The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1153250
38 ■ THE WOLFPACKER W ith seven recruiting classes un- der their collective belts, NC State head coach Dave Doeren and his staff have clearly es- tablished their recruiting dominance within North Carolina's borders. The Wolfpack coaches have signed 79 in-state players since arriving before the 2013 season, which is practically a dozen per year from Old North State high schools. That's a level of local recruiting that goes back to the first half-century of foot- ball, when there was hardly any kind of budget to cross the state line (there were coaches of non-revenue sports at NC State who couldn't recruit outside the state into the 1980s). Doeren has been particularly effective signing players from the state's two largest school districts, Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Wake County, most successfully at Charlotte's Mallard Creek High School, which opened in 2007 and won three con- secutive state football championships from 2013-15. Former running back/tight end Jaylen Samuels, former tight end Thaddeus Moss, former cornerback/wide receiver Vernon Grier and current center Grant Gib- son all played high school football there. He has also signed three each from Char- lotte Christian and Wake Forest's Heritage High School. Through the years, NC State football has benefitted greatly from schools in the state, especially from the football powers in Greensboro, High Point and Fayetteville. Five of State's 11 retired jerseys are from North Carolina native players: quarterback Roman Gabriel, Wilmington's New Hanover High School; defensive lineman Dennis Byrd, Lincolnton High School; running back Ted Brown, High Point Central High School; wide receiver Torry Holt, Gibsonville's East- ern Guilford High School; and defensive end Mario Williams, Richlands High School. All were All-Americans. Other in-state products who earned first- or second-team All-America honors include defensive tackle John Ripple of Statesville; wide receiver Don Montgomery of Albe- marle; defensive back Freddie Combs of Hertford; kicker Gerald Warren of Elizabeth City; defensive lineman Ron Carpenter of High Point; center Carey Metts of Greens- boro; punter/quarterback Johnny Evans of High Point; linebacker Vaughan Johnson of Morehead City; safety Jesse Campbell of Of the 11 retired NC State football jerseys, five are from in-state products, including legendary defensive end Mario Williams. PHOTO BY MIKE PITTMAN HOME GROWN In-State Talent Has Benefitted Wolfpack Football