N.C. State's lost class

Only seven players from N.C. State's 2006 recruiting class are active for Saturday's game against Maryland

RALEIGH -- When DeAndre Morgan signed with N.C. State in February 2006, he thought his class was going to play a leading role in a bright football future for the Wolfpack. One of 20 signees in what would be coach Chuck Amato's final recruiting class, Morgan was amazed this week as he heard a long list of players from that class who are no longer with the team.

"I guess everything didn't work out as planned," he said.

Just seven of those players will be available to play in Saturday's game at Maryland, even though it's been just 2 1/2 years since the class was signed.

The low retention numbers haven't helped the Wolfpack as it limps into College Park, Md., with a 2-5 record and an 0-3 mark in the ACC.

All football programs expect some attrition from class to class, but the best teams have typically built with deep experience and highly skilled players. The lost class of 2006 has left N.C. State this season with a gap in the middle of its program.

N.C. State recruiting coordinator Jerry Petercuskie said having 13 of 20 players unavailable from one class is unusual.

Nine of the players from the class of 2006 either never enrolled or are no longer members of the team. A 10th, John Ware, is on academic suspension.

Two others, wide receiver Donald Bowens and safety Javon Walker, had promising 2007 seasons but will miss all of 2008 with injuries. Another, linebacker Nate Irving, is N.C. State's best defensive player but is out indefinitely with an ankle injury.

Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said programs that experience coaching changes sometimes experience attrition of the magnitude of N.C. State's 2006 class. He said it's natural for a new coach to diverge from the methods of the previous regime, frustrating some of the previous coach's recruits.

"Character and work ethic are the most important things to Tom O'Brien, having known him for years," Farrell said. "When he got there, he laid down the law."

The group from 2006 was hardly Amato's best class. It was ranked 43rd in the nation by Scout.com on signing day. But quarterback Justin Burke, wide receivers Bowens, Carlos Everett, Owen Spencer, Darrell Davis and Jarvis Williams, and tight ends Jonathan Hannah and Rashad Phillips seemed to have the ability to revive a passing game that had been grounded since record-setting quarterback Philip Rivers left after the 2003 season.

Spencer and Williams are N.C. State's starting wide receivers now. But there are just two other current starters -- cornerback Morgan and place-kicker Josh Czajkowski -- from that class.

Davis, defensive end Audi Augustin and offensive tackle Gary Gregory are reserves. Davis has two catches for 26 yards. Augustin and Gregory have played a combined 40 snaps this season.

What happened to those who aren't on the team right now?

* Everett, Hannah, Everett Lewis and Jordan Delegal never enrolled. N.C. State did not replace them.

* LaMarcus Bond, Nathan Franklin and Burke (who is now at Louisville) left the team with intentions to transfer.

* Cedric Hickman was charged with five counts of larceny and breaking into motor vehicles in December and was dismissed from the team. He has a Dec. 31 trial date, according to Wake County Court records.

* Phillips was injured in an automobile crash. He is enrolled but no longer with the team because of medical reasons.

"Certain circumstances you can't anticipate," Petercuskie said. "... There's nothing you can do about it, so you have to play the hand you're dealt."

The attrition also will hurt N.C. State's academic numbers, and that's a big concern for O'Brien. His former program, Boston College, ranks third among Bowl Championship Series teams with a 92 percent graduation success rate, according to the NCAA.

O'Brien's slogan for the program -- "Champions in the classroom, in the community and on the football field" -- emphasizes academics first.

The injured players still can graduate and those who never enrolled won't hurt N.C. State's graduation rate.

But this class is set to fall short of the 90 percent-plus numbers Boston College is used to posting. And if the numbers get too low, programs can be in danger of losing scholarships under new NCAA penalties.

"Everybody's fighting to keep the [rate] in the acceptable range," O'Brien said.

Aside from that, N.C. State's coaches are reluctant to talk about the lost class. Anything they say would sound like an excuse and detract from their efforts to win with their current roster, they said.

Morgan, who has 31 tackles and an interception this year, said he hopes the players who remain will prove the Class of 2006 was successful.

"We've got to go with what we have," Morgan said. "Because we're all we've got."