The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK T he Wolfpacker Podcast records at least once a week and includes interviews with former players and expert analysts. The show is always available to listen to on TheWolfpacker.com, Spotify, the Apple Podcast App, Google Play and most every- where else podcasts can be heard. Here are some excerpts from when long- time North Carolina football recruiting an- alyst Sammy Batten, who recently retired from the Fayetteville Observer, after more than 30 years with the newspaper. Batten joined the show to talk about NC State football's 2021 in-state recruiting class. What stood out to you about the depth of the in-state class in 2021? "Before I got on with you, I started counting how many kids have signed with an FBS program in the state with this 2021 class. I counted 88, and there could very well be some more. Late additions to classes always happen following the sign- ing period. "The depth of the defensive line and receivers is pretty incredible. You can go down to the No. 60 or 70 player in the state and still find great quality. "Two years ago we had over 100 play- ers signed with FBS programs, and that was the highest ever that I've been able to count. Before it's over with, this class could go well over 100. "There are a bunch of great receivers in this class. NC State signees Micah Crowell and Julian Gray are in that group." How would you describe NC State's recruiting class? "I'd call it a smart class for a lot of dif- ferent reasons. One, if you look at it across the board, they signed somebody at almost every position. They met their needs. There was a big need to bring in a premier quar- terback prospect, they did that with Aaron McLaughlin of Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Ga. "NC State landed a top-30 class in al- most every ranking you see. When you're talking about 120-plus FBS teams, that's pretty good. "They helped their depth by getting people at every position. They helped their talent by bringing in players at positions where they needed some help. In a year where maybe North Carolina got all the at- tention, this class could end up being better before it's all said and done." Who are the two in-state offensive prospects you're most excited about in NC State's 2021 class? "On the offensive side, it's easily Micah Crowell of East Forsyth High School in Kernersville. He comes from a football family. His dad and his brother played at Virginia, and his uncle played in the NFL. "He was injured his junior year and didn't get a chance to play. But if you watched him in his sophomore film, he's just an incredible playmaker. He's a very physical type of receiver. "He kind of reminds me of Jaylen Samu- els. It's not an exact comparison, but he can do a lot of things like Jaylen did when he was at NC State. They used to call Jay- len the Swiss Army knife. I think Micah Crowell could be a similar type of player. He can be used in a lot of different ways, catching the ball, running with it. He's that kind of athlete. "He's going to be a really exciting player on the offensive side of the ball. NC State can use some receiver help, and if he's healthy, he's a guy that can come in and do that. "I have to say something about Julian Gray of Hopewell High School in Hunters- ville, too. Julian wasn't the highest-ranked player in the state, but this kid can run. He's the guy that you can throw the deep ball to. Throw it up in the air, and he can run under it and make a great catch. I was really impressed with him because of his speed — he's got track speed. That's some- thing for many years that NC State has lacked on the outside." Who are two in-state defensive pros- pects you're excited about in NC State's 2021 class? "The two guys that I really love in-state, I had them ranked in my top 20, are Travali Price of North Lincoln High School in Lin- colnton and Zyun Reeves of East Forsyth High School in Kernersville. There were so many really good defensive linemen at the top of the rankings, and these guys got overlooked a little bit. "Price is a powerful, bull-type rusher coming off the edge. When he grows a little bit and gains a little weight, he could become an interior defensive lineman at some point in his career. When it comes to just exploding out of his stance and going after the quarterback, he was as good as there was in the state this year. "Zyun Reeves is imposing physically — here's a kid that is 6-7, maybe 6-8 now, 260 pounds. He's quicker than you'd imagine a guy his size being. He's going to wreck a lot of havoc coming in off the edge because of his height and his ability to block passing lanes when he's rushing the passer. All he's got to do is hold his arms up, and he can cover up a lot of the passing lanes that the opposing quarter- backs are looking at. "Those are two guys defensively that are going to wind up being part of the NC State tradition that they've established of developing great defensive linemen." ■ Longtime North Carolina Football Recruiting Analyst Sammy Batten PODCAST HIGHLIGHTS Huntersville (N.C.) Hopewell High wide receiver Julian Gray, the No. 29 prospect in North Caro- lina per Rivals, will bring big-play potential to the Wolfpack offense with his speed. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN