The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1087622
54 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 2019 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Honors/accomplishments: Played in the All- American Bowl at San Antonio in January … Also played linebacker for his team. Recruitment: NC State originally landed a verbal commitment from Drew Little as a long snapper, but he switched his pledge to UNC over the summer … Shimko was offered after a strong camp performance in June … Committed to NC State June 19 and will blueshirt, which means he will enroll as a walk-on on the first day of preseason camp and immediately be put on scholarship. Recruiter of record: Former tight ends/fullbacks coach and special teams coordinator Eddie Faulkner 2019 PROJECTION Shimko is expected to immediately take over as NC State's long snapper after the graduation of four- year starter Tyler Griffiths. JOE SHIMKO LONG SNAPPER • 6-0, 210 Wall Township, N.J. • Wall High School Rankings Stars Nat. Pos. State ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ — 4 — ✪ ✪ — 5 72 ✪ ✪ — 7 46 " Quotable Shimko was outstanding at the Rubio Long Snapping Fall Camp in Georgia on Dec. 2, 2018. Truly one of the most dominant long snappers to go through Rubio Long Snapping in quite some time. He ended up winning the speed competi- tion with times well under 0.75. His snaps actu- ally pick up speed as they approach the punter and, as always, Shimko gets better the more tired he gets. It's amazing to watch. — Chris Rubio Measurables: At the Nike Camp in Charlotte, he checked in at 6-1, 237 pounds … Was laser-timed at 4.25 seconds in the shuttle … Also had a 29.9-inch ver- tical leap and 40.0-foot power ball throw. Stats: Finished as Heritage High School's all-time leading tackler with 393 (203 solo) … Posted 123 stops (52 solo), three sacks, three passes broken up, two in- terceptions (one pick-six), two fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two safeties in 12 games during his senior season … Also ran 50 times for 280 yards and seven touchdowns, and caught five passes for 35 yards and one score … As a junior, he totaled 112 tackles (51 solo), one sack, three interceptions, three forced fum- bles and one fumble recovery in 14 games … Also had 30 carries for 287 yards and three scores … During his sophomore season, made 113 tackles (77 solo), seven stops for loss, one sack and three fumble recoveries (returning two for touchdowns) in 14 games … Added 57 carries for 336 yards and one score on offense … Contributed 45 tackles (23 solo) and one tackle for loss in nine games as a freshman. Honors/accomplishments: Picked to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game, started and finished with five tackles … Named one of the top 10 players in the game by Rivals.com … Selected first-team All-State by the Associated Press and was a second- team pick by USA Today … Made the Butkus Award watch list for top high school linebacker … Ranked as the No. 22 recruit in North Carolina by The Fayetteville Observer … His older brother Thayer Thomas is a red - shirt sophomore wide receiver for NC State. Recruitment: Emerged on the national recruit- ing scene after his sophomore season … Eventually narrowed his choices down to offers from Alabama, Clemson, NC State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and West Virginia … Chose NC State over Clemson June 1 and enrolled early. Recruiter of record: Running backs coach and co- offensive coordinator Des Kitchings 2019 PROJECTION NC State has some promising young linebackers which could give them the luxury of redshirting Thomas, who probably saw first-hand the benefits of taking a year to develop from his brother. That said, he may be too good to keep off the field. DRAKE THOMAS LINEBACKER • 6-1, 225 Wake Forest, N.C. • Heritage High School Rankings Stars Nat. Pos. State ✪ ✪ ✪ — 22* 19 ✪ ✪ ✪ 520 25* 26 ✪ ✪ ✪ — 21* 38 * Ranked as an inside linebacker Scouting report: A physical tackler who wins most battles at contact … Shows good instincts and runs well downhill … Could even be an effective short-yardage running back on offense. " Quotable Thomas is a tackling machine and that should continue at NC State. He plays with his hair on fire, running from sideline to sideline and plugging running lanes that open up in front of him. The energy Thomas plays with is very clear to the naked eye and he helps his teammates take their game to the next level. Thomas has become known for his instinctual play. — Rivals.com Mid-Atlantic recruiting analyst Adam Friedman 3 Signees were members of the Rivals250, includ- ing USC linebacker transfer Levi Jones who was ranked the No. 79 prospect in the country in the 2017 class when he was a senior at Westlake High in Austin, Texas. Defensive tackles C.J. Clark (No. 186) from New London (N.C.) North Stanly High and JOSHUA HARRIS (No. 143) from Roxboro (N.C.) Person High were ranked in the 2019 class. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM