O'Brien grounded in his recruiting approach at NCSU

Tom O'Brien has as much regard for the star ratings used by college football recruiting analysts as he does for the Army fight song.

The N.C. State coach, and former defensive end at Navy, is more concerned with how good the players are in college, rather than the opinion of a recruiting service before they get there.

"I want them to be five-star players by the time they leave us," O'Brien said before the Wolfpack's Belk Bowl win against Louisville in December.

When he watches the Super Bowl on Sunday, there will be six players he recruited or coached at Boston College now associated with the New England Patriots and New York Giants. Will Blackmon, Chris Snee, Mathias Kiwanuka and Mark Herzlich are Giants. Ron Brace and Dan Koppen are Patriots.

O'Brien and his staff have their own approach to recruiting, which is dependent on identifying talent and developing players. That approach contrasted to that of former North Carolina coach Butch Davis, who was one of the top recruiters in the country when he was fired before the 2011 season, and who lived for the signing day circus.

Among the first five years of recruiting by O'Brien and Davis, who both started at their respective schools after the 2006 season, N.C. State has had only one class that was rated higher than UNC's by Rivals.com. However, O'Brien owns a 5-0 record against the Tar Heels during his tenure in Raleigh.

This year, N.C. State's class is ranked seventh in the ACC by Rivals, one spot ahead of UNC, but nationally it falls in line with the other classes O'Brien has signed for the Wolfpack.

Rivals ranks this Wolfpack class, without a five- or four-star prospect, as the 50th-best in the country, seventh-best in the ACC.

"It's a typical, middle-of-the-road class," said Mike Farrell, the national recruiting analyst for Rivals. "It's a Tom O'Brien-type of class, with a lot of players with high character who were overlooked by other schools and they're hoping will be overachievers."

Troubles at home

The Wolfpack has four commitments from the top-30 players in the state of North Carolina, but none from the top 20.

Defensive tackle K'Hadree Hooker, the 22nd-rated recruit in the state from South Lenoir, and offensive lineman Bryce Kennedy, No. 23 from Southern Pines Pinecrest, are expected to be the Wolfpack's two highest-rated, in-state recruits.

After UNC replaced interim coach Everett Withers with Larry Fedora, and replaced the coaches on the recruiting trail, N.C. State got Kennedy, who enrolled in January, and Sanderson's Desmond Owino to switch their commitments from UNC. But the Wolfpack lost Greensboro Page quarterback James Summers, the only in-state top-10 recruit to stay home, to UNC.

None of O'Brien's first five classes were rated higher than 31st nationally. The 2009 and 2011 classes weren't rated nationally by Rivals, which ranks only 50 teams.

But O'Brien has led the Wolfpack to consecutive bowl wins in 2010 and '11 - Florida State is the only other ACC team that can make the same claim - and three bowls in the past four years.

The fastest way for the Wolfpack to take the next step from eight- and nine-win seasons, Farrell said, is to keep the best players in-state. SEC programs ended up with the top five players from North Carolina and eight of the top 20.

"The state of North Carolina is getting raided by everybody else," Farrell said. "To take it to the next level, the teams in state have to recruit the state better."

Sticking to a plan

O'Brien has landed highly rated recruits. Quarterback Mike Glennon, linebacker Terrell Manning and tackle R.J. Mattes were rated as four-star prospects in 2008. The 2010 class included cornerback David Amerson and running back Mustafa Greene, both four-star prospects, and Rob Crisp, a five-star recruit.

But, O'Brien has built the program with under-the-radar recruits. Recent team leaders like quarterback Russell Wilson, defensive tackle J.R. Sweezy and linebacker Audie Cole, were given two-star ratings out of high school.

To O'Brien's point about ratings and rankings, UNC's class of 2009 was rated the ninth-best in the country, while N.C. State's wasn't ranked nationally.

N.C. State's 27-man class, which included one four-star player, netted 10 starters and 10 players who will be on the depth chart for the 2012 season.

North Carolina's 29-man class featured a five-star recruit and 13 four-star prospects, which netted nine starters and six more players who will be on the 2012 depth chart.

Seven players from UNC's class of 2009 never enrolled, however, either for academic, legal or other reasons. Two were kicked off the team after enrolling, four transferred and defensive end Donte Paige-Moss, the five-star recruit, recently announced plans to enter the NFL draft with one season of eligibility remaining.

N.C. State's attrition was considerably less. One player didn't enroll, three were kicked off the team and two transferred. Each school had a player end his career with a medical hardship.

Three years later, which class would you rather have? O'Brien's answer has never changed.