tony Gibson. McDonald will continue to recruit Broward County in Florida.
• New nickels coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay will have Triad/Northwestern North Carolina and take over former corners coach George Barlow’s out-of-state responsibilities of “DMV” — D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
• New defensive line coach Charley Wiles will also help out in the Triad.
• As we have noted in the past, we believe new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck will take the local Wake County area while also handling the quarterback position.
• NC State will continue to tag team a recruit with his position coach and area recruiter.
•••
Spring football practices will start next week, and NC State appears to be hunkering down a bit as there is not expected to be any open periods for the media, a change from years past when we were allowed to watch the first half of the first practice. That is unsurprising as NC State is expected to make quite a few changes on offense and defense.
We wonder if the spring game will be the same format this year or it might be modified as to not reveal much. The element of surprise is something we are sure that Dave Doeren and company are hoping to have with such a high profile first two weeks of the season (at Louisville and vs. Mississippi State).
