The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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84 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING three-star Sean Martin, Davis' teammate at Bluefield (W.Va.) High, but he announced his verbal commitment to home-state West Virginia Dec. 1. It is likely that NC State will have to find some new names, perhaps from the schools that had coaching changes. In the secondary, NC State has been pursuing Joshua Pierre-Louis, a three-star product of The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., since the summer. At NC State's summer camp, the 5-9, 165-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.47 seconds and the shuttle in 4.06 seconds. He also had a 9-foot-9 standing broad jump. As a junior, Pierre-Louis finished third in the 200-meter dash at the state champion- ships and was named the Palm Beach Class 2A-1A boys track and field athlete of the year by The Sun Sentinel. Through 11 games in his senior season, Pierre-Louis had 41 tackles, two intercep- tions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. He had also caught 19 passes for 264 yards and a score. This fall, Louisville and Central Florida joined NC State on his offer list. Identify A Quarterback For The 2021 Class Head coach Dave Doeren would like to sign a signal-caller in each class, and NC State appeared to finish runner-up to Auburn last summer for four-star Aaron McLaughlin from Alpharetta (Ga.) Denmark High, but the 6-5, 205-pounder made an unofficial visit to NC State this fall, suggesting perhaps his recruitment was not over. Rivals.com ranks McLaughlin as the No. 14 pro-style quarterback and No. 209 overall player nationally in the 2021 class. In 10 games as a junior, McLaughlin com- pleted 134 of 220 passes (60.9 percent) for 2,018 yards with 17 touchdowns and seven picks. Four-star Jake Rubley from Highlands Ranch (Colo.) High also made an unofficial visit to NC State in the fall. Like McLaughlin, he also camped at NC State over the summer. Rivals.com ranks the 6-3, 195-pound Rubley as the No. 11 pro-style signal-caller and the No. 137 overall player in the junior class. Rubley additionally made unofficial visits to Kansas State and LSU in the fall. In 12 games as a junior, Rubley completed 136 of 224 passes (60.7 percent) for 1,767 yards with 18 scores and eight picks. An intriguing in-state option is athletic Caleb Hood from Rockingham (N.C.) Richmond County High. Hood (5-11, 195 pounds) had led the Raiders to the 4-AA state semifinals after completing 117 of 193 passes (60.6 percent) for 2,088 yards with 21 touchdowns and five picks in 13 games. He had also rushed 90 times for 935 yards and 15 scores for then-undefeated Richmond County. Hood, whose father played football at UNC, has also been offered by Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest. Prioritize Junior Running Back Will Shipley Shipley represents a unique opportunity for NC State. He's a four-star talent that is rated as the No. 53 junior in the country and the top all-purpose back nationally by Rivals. com. The in-state product from Weddington High in Matthews comes from a family with a deep and long family heritage at NC State that includes both of his parents graduating from the school. The 5-11, 200-pound Shipley has drawn comparisons to Carolina Panthers star and NFL MVP candidate Christian McCaffrey, and is a potential difference maker for the Wolfpack offense, but landing him will not be easy. Shipley made a pair of unofficial visits to Clemson during the season, and he also is known to be high on Notre Dame, where he also visited during the fall. Plan Some Junior Days Shipley is just the headliner of one of the deeper in-state classes in years, and the Wolf- pack will probably be able to be more aggres- sive recruiting because it should have more scholarships available to use. So far, NC State has unofficially offered 31 juniors across the state. That's already more than the 27 seniors who at one point or another were reporting a Wolfpack offer. Shipley is the headliner of the Pack's in- state prospects, but he's far from the only potential prize. Getting full attendances for junior days that usually take place from Janu- ary through March will be a priority for the Wolfpack assistant coaches when they hit the road following the dead period, a no in- person contact with recruits period that ends Jan. 16. ■ For regular reports on NC State football recruiting plus videos of Wolfpack commitments and targets visit TheWolfpacker.com. Rivals rates Matthews (N.C.) Weddington product Will Shipley as a four-star talent, the No. 2 prospect in North Carolina, the nation's No. 1 all-purpose back and No. 53 overall player. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN