The process of NC State’s football team returning has begun. Local-based players are being COVID-19 tested and also undergoing a physical examination before being allowed back for voluntary workouts. Thus far, word is there have been no positive tests among the small sample size of the local football players.
Coaches are back in the Murphy Center, and the hope is that things will progress smoothly toward an extended preseason camp for season to start on time. As for NC State home games, they are proceeding with plans to have at least some fans in the stands, but nothing is final and decisions from local and state officials will likely have a role.
NC State athletics is also continuing to make some plans to offset the anticipated financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One we are told being discussed and will likely be implemented is travel restrictions for non-revenue sports. One option being thrown around, according to sources, is a limit on road games/meets to an 8-hour bus ride or closer.
We already know that the baseball team has canceled its plans to participate in a tournament in Texas next year.
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Admittedly, the commitment of three-star corner Nate Evans from Virginia Beach (Va.) Cox High came as a surprise to us. He made an early verbal commitment to Tennessee last November, and when he reported an offer from NC State in January it did not register on our radar, obviously, near as much as it should have.
Evans missed his junior season mainly out of precaution. Evans told us last night that he has been fully cleared for a few months now. His coach hinted that because Evans was not 100 percent full strength at the start of last season and the decision was made not to play. He had suffered a torn meniscus.
Similarly, four-star receiver commit Micah Crowell from East Forsyth High in Kernersville, N.C., also missed his junior season, with a torn ACL.
In a weird way, NC State may have been aided in both cases by them missing last season.
Tennessee insiders have long acknowledged that while the Volunteers have piled up commitments it was inevitable that there would be departures in their class. Summarizing, the attitude was basically, “figure out the numbers later.”
Evans may have been one of the first fallout examples of that. If Evans had excelled, as his coach anticipated he would have had last year, Tennessee probably would have been far more vigilant in its recruitment instead of opening the door for a program like NC State to come in and flip him.
Then there was new cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell’s relationship with Evans dating back to when Mitchell was at Virginia Tech.
Cox High head coach Bill Stachelski noted that he had never had a decommitment from one of his players there prior to Evans, which he noted is a tribute to how strong the relationship Mitchell had and the effort NC State put into it. Stachelski also felt that Evans made a good decision by sticking close to home.
NC State could have probably been in the game with Crowell regardless, but there is no denying that his torn ACL impacted his recruitment, which East Forsyth head coach Todd Willert acknowledged. Willert confirmed the long held belief that NC State and Wake Forest were the two main schools that stayed heavily on Crowell in the recruiting process even through the knee injury.
As for NC State beating out Wake Forest, there is also no denying that the commitment of three-star quarterback Aaron McLaughlin from Denmark High in Alpharetta, Ga., was a turning point, a viewpoint shared by sources.
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NC State is not yet done with East Forsyth High School, as it is recruiting three-star defensive end Zyun Reeves. Reeves is a newcomer to football and had big plans to hit the road this spring and summer to visit a lot of schools. Instead, Reeves has been sidelined by the extended dead period.
Prior to the dead period, he was able to see NC State, Florida State and South Carolina, and those three schools are probably best positioned at the moment, according to sources.
As for who might be next to commit, we would not be surprised if offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper pulls the trigger while taking a visit to Raleigh (on his own with his mother) this weekend.
Coaches are back in the Murphy Center, and the hope is that things will progress smoothly toward an extended preseason camp for season to start on time. As for NC State home games, they are proceeding with plans to have at least some fans in the stands, but nothing is final and decisions from local and state officials will likely have a role.
NC State athletics is also continuing to make some plans to offset the anticipated financial losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One we are told being discussed and will likely be implemented is travel restrictions for non-revenue sports. One option being thrown around, according to sources, is a limit on road games/meets to an 8-hour bus ride or closer.
We already know that the baseball team has canceled its plans to participate in a tournament in Texas next year.
***
Admittedly, the commitment of three-star corner Nate Evans from Virginia Beach (Va.) Cox High came as a surprise to us. He made an early verbal commitment to Tennessee last November, and when he reported an offer from NC State in January it did not register on our radar, obviously, near as much as it should have.
Evans missed his junior season mainly out of precaution. Evans told us last night that he has been fully cleared for a few months now. His coach hinted that because Evans was not 100 percent full strength at the start of last season and the decision was made not to play. He had suffered a torn meniscus.
Similarly, four-star receiver commit Micah Crowell from East Forsyth High in Kernersville, N.C., also missed his junior season, with a torn ACL.
In a weird way, NC State may have been aided in both cases by them missing last season.
Tennessee insiders have long acknowledged that while the Volunteers have piled up commitments it was inevitable that there would be departures in their class. Summarizing, the attitude was basically, “figure out the numbers later.”
Evans may have been one of the first fallout examples of that. If Evans had excelled, as his coach anticipated he would have had last year, Tennessee probably would have been far more vigilant in its recruitment instead of opening the door for a program like NC State to come in and flip him.
Then there was new cornerbacks coach Brian Mitchell’s relationship with Evans dating back to when Mitchell was at Virginia Tech.
Cox High head coach Bill Stachelski noted that he had never had a decommitment from one of his players there prior to Evans, which he noted is a tribute to how strong the relationship Mitchell had and the effort NC State put into it. Stachelski also felt that Evans made a good decision by sticking close to home.
NC State could have probably been in the game with Crowell regardless, but there is no denying that his torn ACL impacted his recruitment, which East Forsyth head coach Todd Willert acknowledged. Willert confirmed the long held belief that NC State and Wake Forest were the two main schools that stayed heavily on Crowell in the recruiting process even through the knee injury.
As for NC State beating out Wake Forest, there is also no denying that the commitment of three-star quarterback Aaron McLaughlin from Denmark High in Alpharetta, Ga., was a turning point, a viewpoint shared by sources.
•••
NC State is not yet done with East Forsyth High School, as it is recruiting three-star defensive end Zyun Reeves. Reeves is a newcomer to football and had big plans to hit the road this spring and summer to visit a lot of schools. Instead, Reeves has been sidelined by the extended dead period.
Prior to the dead period, he was able to see NC State, Florida State and South Carolina, and those three schools are probably best positioned at the moment, according to sources.
As for who might be next to commit, we would not be surprised if offensive lineman Lyndon Cooper pulls the trigger while taking a visit to Raleigh (on his own with his mother) this weekend.
