The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER T he new early signing period begins Dec. 19, and NC State is counting on signing a banner class that was ranked No. 24 in the country as of Dec. 3. Here is an update on how the 21 commitments have done in their senior seasons: CORNERBACK SHYHEIM BATTLE Rocky Mount (N.C.) High Battle's season ended with a wrist injury sustained after eight games. He finished the year with 35 tackles (25 solo), two stops for loss, an interception, two passes broken up and a fumble recovery on defense. Battle was among nine Wolfpack players selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game Dec. 15 in Spartanburg, S.C. He is listed as a four-star talent, the No. 10 pros- pect in the state, and the No. 22 cornerback and No. 228 overall recruit in the country. DEFENSIVE TACKLE C.J. CLARK New London (N.C.) North Stanly High Clark played nine games before, like Bat- tle, his season was ended by an injury. He finished with 83 tackles (51 solo), six sacks, one forced fumble and three quarter- back hurries. He also was picked for the Shrine Bowl. Rivals.com rates Clark as a four-star recruit, the No. 7 player in North Carolina, and the No. 9 defensive tackle and No. 161 overall pros- pect nationally. UNC's recently hired head coach Mack Brown has made Clark one of his early priorities. DEFENSIVE END TERRELL DAWKINS Concord (N.C.) Cox Mill High Dawkins helped Cox Mill tie a school record with eight wins this season. He is rated as a three-star pros- pect and the No. 44 player in the state by Rivals.com. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN IKEM EKWONU Charlotte Providence Day Providence Day went 5-6 with Ekwonu playing both ways for his team. He was named first-team all-state for private schools. Rivals rates him as a three-star recruit, the No. 36 prospect in North Carolina and the No. 30 offensive guard nationally. CORNERBACK JALEN FRAZIER Cornelius (N.C.) Hough Frazier has been coming through in the state playoffs, intercepting a pass in both the first round against Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg and then in a second round upset of previously undefeated and the state's top-ranked team, Charlotte Mal- lard Creek. Those were his second and third interceptions in 13 games played this year. Hough's win over Mallard Creek ad- vanced it to the quarterfinals of the 4-AA state playoffs. Frazier is listed as a three-star prospect, the No. 33 player in the state and the No. 85 cornerback in the country by Rivals.com. RUNNING BACK JAMIOUS GRIFFIN Rome (Ga.) High Griffin has had a record-setting season for Rome. He rushed 262 times for 2,662 yards and 37 touchdowns through 13 games, all wins, advancing Rome to the semifinals of the Class AAAA state playoffs. In the process, Griffin has set a new county record for most rush- ing yards in a season. He is up to 6,247 career yards and 103 rushing touchdowns. He needs two more scores to tie Robert Toomer and Monte Williams for fourth most in Georgia state history. He is 17th in career rushing yards, passing the legendary Herschel Walker (6,137 yards). Griffin is also a good bet to become just the seventh player in state history to rush for at least 2,700 yards in a year. Rivals.com rates Griffin as a three-star recruit, the No. 68 prospect in Georgia and the No. 41 running back nationally. DEFENSIVE BACK JAKEEN HARRIS Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School Harris did a little bit of everything for Benedictine before it bowed out in the third round of the class AAA state playoffs, and that was reflected in his win- ning of the 2018 Finocchiaro Award, given to the best high school football player in the Savannah-Chatham County region. On offense, Harris caught 13 passes for 198 yards and two scores and ran 54 times for 447 yards and 14 scores in 12 games en- tering its third-round loss. Defensively, he had 71 stops (57 solo), four tackles for loss, three interceptions, seven passes broken up, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and a quarterback hurry. On special teams, he averaged 28.3 yards on four kickoff re- turns and 17.5 yards on eight punt returns. Rivals.com ranks Harris as a three-star recruit and the No. 115 player in Georgia. ■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Pack Commits Enjoy Strong Years ■ NC State's Class Of 2019 Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Shyheim Battle CB 6-2 170 Rocky Mount, N.C. (Rocky Mount) C.J. Clark DT 6-3 300 New London, N.C. (North Stanly) Terrell Dawkins DE 6-4 240 Concord, N.C. (Cox Mill) Ikem Ekwonu OL 6-4 290 Charlotte (Providence Day) Jalen Frazier DB 5-10 180 Cornelius, N.C. (Hough) Jamious Griffin RB 5-10 205 Rome, Ga. (Rome) Jakeen Harris DB 5-11 180 Savannah, Ga. (Benedictine Military School) Joshua Harris DT 6-3 320 Roxboro, N.C. (Person) Savion Jackson DE 6-3 260 Clayton, N.C. (Clayton) Zonovan Knight RB 5-11 175 Bailey, N.C. (Southern Nash) Keyon Lesane WR 6-0 185 Matthew, N.C. (Butler) Zovon Lindsay OL 6-4 270 Fayetteville, N.C. (Trinity Christian) Khalid Martin S 6-1 195 Kernersville, N.C. (East Forsyth) Timothy McKay OL 6-4 290 Raleigh (Wakefield) Dylan McMahon OL 6-3 270 Savannah, Ga. (Savannah Christian) Triston Miller OT 6-6 275 Charlotte (Country Day) Jaylon Scott LB 6-1 230 Shelby, N.C. (Shelby) Joe Shimko LS 6-0 210 Wall, N.J. (Wall) Drake Thomas LB 6-1 235 Wake Forest, N.C. (Heritage) Chris Toudle WR 6-3 215 Wilmington, N.C. (Hoggard) Kam Walker TE 6-5 235 Canton, N.C. (Pisgah)