The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/223560
tracking the PACK A Football Team Adds Two More Commitments lot of college programs started recruiting wide receiver Stephen Louis of West Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Lakes High this fall after he rushed for 1,013 yards and 15 touchdowns and scored 10 more times in a variety of ways. He had committed to Western Michigan over the summer, but Arkansas, Central Florida, Minnesota, Penn State and West Virginia were among the offers collected after Louis' breakout senior season. NC State also re-entered the picture, and the advantage the Pack had was it had been in contact with Louis a lot longer. That relationship and his official visit to NCSU Nov. 2 were the major reasons why Louis decided to verbally commit to the Pack Nov. 18. He talked with corners coach Richard McNutt, receivers coach Frisman Jackson and head coach Dave Doeren to let them know. "They were one of the first schools that actually came and checked me out," Louis noted. "That was one of the biggest things. Coach McNutt, Coach Doeren, Coach Jackson, I believe what they are saying. "I went up on a visit and I loved it. My parents loved it. I have family out there. It was a no-brainer." However, his mother wanted him to take other visits to be sure. A recent conversation, though, led to a change of plans. "I told her, 'Even if I go anywhere else I am not going to like it like I liked NC State,'" Louis noted. "She said, 'If you love it, then I love it.' ■ Class Of 2014 NC State Commitments Name Pos. Tony Adams OL Kyle Bambard K Garrett Bradbury TE DE Bradley Chubb A.J. Cole K Cole Cook TE Coult Culler LB B.J. Hill DT Bo Hines WR Deonte Holden DE Justin Jones DE Tyler Jones OL Stephen Louis WR Kalen McCain DB Jalan McClendon QB Deshaywn Middleton DT Germaine Pratt LB Terronne Prescod OL Jaylen Samuels ATH Eric Shute OL Marcelias Sutton RB Micah Till TE Maurice Trowell WR Dexter Wright S Ht. Wt. Hometown/High School 6-1 318 Charlotte/Independence 5-9 175 Walled Lake, Mich./Walled Lake Western 6-3 240 Charlotte/Charlotte Christian 6-3 220 Powder Springs, Ga./Hillgrove 6-4 215 College Park, Ga./Woodward Academy 6-5 229 Carrollton, Ga./Carrollton 6-5 230 Wilmington, N.C./Laney 6-3 262 Oakboro, N.C./West Stanly 6-1 190 Charlotte/Charlotte Christian 6-5 220 Hyattsville, Md./DeMatha 6-3 275 Austell, Ga./South Cobb 6-4 280 Stone Mountain, Ga./Stephenson 6-2 190 West Palm Beach, Fla./Palm Beach Lakes 6-1 175 Durham, N.C./Hillside 6-4 198 Charlotte/West Mecklenburg 6-2 295 Winston-Salem, N.C./Parkland 6-3 200 High Point, N.C./High Point Central 6-5 336 Decatur, Ga./Columbia 6-0 225 Charlotte/Mallard Creek 6-5 275 Glen Ellyn/Glenbard West 5-9 175 Warsaw, N.C./James Kenan 6-5 260 Upper Marlboro, Md./Wise 5-11 172 Durham, N.C./Southern Durham 6-2 201 Wilson, N.C./Hunt "It feels real, real good. Everybody was real excited and happy. I'm excited." The 6-2, 190-pounder will enroll early at NCSU. Louis is one of at least six players that NC State has confirmed will enroll early for the spring semester: Louis, center Tony Adams of Charlotte (N.C.) Independence High, defensive tackle B.J. Hill of Oakboro (N.C.) West Stanly High, wide receiver Bo Hines of Charlotte (N.C.) Christian, defensive back Kalen McCain of Durham (N.C.) Hillside High and offensive lineman Terronne Prescod of Decatur (Ga.) Columbia High. NC State tight ends/fullbacks coach and special teams coordinator Eddie Faulkner offered Walled Lake (Mich.) Western High kicking specialist Kyle Bambard a scholarship Nov. 18, and within minutes Bambard accepted. "I've stayed in close contact with Coach Faulkner for a while now," Bambard noted. "I went down to a kicking camp there this summer, and loved everything about the facilities and the town of Raleigh. They told me that I have been one of their top guys for a while now. "From there, it was just staying in contact with Coach Faulkner. Fortunately they decided to pull the trigger. I knew this was the place I wanted to go and wanted to be, so I decided to commit." Bambard said that Faulkner Stephen Louis, a wide receiver from and Doeren were very excited West Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach to land his commitment, not Lakes High, accounted for 25 total only for his kicking prowess touchdowns this season. photo courtesy rivals.com but also because he is the starting quarterback for Walled Lake Western. This past season, Bambard completed 112 of 188 passes for 1,721 yards with 21 touchdowns and five interceptions, and ran 151 times for 1,458 yards and 14 scores. The 5-9, 175-pounder made 11 of 18 field goal attempts in 2013 with a long of 49 yards. His career long was a 52-yarder he made during the state playoffs his junior season. Bambard also put 56 of 75 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks this fall and averaged 37.3 yards on 27 punts. Bambard noted that he has been kicking off the ground for the past three years. Once in Raleigh, Bambard will join one of his former high school teammates in Josh Jones, a freshman linebacker redshirting this season for the Wolfpack. Jones texted Bambard, "Welcome to the family." "I'm excited to be with him again," Bambard said. "He's the best athlete that Walled Lake Western has ever seen. Being teammates with him is going to be great." Bambard also had offers from Air Force and Grand Valley State, but said: "NC State was where I wanted to be." "This is the best feeling in the world," Bambard concluded. "It's a huge weight off my shoulders. For the past couple of months, it's all been up in the air, and within 10 minutes it all handled itself." Bambard is NCSU's second specialist in the 2014 class. Punter A.J. Cole of College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy pledged for the Pack over the summer. Kicking guru Chris Kohl ranked Bambard as the No. 9 kicker in the 2014 class, while Kornblue Kicking had him at No. 15. He was also an all-state punter as a junior. Bambard and Louis give NCSU 24 total commitments in the 2014 class. — Matt Carter 10 ■ the wolfpacker 10,12,14,16,18.Tracking The Pack.indd 10 12/5/13 3:27 PM