The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2014 ■ 55 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Havelock to a third straight 3-A state title. Rated as a three-star talent and the No. 56 wide receiver in the class by Rivals.com, Bowman has an early top three of South Carolina (leader), NC State and North Carolina. Fo u r- s t a r r e c r u i t J u va l M o l l e t t e from Randleman (N.C.) High is a 6-4, 185-pound specimen. Listed by Rivals.com as the No. 190 overall player and No. 23 wide receiver nationally, Mollette has of- fers form Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Ohio State, Tennessee, Virginia and Virginia Tech. He caught 56 passes for 661 yards and nine scores as a junior. A speedster that is flying under the radar is Brian Sessoms from Winston-Salem's Carver High. The 5-10, 175-pounder fin- ished second in the 1A/2A indoor state finals for the 55-meter dash with a sprint of 6.52 seconds. Last year, he was one of the favorites of the 2-A outdoor 100-meter dash before false starting in the finals. His personal best during the year had been 10.69 sec- onds. Sessoms finished second in the 200 outdoor finals with a run of 21.86 seconds. Sessoms and Mollette visited for junior day. ■ Tight End After signing three tight ends in the 2014 class, this position does not appear to be a high priority for the upcoming cycle. ■ Offensive Line NCSU is targeting an interior line- man with Brian Chaffin from Charlotte Christian headlining the group. The 6-2, 285-pounder has offers from California, Duke, Mississippi State, NC State, North Carolina, Northwestern, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. He visited NCSU for junior day. Chaffin's teammate, tackle Philip Wal- ton, is another target. The 6-7, 260-pounder was a competitive swimmer until giving it up for football three years ago. Walton was offered by NC State, his first and lone tender, a day after visiting for junior day. Another tackle that was at junior day and has been a frequent visitor at State is Emanuel McGirt from Durham (N.C.) Hillside High. The 6-5, 260-pounder has picked up offers from NC State, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia Tech and West Virginia. ■ Defensive Line The defensive line will once again be a priority. As many as three tackles and ends could be signed. A major target that will likely announce his decision in April is four-star end Darian Roseboro from Lin- colnton (N.C.) High. The 6-3, 260-pounder is rated the No. 45 overall player and No. 5 strongside defensive end in the 2015 class. Roseboro has a lengthy offer list that includes Auburn, Clemson, Michigan, NC State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennessee, UCLA and Virginia Tech, among many others. NCSU is believed to be one of Roseboro's favorites, and he was at junior day. The Pack is also in the thick of it with Michael Barnett, a 6-4, 240-pound four-star prospect and one-time Virginia Tech com- mitment from Ridgeville (S.C.) Woodland High. Barnett, who is listed as the No. 18 strongside defensive end in the nation by Rivals.com, opened up his recruitment to consider offers from Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Florida State and NC State in ad- dition to the Hokies. NCSU is firmly in the picture with Dar- ius Fullwood, a four-star defensive end from Good Counsel in Olney, Md. The 6-4, 230-pounder was expected to visit NCSU March 1. Alabama, Florida State, Miami, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State, Stanford and Tennessee have also offered Fullwood, who is the No. 20 strongside defensive end in the nation according to Rivals.com. At defensive tackle, the top target could be four-star Shy Tuttle, a 6-2, 310-pounder from North Davidson High in Lexington, N.C. The nephew of former Clemson re- ceiver Perry Tuttle is rated as the No. 6 defensive tackle and No. 25 overall recruit in the 2015 class by Rivals.com. Tuttle made three unofficial visits to NCSU in February, and the Pack is thought to be among his favorites, which also in- clude Alabama, Clemson and UNC. ■ Linebacker NC State needs to take a couple of line- backers in this class, but the coaches are likely going to have to leave the state to do it. One prospect that has indicated that he would visit NCSU in the spring is Tyler Cooksey, a 6-3, 220-pounder from Greater Atlanta Christian in Norcross, Ga. Cooksey also has offers from Boston College, Georgia Tech, Northwestern and Tennessee. ■ Defensive Back NC State leads for Jarius Morehead, a 6-0, 185-pound two-way performer at East- ern Guilford High in Gibsonville, N.C. Morehead also has offers from Clemson, North Carolina, NC State and Tennessee. Last fall, he had 289 yards receiving and two scores on offense, and compiled 40 tackles, nine passes broken up and two picks on defense. NCSU is recruiting Morehead, Rivals.com's No. 61 wide re- ceiver nationally, as a safety. NCSU is also the first, and lone, offer for Rion Davis, a 5-11, 185-pounder from A.C. Flora High in Columbia, S.C. Davis could play corner or safety in college. Both Davis and Morehead visited for NCSU's junior day. ■ Athlete Freddie Phillips, a 6-2, 185-pounder from Pelion (S.C.) High, could play safety or receiver in college. NCSU, which Phil- lips visited for junior day, has offered him as an athlete. UNC has also offered Phil- lips, who hopes to graduate early and enroll in the spring at the college of his choice. Rivals.com rates Phillips as a three-star prospect. ■ The Wolfpack has offered two Wake County backs, Bryce Love (left) of Wake Forest High and Nyheim Hines of Garner High. Love — who placed second in 100-meter dash at the state 4A track meet as a sophomore with a time of 10.68 — ran 181 times for 1,914 yards and 24 touchdowns last year, while Hines rushed 311 times for 3,129 yards and 50 touchdowns while adding 10 scores via receiving and kick returns. PHOTOS BY RYAN TICE 54-55.2015 Look Ahead.indd 55 2/25/14 3:40 PM