The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1087622
MARCH 2019 ■ 17 TRACKING THE PACK NC State has landed its first two in-state commits in the 2020 class, headlined by the state's second- ranked player according to Rivals.com — four-star receiver Porter Rooks, a Charlotte native who trans- ferred from Providence Day School to Myers Park High in January so that he could graduate early and enroll in the spring. Rooks picked NC State Dec. 12 over a who's who offer list that included, among others, Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee. The 6-2, 180-pounder is rated as the No. 11 wide receiver and No. 52 overall player nationally. He caught 50 passes for 652 yards and 10 touch- downs in eight games last year, after hauling in 66 receptions for 810 yards and 11 scores as a sophomore. Rooks said that NC State separated itself when he came to the Alpha Wolf camp — NCSU's showcase recruiting event each summer — last July. "That was my second time on campus and I had a great time," Rooks said. "I took it all in and fell in love." Rooks became a regular visitor to NC State games and recruiting events after Alpha Wolf, leading up to his verbal commitment. "It was my home away from home," Rooks said. "I still have relationships with other coaches, but my recruitment is shut down. I am 100 percent committed to NC State." It also helped seeing NCSU wide receivers Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers become NFL Draft prospects this past fall. Harmon caught 81 passes for 1,186 yards and seven touchdowns, while Meyers had 92 receptions for 1,047 yards and four scores. The two juniors both entered the NFL Draft after becoming the first wide receiver duo from the same team to be named first-team All-ACC. "I was able to see the offense and kind of their philosophy on how they put up points and get the ball in players' hands that make something happen in it," Rooks said. "I'm definitely looking forward to getting in that system." Junior defensive tackle Jaylen Smith from Ahoskie (N.C.) Hertford County knew that he wanted to verbally com - mit to NC State when he arrived for a junior day Feb. 23. Smith arrived with his mother and two younger sisters, and excitedly told NCSU head coach Dave Doeren he had made his choice. The 6-4, 265-pounder picked the Wolfpack over an offer from Wake Forest. NC State was always his "dream school" growing up, and the chance to play for the Pack made a decision seem inevitable once he was offered Jan. 26. Smith had looked forward to telling Doeren, defensive line coach Kevin Patrick and his regional recruiter, corner- backs coach George Barlow, the news for days. "They were very excited and happy and glad that I was going to join Wolfpack nation," Smith said. Smith and his family elected to go to Dave & Buster's in Cary, N.C., once the unofficial visit was over, and celebrate the occasion. Smith knew his life was forever altered. "My Twitter followers went up," Smith said. "It was very exciting. I had always wanted to go to NC State since I was young. That has been my dream school." A knee injury affected Smith's junior year, but he returned to play seven games, accumulating 21 tackles, two stops for loss, one sack and one interception. Smith attended the Florida State at NC State game this past fall, and then a junior day recruiting event Jan. 26. It meant something to Smith that the Wolfpack coaches believed in him after he had been injured this past year. "That was very big and it showed me that somebody else could see that I'm good even after my injuries," Smith said. Smith doesn't plan to engage in the recruiting process anymore and is looking forward to having things go back to normal. "There is a lot of relief," Smith said. "There was a lot of joy with my family. I know that people will look at me differently now." The two join three-star quarterback Ben Finley from Phoenix Paradise Valley High in the Pack's 2020 class. — Matt Carter Indoor Track Teams Excel At ACC Championships The NC State men's and women's indoor track and field teams enjoyed their finest ACC Champion- ships in years. The men finished third — their best finish since 2011 — and the women were sixth — their highest showing since 2015. The champion- ship meet was held Feb. 21-23 in Blacksburg, Va. Three different athletes took home conference titles. That included fifth-year senior Lauren Evans, who won the Pack's first ACC title in the women's indoor shot put since 2013 with her throw of 53 feet and 11.7 inches — the third-longest mark in school history. On the men's side, senior Grant Rivers won the heptathlon with 5,177 points — a Wolfpack program record. Redshirt freshman Ian Shanklin added an ACC title in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 14:03.53. Shanklin was also third in the 3,000-meter race. Junior Elly Henes nearly added to the title haul, but was edged by 0.33 seconds at the line in the 3,000-meter race to finish second. Henes had won the race a year ago. In finishing third in the 200-meter dash, senior Gabriele Cunningham set a new school record at 23.67 seconds. Cunningham also finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with the third-fastest time all time at NC State (8.18 seconds) and sixth in the 60-meter sprint at 7.37 seconds, which was second fastest by a Wolfpacker in school history. One of the more promising debuts came from freshman jumper Jamar Davis, who took second place in both the triple jump (52 feet, 6.5 inches) and the long jump (24 feet, 11.25 inches). His triple jump was the third best in school history. — Matt Carter Wolfpack Football Adds A Pair Of Commits From Junior Class ■ Class Of 2020 Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Ben Finley QB 6-2 195 Phoenix (Paradise Valley) Porter Rooks WR 6-2 180 Charlotte (Myers Park) Jaylen Smith DT 6-4 265 Ahoskie, N.C. (Hertford County) Rivals.com rates Charlotte native Porter Rooks as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 prospect in North Carolina, and the No. 11 wide receiver and No. 52 overall player in the class of 2020. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM Redshirt freshman Ian Shanklin captured the league title in the 5,000-meter race with a time of 14:03.53 at the ACC Indoor Championships in late February. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS