Can NC State win its football recruiting battle with South Carolina?

There’s a lot of South Carolina vs. N.C. State activity this recruiting season.

On Sunday, Fort Dorchester quarterback Dakereon Joyner announced he had picked the Gamecocks over the Wolfpack. This week, maybe Tuesday or Wednesday, defensive end Dantrell Barkley of Kannapolis and Independence Community College in Kansas plans to make his commitment announcement. He visited USC earlier this month and is scheduled to visit N.C. State this Saturday.

Defensive end Jabari Ellis, a Lake Marion product, also visited USC earlier this month, and he was at N.C. State on Saturday. He said his decision is down to those two and he will announce on July 4 in Orangeburg. He’s had the Gamecocks as his favorite but after his visit to State, Ellis now has the Gamecocks and Wolfpack in a dead heat.

“Overall, it was a great visit,” Ellis said of his time in Raleigh. “The thing that really stood out the most I’d say is as soon as I got on campus they took me straight to the academic center. That was pretty neat. The second thing was probably the strength coach. He really stood out to me.”

State’s defensive line depth chart for 2018 also stood out to Ellis. He sees plenty of opportunities for early playing time.

“They’ve got four guys for sure that’s not going to be there when I graduate. That’s big,” he said. “They’re known. Their defensive line is getting looks across the country. That’s big.”

Ellis said he’s in the process of evaluating both schools at this point and he has been in touch with USC. Head coach Will Muschamp, he said, sends him a text every day and he’s talked with defensive line coach Lance Thompson. Ellis said he’s visited USC three times since being offered in February and doesn’t feel the need for another visit before making his decision.

This story was originally published June 19, 2017 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Can NC State win its football recruiting battle with South Carolina?."