The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1466831
TRACKING THE PACK 12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State Football Recruiting Class Adds Two In-State Pledges On3 Consensus four-star tight end Javonte Vereen from Have- lock (N.C.) High originally anticipated being patient with the recruiting process. But his plans changed. "After talking with my family, I decided to do it early," Vereen said. "It's a lot of stress on your mental health. I wanted to get it over with and have the opportunity to enjoy my senior year." That proved to be to NC State's benefit. Vereen announced his verbal commitment to the Wolfpack on April 1 on CBSSports. com. NC State was able to sell Vereen on being the best fit for him. "The environment and coaching staff were great," he said. "The way that they use the tight end fits me. Everybody about that school fits me. They will use me better than any other school." Vereen had three hats on the table, with Maryland and Lou- isville joining NC State. He also had offers from Boston College, Duke and Georgia. NC State, though, always enjoyed an advantage with Vereen. "They were the leader for a while," he admitted. "There was a time where Georgia was tied up for the No. 1 spot with them. Maryland came up and then Louisville came up, but there was only one constant." The On3 Consensus, an equally weighted industry-generated average that uses all four major recruiting media companies, has Vereen rated as the No. 13 tight end nationally in the 2023 class, the No. 198 overall junior in the country and the No. 6 prospect in North Carolina. Last fall, the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Vereen caught 39 passes for 1,050 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also contributing 45 tackles and two interceptions on defense. NC State also landed On3 Consensus three-star offensive tackle Darion Rivers from West Charlotte (N.C.) High. Rivers is rated as the No. 32 player nationally at his position and the No. 17 player in the state. He committed on March 3 and also had an offer from Liberty. Rivers, who also plays basketball, was offered by NC State on Jan. 30 while on a junior day visit. Four days prior, NC State head coach Dave Doeren and receivers coach Joker Phillips had stopped by his high school. "Alabama could come knocking on the door, but he's going to NC State," West Charlotte head coach Sam Greiner said. "The one thing I love about NC State is you know what you are going to get. They are very up front with you and are very honest. Sometimes that's not everyone's cup of tea. But it's my cup of tea, and it's obviously Rivers' cup of tea. "They were really honest with him. They don't think Rivers can come in and play Year 1. They know he's a project. But his upside is unbelievable. And I can't think of a school in the whole United States that is better at developing guys, especially in the trenches." Two New Assistants Hired For Men's Basketball NC State basketball head coach Kevin Keatts has remade his staff with two new assistant coaches, including a familiar name for Wolfpack hoops fans. From 2002-05, Levi Watkins played 97 games and made 20 starts for NC State basketball, averaging 5.1 points per contest, while working toward a degree in business management. After completing his eligibility, Watkins worked at NC State, first as an administrator coordi- nator and then video coordinator. In 2009-10, he was promoted to director of operations, a title he held for four years. From 2013-15, Watkins was an assistant coach at Buffalo, helping the Bulls reach the NCAA Tourna- ment in his final season. He then became an assistant at Arizona State until 2018. In his final sea- son, the Sun Devils reached as high as No. 3 in the country in the As- sociated Press poll and made it to the NCAA Tournament. For the past four seasons, Watkins has been an assistant at Ole Miss. Keatts also hired Kareem Richardson, who has head coaching experience as well as career ties to Keatts. The latter is a com- mon theme among most of Keatts' hires during his tenure as the NC State basketball coach. Keatts and Richardson worked together as assistant coaches at Louisville in 2012-13, when the Cardinals won the national title. Richardson was then hired as the head coach at the Uni- versity of Missouri-Kansas City, where he went 75-118 over six years. Keatts and Richardson scheduled a game against each other in Keatts' first year with NC State in 2017, which the Pack won in Reynolds Coliseum, 88-69. This past year, Richardson was an assistant at Clemson, his lone season on Tigers head coach Brad Brownell's bench. The previous two seasons, he served as an assistant at Indiana State, and he also had stints at Wright State, Drake and Xavier. Richardson started his collegiate playing career at East Caro- lina before transferring to Evansville. — Matt Carter ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK LEVI WATKINS ■ Class Of 2023 Football Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown High School Darion Rivers OL 6-6 255 Charlotte, N.C. West Charlotte Lex Thomas QB 5-11 176 Wake Forest, N.C. Heritage Javonte Vereen TE 6-4 210 Havelock, N.C. Havelock