A year after cleaning up, NC State’s recruiting takes a dip
The recruiting tides turn quickly in the state of North Carolina.
Last year, it was N.C. State and Dave Doeren riding high on their in-state success. This year on Signing Day on Wednesday, it was North Carolina’s turn.
The Wolfpack, coming off of a 4-8 season, still feels good about the players it added in the class of 2020 but the rankings show a dropoff from last year’s high-water mark.
The class ranks No. 45 in the country, according to 247 Sports, and eighth-best in the ACC. Last year’s class was No. 31 and sixth-best in the ACC.
N.C. State has signed 17 players and eight will enroll in January. Receiver Joshua Crabtree from Heritage high school is also expected to join the program. There are still five scholarships still available, Doeren said on Wednesday.
Top prize
Six players from the Class of 2019 started at least one game for the Wolfpack this season. Some out of merit out of camp and some out of necessity because of injury.
Receiver Porter Rooks out of Charlotte has a chance to fall into the former category. The Wolfpack needs help at receiver and Rooks (6-1, 190 pounds), the only four-star prospect in the class, will have a shot to make an immediate impact.
He caught 54 passes for 905 yards with 13 touchdowns for Myers Park this past season. There isn’t much that Doeren didn’t like about Rooks’ game.
“He’s consistent,” Doeren said. “He’s a good route-runner, a good ball-catcher. He’s got good speed. He’s competitive. He understands the game. I think he’s a really hungry kid and wants to prove himself and elevate our program.”
Need
Quarterback Ben Finley has a familiar name. His older brother, Ryan, started three years for the Wolfpack and was All-ACC in 2018.
Ben Finley completed 62.1 percent (123 of 198) of his passes for 2,119 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Paradise Valley High in Phoenix. He will enroll in January.
“From the outside looking in, there’s always going to be comparisons for him,” Doeren said. “He’s going to have to do it his own way.”
N.C. State went through three different options and struggled to replace the elder Finley in 2019. His younger brother will in the least be given a chance to compete for the job with Devin Leary, Ty Evans and whoever else Doeren brings in before the 2020 season.
After losing its top four cornerbacks to injury during the season, and then having two corners put their names in the transfer portal, N.C. State needs help in the secondary.
Cornerbacks Aydan White (Asheville) and Devan Boykin (Greensboro) are two of the top 25 players in the state. Safety Nehki Meredith (Virginia Beach, Va.) and cornerback Joshua Pierre-Louis (Riviera Beach, Fla.) also signed.
Building the fence
Every in-state coach promises to build a fence around the state when hired. Of course, national power Clemson has built a front door to that fence, so the fence doesn’t always keep the best players home.
The Tigers swept in and signed the top player (linebacker Trenton Simpson from Charlotte) and the fifth-ranked player (guard Mitchell Mayes from Raleigh) in the state. Texas A&M and Ohio State also plucked top-10 prospects from the state.
A year after getting 10 of the top 30, N.C. State has four (9. Rooks, 13. Davin Vann, 19. White, 22. Boykin) from that group and six total from the state.
Vann, a defensive tackle from Cary and ranked No. 13 in the state, is one of the most interesting homegrown prospects. He won a state championship in wrestling for the Imps and was second in the 4-A state track and field championships in the shot put.
It also helps that Vann grew up an N.C. State.
“It’s a lot like when we had Nyheim (Hines) in Garner,” Doeren said. “Sometimes you just have an elite player in your area that’s right down the street and he grew up watching your team play and he wants to be in your uniform.”
One that got away
Promising tackle Austin Blaske from Guyton, Ga. decommitted on Tuesday. He is expected to stay home and sign with Georgia.
Earlier in the recruiting process, the Wolfpack had two in-state commits flip to UNC (WR Stephen Gosnell and OL Jonathan Adorno). N.C. State also had receiver Nate McCollum, a two-sport standout, switch to Georgia Tech.
N.C. State Signees (17)
Devon Betty, LB (6-1, 215, Miramar, Fla.)
Devan Boykin, CB (5-11, 175, Greensboro)
Jalen Coit, WR (5-11, 160, Cheraw, S.C.)
Ben Finley, QB (6-2, 195, Phoenix)
Sean Hill, G (6-3, 300, Snellville, Ga.)
Ethan Lane, C (6-3, 275, Lawrenceville, Ga.)
Patrick Matan, T (6-4, 290, Chevy Chase, Md.)
Nehki Meredith, S (5-9, 175, Virginia Beach, Va.)
Jayland Parker, LB (6-2, 215, Macon, Ga.)
Joshua Pierre-Louis, CB (5-9, 165, Riviera Beach, Fla.)
Porter Rooks, WR (6-1, 190, Charlotte)
Anthony Smith, WR (6-1, 185, Huntingtown, Md.)
Chris Scott, WR (6-0, 160, Dacula, Ga.)
Ezemdi Udoh, TE (6-5, 240, Fayetteville)
Davin Vann, DT (6-2, 275, Cary)
Aydan White, CB (6-0, 170, Asheville)
Ian Williams, K (6-3, 180, Charlotte)
This story was originally published December 18, 2019 at 1:16 PM.
