The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1215393
A total of eight states were represented in NC State's 2020 class. North Carolina leads the way by producing eight signees, followed by four from Georgia, three in Florida, two from Maryland, and one apiece from Arizona, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. For head coach Dave Doeren, it is the first time he inked high school players from Texas and Arizona, although he has landed a major college transfer that was originally from each state (former quarter- back Ryan Finley was from Arizona and redshirt junior linebacker Vi Jones is from Texas). Since Doeren arrived at NC State in time to finish off the 2013 class, he has signed natives of 20 dif- ferent states. fensive backfield. Three-star Joshua Pierre- Louis from The Benjamin School in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., was named his county's track athlete of the year for the 2A-1A clas- sification by The Palm Beach Post last year after he was third in the finals of the 200-me- ter dash, and had bests of 11.08 seconds in the 100 and 22.27 seconds in the 200. Pierre-Louis, like Smith, had an excellent Nike Rating of 104.88 after running the 40- yard dash in 4.50 seconds. He clocked the same sprint in 4.47 seconds at NC State's summer camp. Cornerback Aydan White is a three-time state champ at Christ School near Ashe- ville, N.C., for independent schools in the 110-meter hurdles and last spring added a title in the high jump. Rivals.com rated White three stars, the No. 25 player in North Carolina and the No. 85 cornerback nationally. Three-star Devan Boykin from Greens- boro (N.C.) Ragsdale High was timed at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a Shrine Bowl combine. The early enrollee is rated the No. 31 player in North Carolina and was a participant in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game. Getting Stronger NC State added four offensive linemen in the 2020 class, with two of them already enrolled. Ethan Lane from Archer High in Lawrenceville, Ga., and Sean Hill from Brookwood High in Snellville, Ga., play in the same county and became friends during the recruiting process. 5 Wide receivers were a clear priority in this class, and five inked with the Pack. NC State added three-star receiver Joshua Crabtree from Heritage High in Wake Forest, N.C., in February to join the December haul that included four-star Porter Rooks from Myers Park High in Charlotte, three-stars Jalen Coit from Cheraw (S.C.) High and Chris Scott from Dacula (Ga.) High, and two-star Anthony Smith from Huntingtown (Md.) High. The last time NC State signed that many receiv- ers in one class was 2013 — Johnathan Alston, Bra'Lon Cherry, Pharoah McKever, Jumichael Ramos and Marquez Valdes-Scantling. Cherry and Ramos were the only two that played their entire career both at receiver and at NC State. McKever eventually moved to tight end and played his final season as a graduate transfer at FIU before getting an NFL tryout. Alston moved to corner after three seasons at wideout and also received a NFL camp invite. Valdes-Scantling transferred to South Florida after two years and currently plays for the Green Bay Packers. Nehki Meredith S 5-9 175 Virginia Beach, Va. (Bishop Sullivan) ✪ ✪ ✪ Rivals.com's No. 23 prospect in Virginia picked NC State over an offer from TCU. Jayland Parker LB 6-2 215 Macon, Ga. (Westside) ✪ ✪ ✪ The former Colorado commitment was listed as the No. 66 player in Georgia and the No. 43 outside linebacker nationally, after posting 55 tackles, seven stops for loss, a sack and a pick-six as a senior. Joshua Pierre-Louis DB 5-9 165 Riviera Beach, Fla. (The Benjamin School) ✪ ✪ ✪ As a senior, he had 41 tackles and two in- terceptions on defense, plus caught 19 passes for 264 yards and a score on offense. Was selected to The Palm Beach Post's Super 11 regional team. Porter Rooks WR 6-1 190 Charlotte, N.C. (Myers Park) ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Caught 54 passes for 905 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior, and was chosen to play in the World Bowl in Mexico City. Chris Scott WR 6-0 160 Dacula, Ga. (Dacula) ✪ ✪ ✪ Was selected all-state as a senior after catching 31 passes for 832 yards (26.8 yards per catch) and seven scores while helping his team to the Class AAAAAA state semifinals. Anthony Smith WR 6-1 185 Huntingtown, Md. (Huntingtown) ✪ ✪ In his first full season of playing receiver and second year of high school football, he caught 35 passes for 918 yards (26.2 yards per catch) and 14 touchdowns while helping his team to the 3A state semifinals. Ezemdi Udoh TE 6-5 240 Fayetteville, N.C. (Terry Sanford) ✪ ✪ The younger brother of Minnesota Vikings offensive lineman Oli Udoh and Wake Forest women's basketball guard Ona Udoh played in the Shrine Bowl after catching 25 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns as a senior. Davin Vann DL 6-2 275 Cary, N.C. (Cary) ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ The multi-sport standout racked up 100 tackles, 25 tackles for loss, 17 sacks, 48 quar- terback hurries, seven forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries as a senior, and played in the Shrine Bowl. Aydan White CB 6-2 170 Asheville, N.C. (Christ School) ✪ ✪ ✪ Posted 16 tackles and an interception, caught 27 passes for 536 yards and eight scores, and returned two kicks (one kickoff and one punt) for touchdowns as a senior while being named first-team all-state as an all-purpose performer. Ian Williams K 6-3 180 Charlotte, N.C. (Weddington) ✪ ✪ Made 25 of 33 field goals the past two sea- sons, with a long of 52 yards, and is rated as the No. 6 kicker nationally by Kohl's Kicking. 8 MARCH 2020 ■ 27