It is possible that this Wednesday when the February signing period begins that NC State will add just the three verbal commitments it has added since Jan. 1 — trio of three-star linemen in Anthony Carter from Butler High in Matthews, N.C. on the offensive side and Nick Booker-Brown from Westfield High in Houston and Claude Larkins from Chaminade-Madonna in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., on defense.
That would leave the Wolfpack with two more spots to fill per head coach Dave Doeren’s December signing day press conference proclamation that NC State could add five more to its class.
The question mark throughout the week was the status of four-star corner Rashad Battle from Creekside High in Fairburn, Ga. As we reported Thursday morning, Battle is taking an official visit to Pittsburgh this weekend instead of his originally planned trip to Virginia Tech. There are indications that both NC State and Virginia Tech have moved on from Battle.
Rivals.com’s Chad Simmons, who is as plugged in as any analyst to the state of Georgia, reported to us that there is a feeling of uncertainty over how hard NC State is now pushing for Battle, which further adds to the speculation that the Wolfpack might be heading into another direction.
Which way that is we do not yet have confirmation on. Judging by past recruitments, it would seem that NC State has a strong desire to add a defensive back to its roster, and that would make sense. The updated roster in particular shows a need for some safety help, as noted on a message board thread this week.
Sophomore Jakeen Harris appears to have been moved to nickel, which was the position that he was originally recruited to play. Early enrollee Devan Boykin had been expected to start at safety, but instead Boykin is now listed as a cornerback.
However, versatility has always been a premium value for NC State in the past couple of cycles when it comes to recruiting defensive backs, so those two plus players like redshirt sophomore Malik Dunlap and sophomore Cecil Powell could always find themselves back at safety.
It is known that NC State has reached out to grad transfers on the defensive line (Daniel Joseph from Penn State) and offensive line (Cam DeGeorge from Connecticut and Devin Cochran from Vanderbilt being a couple). With the offensive linemen in particular, however, the accomplished transfers tend to become high major targets.
It’s not just offensive linemen however. Former UNC tight end Carl Tucker, who saw his production fall pretty dramatically this past season, elected to leave as a grad transfer and found himself a new home this past week — Alabama.
It just adds further proof that it’s not as easy as saying, “We’ll find somebody on the portal to fill that spot.”
In next week’s War Room we will start to dive into more the 2021 class and preview what our first rendition of the top 25 (or 50, whatever the case may be) will look like. NC State currently has 14 scholarship seniors on the roster, but a couple of them could be candidates for sixth-years in receiver C.J. Riley and tight end Dylan Autenrieth.
Thus it may not be a lock that NC State could take a full class of 25 in the 2021 class, but it will likely come close if it cannot make it. Also important to remember that receiver commit Joshua Crabtree is currently counted on as a blueshirt, which would take away a spot in the 2021 class.
One of the challenges with digesting where things stand is out of state players can pick up offers that change the dynamics. Two Floridians that NC State had done a good job with were linebacker/safety Caden Fordham from Bolles High in Jacksonville and tight end Gunnar Greenwald from Satellite High in Satellite Beach. However, both were offered by Miami this week and that obviously changed the dynamics. Which is why it is easier to read where NC State stands with local recruits.
Unsurprisingly, given the wholesale changed on the defensive coaching staff, recruiting on offense appears to be ahead of defense at this point.
Baseball is just a couple of weeks away from its opener. We’re told the lineup remains in flux, as expected, but that it continues to look like head coach Elliott Avent will go with an offensive-minded approach to filling out the lineup, which would suggest for instance that sophomore Tyler McDonough could be at second base instead of senior J.T. Jarrett.
NCSU did suffer a blow recently when sophomore Luca Tresh, who had been one of the standouts at the plate in the fall, suffered a hand injury and from our sources should be out about a month. Tresh and junior Devonte Brown are two names we have heard have really been hitting the ball very well and poised to step up to fill some of the lost production of Will Wilson and Evan Edwards.
Brown probably projects in one of the corner outfields, but he might also get a look at third base. Nearly everyone we talk with expects freshman Jose Torres to immediately start at short. First base remains a bit of an open competition, and NC State has tried several players over there, including some who had previously played on the left side of the infield.
There’s also an expectation that freshman lefty Chris Villaman will get a very long look at being in the rotation. Also, a pair of freshmen have strong opportunities to be two-way players: Sam Highfill and Matt Willadsen. Both are natives of Wake County and have apparently been impressive.
That would leave the Wolfpack with two more spots to fill per head coach Dave Doeren’s December signing day press conference proclamation that NC State could add five more to its class.
The question mark throughout the week was the status of four-star corner Rashad Battle from Creekside High in Fairburn, Ga. As we reported Thursday morning, Battle is taking an official visit to Pittsburgh this weekend instead of his originally planned trip to Virginia Tech. There are indications that both NC State and Virginia Tech have moved on from Battle.
Rivals.com’s Chad Simmons, who is as plugged in as any analyst to the state of Georgia, reported to us that there is a feeling of uncertainty over how hard NC State is now pushing for Battle, which further adds to the speculation that the Wolfpack might be heading into another direction.
Which way that is we do not yet have confirmation on. Judging by past recruitments, it would seem that NC State has a strong desire to add a defensive back to its roster, and that would make sense. The updated roster in particular shows a need for some safety help, as noted on a message board thread this week.
Sophomore Jakeen Harris appears to have been moved to nickel, which was the position that he was originally recruited to play. Early enrollee Devan Boykin had been expected to start at safety, but instead Boykin is now listed as a cornerback.
However, versatility has always been a premium value for NC State in the past couple of cycles when it comes to recruiting defensive backs, so those two plus players like redshirt sophomore Malik Dunlap and sophomore Cecil Powell could always find themselves back at safety.
It is known that NC State has reached out to grad transfers on the defensive line (Daniel Joseph from Penn State) and offensive line (Cam DeGeorge from Connecticut and Devin Cochran from Vanderbilt being a couple). With the offensive linemen in particular, however, the accomplished transfers tend to become high major targets.
It’s not just offensive linemen however. Former UNC tight end Carl Tucker, who saw his production fall pretty dramatically this past season, elected to leave as a grad transfer and found himself a new home this past week — Alabama.
It just adds further proof that it’s not as easy as saying, “We’ll find somebody on the portal to fill that spot.”
•••
In next week’s War Room we will start to dive into more the 2021 class and preview what our first rendition of the top 25 (or 50, whatever the case may be) will look like. NC State currently has 14 scholarship seniors on the roster, but a couple of them could be candidates for sixth-years in receiver C.J. Riley and tight end Dylan Autenrieth.
Thus it may not be a lock that NC State could take a full class of 25 in the 2021 class, but it will likely come close if it cannot make it. Also important to remember that receiver commit Joshua Crabtree is currently counted on as a blueshirt, which would take away a spot in the 2021 class.
One of the challenges with digesting where things stand is out of state players can pick up offers that change the dynamics. Two Floridians that NC State had done a good job with were linebacker/safety Caden Fordham from Bolles High in Jacksonville and tight end Gunnar Greenwald from Satellite High in Satellite Beach. However, both were offered by Miami this week and that obviously changed the dynamics. Which is why it is easier to read where NC State stands with local recruits.
Unsurprisingly, given the wholesale changed on the defensive coaching staff, recruiting on offense appears to be ahead of defense at this point.
•••
Baseball is just a couple of weeks away from its opener. We’re told the lineup remains in flux, as expected, but that it continues to look like head coach Elliott Avent will go with an offensive-minded approach to filling out the lineup, which would suggest for instance that sophomore Tyler McDonough could be at second base instead of senior J.T. Jarrett.
NCSU did suffer a blow recently when sophomore Luca Tresh, who had been one of the standouts at the plate in the fall, suffered a hand injury and from our sources should be out about a month. Tresh and junior Devonte Brown are two names we have heard have really been hitting the ball very well and poised to step up to fill some of the lost production of Will Wilson and Evan Edwards.
Brown probably projects in one of the corner outfields, but he might also get a look at third base. Nearly everyone we talk with expects freshman Jose Torres to immediately start at short. First base remains a bit of an open competition, and NC State has tried several players over there, including some who had previously played on the left side of the infield.
There’s also an expectation that freshman lefty Chris Villaman will get a very long look at being in the rotation. Also, a pair of freshmen have strong opportunities to be two-way players: Sam Highfill and Matt Willadsen. Both are natives of Wake County and have apparently been impressive.
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