Obviously there will be a lot of focus on the quarterback position next week. Full disclosure: we have no idea how it’s going to shape out.
Our original hunch was that perhaps redshirt sophomore Bailey Hockman would get a full crack at being the starter, but over the past few days our vibe on that has changed and we sense that it may be something of a fall camp mode during the bye week to re-evaluate all three quarterbacks, but this time redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay does not have a built-in lead like the one he emerged with during the spring. Hockman and redshirt freshman Devin Leary, from what we gather, could be getting increased opportunities in practices because McKay has already had five games.
Head coach Dave Doeren has a media availability on Monday, so that would be the earliest we receive word, but part of us wonders if keeping Syracuse guessing for next Thursday night might also be in the plans.
Something to watch going forward in recruiting, there have been rumblings this week that UNC has offered Pack three-star receiver commit Stephen Gosnell from East Surry High in Pilot Mountain, N.C. It would not surprise us if those rumors are true, but we have not confirmed it yet. We reached out to Gosnell on Friday, and we’ll share what we can if/when Gosnell replies.
We would not dismiss the development if true. Gosnell and his family were lifelong UNC fans prior to his summer commitment to NC State, and his long-time best friend is Chapel Hill commit Jefferson Boaz. We happened to be interviewing Boaz the day Gosnell committed and the tightness of their friendship was obvious from the tone and words of Boaz.
Gosnell is also not the type to dismiss the loyalty and relationships he formed with NC State, either.
In other news, one of the obvious targets to watch in the 2021 class is four-star running back Will Shipley from Weddington High in Matthews, N.C. Let’s be clear that there is no such thing as a “must-get” in football recruiting, so drop that from consideration. However, there are guys that can be difference makers for a program, and Shipley has that potential for NC State given his talent and his family relationships to the university.
NC State is likely to have a seat at the table with Shipley.
A source who talked to Shipley recently got the impression that Shipley has become more business-like in his approach to the decision, which was somewhat confirmed in a quote he had in our story when he talked about staying close to home and playing at NC State in front of his family:
"I think at the beginning of my recruitment it was a little bit more appealing. They've showed me a lot of attention and I have great connections to NC State, but as it's gotten down the road and more and more schools have started to recruit me, I've decided that I'm going to do what's best for me, regardless if it's in North Carolina or California.”
There is also this quote in a recent ticker story from the Virginia Rivals site that further validates what we heard:
“I grew up loving NC State, that’s where both my parents graduated from. That’s just the school I always saw myself at. I still love NC State and it’s great and all but it’s more of a business decision now rather than what I wanted. It plays a part, right? You have to combine the two when you make this decision, between what’s best for you and what you want. What’s going to be the best place for you and your family for your future? I wouldn’t say that anyone is sticking out. We’re way too far out from that right now. There’s eight to 10 schools that are all really close.”
Thus in the Shipley recruitment at this point we would say the Pack is in the mix, but it’s going to be a battle to stay with the top schools. It’s somewhat telling to us that he has visited Clemson for a home game and then the one game he visited UNC for was it’s game against Clemson. He was also originally planning to visit NCSU for the game against, you guessed it, Clemson.
Those plans have changed and obviously Shipley came for the Ball State game and will probably head elsewhere when NCSU hosts the Tigers.
Our original hunch was that perhaps redshirt sophomore Bailey Hockman would get a full crack at being the starter, but over the past few days our vibe on that has changed and we sense that it may be something of a fall camp mode during the bye week to re-evaluate all three quarterbacks, but this time redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay does not have a built-in lead like the one he emerged with during the spring. Hockman and redshirt freshman Devin Leary, from what we gather, could be getting increased opportunities in practices because McKay has already had five games.
Head coach Dave Doeren has a media availability on Monday, so that would be the earliest we receive word, but part of us wonders if keeping Syracuse guessing for next Thursday night might also be in the plans.
•••
Something to watch going forward in recruiting, there have been rumblings this week that UNC has offered Pack three-star receiver commit Stephen Gosnell from East Surry High in Pilot Mountain, N.C. It would not surprise us if those rumors are true, but we have not confirmed it yet. We reached out to Gosnell on Friday, and we’ll share what we can if/when Gosnell replies.
We would not dismiss the development if true. Gosnell and his family were lifelong UNC fans prior to his summer commitment to NC State, and his long-time best friend is Chapel Hill commit Jefferson Boaz. We happened to be interviewing Boaz the day Gosnell committed and the tightness of their friendship was obvious from the tone and words of Boaz.
Gosnell is also not the type to dismiss the loyalty and relationships he formed with NC State, either.
•••
In other news, one of the obvious targets to watch in the 2021 class is four-star running back Will Shipley from Weddington High in Matthews, N.C. Let’s be clear that there is no such thing as a “must-get” in football recruiting, so drop that from consideration. However, there are guys that can be difference makers for a program, and Shipley has that potential for NC State given his talent and his family relationships to the university.
NC State is likely to have a seat at the table with Shipley.
A source who talked to Shipley recently got the impression that Shipley has become more business-like in his approach to the decision, which was somewhat confirmed in a quote he had in our story when he talked about staying close to home and playing at NC State in front of his family:
"I think at the beginning of my recruitment it was a little bit more appealing. They've showed me a lot of attention and I have great connections to NC State, but as it's gotten down the road and more and more schools have started to recruit me, I've decided that I'm going to do what's best for me, regardless if it's in North Carolina or California.”
There is also this quote in a recent ticker story from the Virginia Rivals site that further validates what we heard:
“I grew up loving NC State, that’s where both my parents graduated from. That’s just the school I always saw myself at. I still love NC State and it’s great and all but it’s more of a business decision now rather than what I wanted. It plays a part, right? You have to combine the two when you make this decision, between what’s best for you and what you want. What’s going to be the best place for you and your family for your future? I wouldn’t say that anyone is sticking out. We’re way too far out from that right now. There’s eight to 10 schools that are all really close.”
Thus in the Shipley recruitment at this point we would say the Pack is in the mix, but it’s going to be a battle to stay with the top schools. It’s somewhat telling to us that he has visited Clemson for a home game and then the one game he visited UNC for was it’s game against Clemson. He was also originally planning to visit NCSU for the game against, you guessed it, Clemson.
Those plans have changed and obviously Shipley came for the Ball State game and will probably head elsewhere when NCSU hosts the Tigers.
