The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY 2018 ■ 25 TRACKING THE PACK LINEBACKER JAYLON SCOTT Shelby (N.C.) High As a sophomore, the now 6-1, 230-pound Scott had nine tackles, a sack and an interception that he returned 44 yards in the 2-AA state title game, which was played at Carter- Finley Stadium in Raleigh. He became a Wolfpack target at that moment. He committed to NC State in June over offers from Clemson, Colorado, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse and West Virginia. He had 85 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and an interception as a junior. Rivals. com ranks Scott as a three-star recruit, the No. 31 player in the state and the No. 42 outside linebacker in the country. "He is an explosive player," Shelby coach Lance Ware said. "He is extremely athletic, so much so we played him outside the box in pass coverage." LONG SNAPPER JOE SHIMKO Wall (N.J.) High The Pack is in a need for a long snapper with senior Tyler Griffiths, who has handled the duties for the past four years, set to graduate. The 6-0, 210-pound Shimko landed an offer at NC State's specialist camp June 8 and accepted later in the month. Rubio Long Snapping ranks Shimko as the No. 4 long snapper in the 2019 class. He also plays linebacker for the football team and is a three-sport athlete. In track he has been timed as fast as 7.18 seconds in the 55-meter indoor track sprint, and he plays outfield in baseball. LINEBACKER DRAKE THOMAS Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High Thomas was one of the more heavily recruited players in the state with offers from Alabama, Clemson, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others. He chose NC State over Clemson. As a junior, the 6-1, 235-pounder racked up 112 tackles, three inter - ceptions (one pick-six), three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He will be the third product of Heritage High to sign with NC State after running back Ricky Person Jr. and defensive end Joseph Boletepeli both enrolled early in the spring of 2018. Thomas' older brother Thayer Thomas is a redshirt freshman receiver at NC State. Rivals.com ranks Thomas as the No. 21 player in the state and the No. 22 inside linebacker in the country. TIGHT END KAM WALKER Canton (N.C.) Pisgah High Walker arrived at NC State's summer camp June 16 with mid-major offers from the likes of East Carolina, Georgia State and Temple, but after a strong workout NC State could not resist join- ing the list. Equally eager, Walker ac- cepted the offer immediately. "We got down for a junior day in February," Walker said. "My family and I really liked it. I thought NC State was a great fit for me. This is the offer I had been waiting on. "Instead of four and a half hours away, it makes me feel like I am at home." The 6-5, 235-pounder caught 40 passes for 371 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior. Rivals.com rates him as a two-star prospect. What was the 50th reunion like for the 1967 NC State football team? "It's going to take a little while here to tell you the whole story about that. I was still coaching [at Akron], and the MAC Conference in November has games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. It's the worst thing in the world. It was good because we were going to play on a Tues- day. I said, 'I have to make it down there.' I found somebody that was willing to pick me up in Akron on a private plane and flew me down here. "I called my friend 'Big Joe' who was the security guy for me. I said, 'I need a favor, NC State is playing Clemson and it is the 50th reunion of the 1967 team. I don't have a parking pass, and I don't have this and I don't have that. Can you get some- body to come pick me up and bring me in?' He said to just let him know what time I needed to be picked up. "Up in Akron, the flight was delayed because of storms that were going on in Cleveland. I called him and he said, 'When you land, just call me.' I said, 'Probably at 1:10, can you come and get me?' He did and I saw this white SUV going up and down. "I came out and was like, 'Yo, yo, yo.' He backed in and these twin babies that my daughter has are out there hearing all this noise. About five minutes later, two motorcycles arrive and make a lot of noise, these suckers. They were big. "Finally, we are on our way down with these two motorcycles, who were in front of the SUV that my wife and I were in. I was supposed to call Bobby Purcell [of the Wolfpack Club], who was going to give us tickets to get in. "We go down Ebenezer Church Road [in Raleigh], and we turn right and we turn right and get on to I-40. They put their si- rens on and the motorcycles cops were go- ing in one direction. He was going against the traffic pulling them off the road. The guy on the other side had it easier to pull them off the road. "I can just imagine what these people were saying, 'Who is this? Who is this? Is President [Donald] Trump coming? Who is coming here that we are doing all of this. "I'm now talking to Bobby's assistants and he asked, 'Where are you?' I said, 'We had just turned in and do you hear any noise?' He said, 'No.' We get a little bit further up the road and I go, 'Does it sound like a siren?' He goes, 'Yeah.' I said, 'That is me. When that sirens stops, you come and find us.' "We pulled up at that big scoreboard and that was the beginning of a lot of fun." Did you even get the chance to watch the Clemson at NC State game? "I watched the first series when they went down there and jumped up, but then people were yelling at me, and this and that. Then I had to find my wife and I couldn't find her. "We needed to put on the loud speaker, 'Mrs. Amato, can you please report to section 14, your husband is looking for you.'" How good was the 1967 team? "Back then, only the AP [Associated Press] would rate the teams. We played Carolina in the first game, and that is when they first saw the white shoes, our coaches. They weren't going to take them off of us either. "We beat Houston, who was second in the country. Warren McVea was their star running back. We got to the hotel and it said, 'Welcome to Warren McVea's vic- tory party.' I said, 'Yo, you see that. We are going to it.'" On missing by a year combining the great offense of the 2003 team led by quarterback Philip Rivers with the na- tion's No. 1-ranked defense in 2004? "When I got here, they had two or three quarterbacks that were freshmen. One of them played and the other two redshirted or something. The first day, Philip was third string, and there were two quarterbacks. He was third string, then second string and then first string. "Then those two guys left and didn't stick around. If we could have redshirted Philip, that match would have been there [in 2004]. It would have been the great offense with the great defense." The Wolfpacker staff has enjoyed getting to know various guests on their pod- cast nearly every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. inside of Amedeo's Italian Restaurant in Raleigh. The podcast is always available to listen to on TheWolfpacker.com, iTunes and most everywhere else podcasts can be downloaded. Here are some excerpts from when Chuck Amato was a guest June 26. The for - mer NC State football player and wrestler and later head coach reminisced about the reunion of the 1967 NCSU football team Nov. 4. The now retired football coach shared several stories. PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS