The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1389905
8 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State football recruiting had a huge month in June, landing nine commits with four Rivals.com four- stars among them. The Pack's 2022 class stood at 10 pledges overall as of June 29. Four-star quarterback MJ Morris from Carrollton (Ga.) High got it started when he announced his commitment June 3. The 6-1, 190-pounder picked the Pack over Georgia Tech and Nebraska. He is ranked as the No. 7 dual-threat quarterback in the country. "I just felt it in my gut that it was the best place for me," Morris said. "Coach [Tim] Beck, Coach [Dave] Doeren and I, we've been going at this thing for a while. NC State is one of the schools that has been the most consistent with me, and they've been the most consistent with my parents too." Morris, who may also play baseball at NC State, completed 80 of 133 passes (60.2 percent) for 1,180 yards with 14 touchdowns and three interceptions in eight games as a junior while helping Pace Acad- emy in Atlanta to a 6-3 record. He played as a freshman and sophomore seasons at Carrollton, and will return there this fall. The other three four-star additions were running back Michael Allen from Rose High in Greenville, N.C., defensive lineman Brandon Cleveland from Carrollwood Day in Tampa, Fla., and linebacker Torren Wright from A.L. Brown High in Kannapolis, N.C. The 5-9, 200-pound Allen, the nation's No. 25 running back nationally, only played two games this spring due to a meniscus injury in his knee. However, in 11 games as a sophomore he ran 128 times for 906 yards and 11 touchdowns plus he caught 24 passes for 284 yards and five scores. Allen, who picked NC State over UNC and East Carolina, also helped Rose win a state title this summer in baseball, and as a sophomore was second in the state 3-A finals of the 55-meter indoor dash. He was third in the outdoor 100 as a freshman, and has personal bests in both events of 6.28 and 10.70 seconds, respectively. Cleveland (6-3, 265) originally was a Mi- ami commit, but backed out of that pledge April 30. He officially visited NC State and Virginia in June before choosing June 25. In his first season at Carrollwood Day last fall, Cleveland had 39 tackles, 18 stops be- hind the line of scrimmage and 11 sacks in nine games. He also added an interception, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Rivals.com rates Cleveland the No. 49 player in talent-rich Florida and the No. 28 strong-side defensive end in the nation. The 6-3, 215-pound Wright is the highest rated of the Pack commits, checking in at No. 243 nationally according to Rivals. He is also listed as the No. 8 recruit in North Carolina and the No. 20 outside linebacker nationally. Wright picked NC State over Duke and West Virginia, deciding on the same day, June 8, as fellow Wolfpack linebacker commit Daejuan Thompson from White- ville (N.C.) High. The three-star Thompson is rated the No. 25 prospect in North Carolina. The 6-3, 185-pounder was recruited by the Wolfpack as an outside linebacker. Two other top-25 players in Rivals' North Carolina rankings also picked the Pack: de- fensive backs Jackson Vick from Southern Nash High in Bailey and Isaiah Crowell from East Forsyth High in Kernersville. The 5-10, 170-pound Crowell, who checks in at No. 19, had 75 total stops, six tackles for loss, one interception, two passes broken up, two fumble recoveries and one forced fumble in seven games dur- ing the spring. Crowell's older brother Mi- cah is an early enrollee freshman receiver at NC State. His father, Germane Crowell, played wide receiver in the NFL with the Detroit Lions. The 6-0, 175-pound Vick is listed at No. 20 in the state. He played primarily running back as a junior, running 144 times for 1,072 yards and five touchdowns in seven games this spring. As a sophomore, he ran 99 times for 937 yards and 11 scores while helping Southern Nash reach the state title game. NC State recruited Vick as a corner, where he had 26 tackles, four picks and seven passes broken up in 2019. He is a former teammate of NC State sophomore running back Zonovan Knight and fellow new commit Darius Edmundson. Edmundson is a cousin of Knight and graduated in the 2019 class with him at Southern Nash, but went to Louisburg (N.C.) College out of high school. The 5-11, 170-pounder has not had a chance to showcase his talents much due to a ham- string injury in 2019 and then COVID-19, but he excelled at his summer camp stops. At NC State June 13, he had a 10-foot standing broad jump and 37.3-inch verti- cal. At South Carolina's camp prior to working out in Raleigh, Edmundson was timed at 4.48 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He is expected to arrive in January and have three years of eligibility remaining. Three-star defensive lineman Nick Campbell from Lake Minneola (Fla.) High committed to NC State June 6 over offers from Missouri, Nebraska, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others. The 6-3, 270-pounder posted 70 tackles (18 solo), 19 tackles for loss and seven sacks in 13 games. He also recovered four fumbles while helping Lake Minneola go 11-2 over- all and reach the 6-A state title game. He is the third brother to play college football. Dante Campbell signed with West Virginia in 2011 and played a couple of seasons there, while Christian Campbell is a sophomore linebacker at Catawba Col- lege in Salisbury, N.C. ■ T R A C K I N G THE PACK Wolfpack Football Recruiting Takes Off In June Carrollton (Ga.) High standout MJ Morris is ranked a four-star talent and the No. 7 dual- threat quarterback nationally by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM