NC State has three priorities left to fill in its 2019 recruiting class:
• Quarterback, with the attention being focused on Payton Thorne, a three-star commitment for Western Michigan from Naperville (Ill.) Central High. Thorne (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) was offered by NC State in October. The Pack wants a fourth scholarship quarterback on the roster and it’s easy to understand why.
With the seemingly growing trend of players transferring before or during the season, NC State cannot feel certain that all three of its scheduled scholarship quarterbacks for next year — redshirt freshman Matt McKay, redshirting freshman Devin Leary and incoming Florida State transfer Bailey Hockman — will be around for the full season in 2019, and the prospects of being down to two scholarship quarterbacks, neither of whom have played meaningful snaps, is a scary proposition.
• NC State is also seeking a defensive back. We have previously said a safety, but there is some versatility in the commitments of three-stars Jalen Frazier from Cornelius (N.C.) Hough High and Jakeen Harris from Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School. Frazier is currently slotted at corner but could also be a nickel. Harris is currently recruited as a nickel but could also be a safety.
The three names at the moment for defensive backs are Jamel Starks from Decatur (Ga.) Southwest Dekalb High, Zay Flowers from Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) University School and Jamal Hill from Morrow (Ga.) High.
Starks, most likely a safety in college, has officially visited Nebraska and is expected to officially visit NC State in December. West Virginia was also believed to be in the mix for Starks. Flowers visited NC State over the summer and would probably be a corner recruit for the Pack. Flowers has made an official visit to Kansas State and is scheduled to see Nebraska later this month.
Hill is a safety prospect who had a big summer with reported offers from Alabama and Michigan among others, but his recruitment has played out quietly. If memory recalls correctly, we believe NC State (and many others) saw Hill at a satellite camp and offered.
• Linebacker remains a priority. NC State looked at Clemson safety commit Landen Zanders from Shelby (N.C.) Crest High as a potential linebacker prospect, but the latest word we have is that NC State has moved on elsewhere. The news that South Carolina commit Derek Boykins from Concord (N.C.) Central Cabarrus High may take an unofficial visit to NC State this weekend is news to us, but we do know the Pack liked Boykins quite a bit before his Gamecocks pledge.
Otherwise, we were under the impression that NC State may wait to see who does not sign in December, like redshirting freshman corner Taiyon Palmer last year, or what happens at schools like Maryland and Louisville (possibly UNC) where there has been growing turmoil this offseason.
And for anyone wondering about five-star Quavaris Crouch from Charlotte Harding, he is likely headed to Clemson at this point. Crouch will supposedly visit Michigan this weekend, but as we have noted for weeks, signs heavily (emphasize word heavily) trend towards the Tigers. Crouch was at FSU last weekend to watch the Clemson pound the Noles a week after seeing CU do the same thing to NC State, and he will be back at Clemson later this month for an official visit.
We have noted consistently that NC State was a long shot although some in Raleigh hoped that the family could convince Crouch to look harder at NC State, especially if the Pack were to win nine or so games this fall.
In addition to filling out the 2019 recruiting class, the obvious focus is moving towards 2020, and it is clear that the Pack is being more aggressive with its quarterback recruiting this cycle. It has already hosted four-star Harrison Bailey from Marietta (Ga.) High for an unofficial visit earlier this fall.
This weekend will bring three more offered quarterbacks for visits: Nolan McLean from Garner (N.C.) High, Blaine McAllister from Atlanta Lovett High and four-star Tyler Van Dyke from Suffield (Conn.) Academy. NC State is the lone major offer at the moment for both McLean and McAllister, who both camped in Raleigh over the summer, but Van Dyke is a prized prospect that is rated the No. 10 pro-style quarterback nationally in the 2020 class. (For those who do not remember, McLean is also considered a top baseball prospect who may be a MLB prospect.)
Boston College, Kentucky, Michigan, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin have also offered Van Dyke, and he told Wisconsin Rivals this week that the Badgers is in his top three.
It would not be surprising to see Ben Finley from Phoenix’s Paradise Valley High emerge with an offer this weekend if he does not have one already. Finley has been offered by Arizona, Arizona State and Iowa State, with the home state schools extending ones this fall. For those who do not know, Finley is the younger brother of NC State sixth-year senior quarterback Ryan Finley.
• Quarterback, with the attention being focused on Payton Thorne, a three-star commitment for Western Michigan from Naperville (Ill.) Central High. Thorne (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) was offered by NC State in October. The Pack wants a fourth scholarship quarterback on the roster and it’s easy to understand why.
With the seemingly growing trend of players transferring before or during the season, NC State cannot feel certain that all three of its scheduled scholarship quarterbacks for next year — redshirt freshman Matt McKay, redshirting freshman Devin Leary and incoming Florida State transfer Bailey Hockman — will be around for the full season in 2019, and the prospects of being down to two scholarship quarterbacks, neither of whom have played meaningful snaps, is a scary proposition.
• NC State is also seeking a defensive back. We have previously said a safety, but there is some versatility in the commitments of three-stars Jalen Frazier from Cornelius (N.C.) Hough High and Jakeen Harris from Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School. Frazier is currently slotted at corner but could also be a nickel. Harris is currently recruited as a nickel but could also be a safety.
The three names at the moment for defensive backs are Jamel Starks from Decatur (Ga.) Southwest Dekalb High, Zay Flowers from Ft. Lauderdale (Fla.) University School and Jamal Hill from Morrow (Ga.) High.
Starks, most likely a safety in college, has officially visited Nebraska and is expected to officially visit NC State in December. West Virginia was also believed to be in the mix for Starks. Flowers visited NC State over the summer and would probably be a corner recruit for the Pack. Flowers has made an official visit to Kansas State and is scheduled to see Nebraska later this month.
Hill is a safety prospect who had a big summer with reported offers from Alabama and Michigan among others, but his recruitment has played out quietly. If memory recalls correctly, we believe NC State (and many others) saw Hill at a satellite camp and offered.
• Linebacker remains a priority. NC State looked at Clemson safety commit Landen Zanders from Shelby (N.C.) Crest High as a potential linebacker prospect, but the latest word we have is that NC State has moved on elsewhere. The news that South Carolina commit Derek Boykins from Concord (N.C.) Central Cabarrus High may take an unofficial visit to NC State this weekend is news to us, but we do know the Pack liked Boykins quite a bit before his Gamecocks pledge.
Otherwise, we were under the impression that NC State may wait to see who does not sign in December, like redshirting freshman corner Taiyon Palmer last year, or what happens at schools like Maryland and Louisville (possibly UNC) where there has been growing turmoil this offseason.
And for anyone wondering about five-star Quavaris Crouch from Charlotte Harding, he is likely headed to Clemson at this point. Crouch will supposedly visit Michigan this weekend, but as we have noted for weeks, signs heavily (emphasize word heavily) trend towards the Tigers. Crouch was at FSU last weekend to watch the Clemson pound the Noles a week after seeing CU do the same thing to NC State, and he will be back at Clemson later this month for an official visit.
We have noted consistently that NC State was a long shot although some in Raleigh hoped that the family could convince Crouch to look harder at NC State, especially if the Pack were to win nine or so games this fall.
•••
In addition to filling out the 2019 recruiting class, the obvious focus is moving towards 2020, and it is clear that the Pack is being more aggressive with its quarterback recruiting this cycle. It has already hosted four-star Harrison Bailey from Marietta (Ga.) High for an unofficial visit earlier this fall.
This weekend will bring three more offered quarterbacks for visits: Nolan McLean from Garner (N.C.) High, Blaine McAllister from Atlanta Lovett High and four-star Tyler Van Dyke from Suffield (Conn.) Academy. NC State is the lone major offer at the moment for both McLean and McAllister, who both camped in Raleigh over the summer, but Van Dyke is a prized prospect that is rated the No. 10 pro-style quarterback nationally in the 2020 class. (For those who do not remember, McLean is also considered a top baseball prospect who may be a MLB prospect.)
Boston College, Kentucky, Michigan, Rutgers, Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Wisconsin have also offered Van Dyke, and he told Wisconsin Rivals this week that the Badgers is in his top three.
It would not be surprising to see Ben Finley from Phoenix’s Paradise Valley High emerge with an offer this weekend if he does not have one already. Finley has been offered by Arizona, Arizona State and Iowa State, with the home state schools extending ones this fall. For those who do not know, Finley is the younger brother of NC State sixth-year senior quarterback Ryan Finley.
