The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE ninth, moving ahead of Michigan. The days in which the state's best could be measured 25-30 deep are likely gone. Recruits ranked in the consensus 41-50 range are headed to nationally renowned programs that included Tennessee, Clemson and Kansas State. Rivals.com Southeast recruiting analyst Woody Wommack is already noticing more talent in 2015. "North Carolina is always a good state for talent, but I think I really like some of the guys emerging in this year's class," Wom- mack observed. "There's not really a clear No. 1 in the Tar Heel state right now, and that's because of the depth of talent. "Several players are still on the rise, and it will be fun to see who else blows up as we head toward the spring." ■ Persistence Pays Off For NC State With Will Richardson From the day that they arrived in Raleigh, the new NC State coach- ing staff zeroed in on Burlington (N.C.) Cummings offensive tackle Will Richardson, then a junior. Head coach Dave Doeren noted during his National Signing Day press conference that Richardson was actually one of the first athletes that he can remember taking an unofficial visit after he took the job. The coaching staff continued to build a great relationship with the 6-6, 308-pounder before he committed to Virginia in May. NC State knew they could not give up that easily on Richardson. He fit the profile of the offensive tackle they were seeking and also supported the staff's burning desire to keep the top talent home for college. "Cummings was one of the first schools I went to after I got the job, and they said he wanted to go to NC State," remembered safeties coach and former NCSU standout Clayton White, who is in charge of that area for the Wolfpack. "Having been a guy that wanted to go to NC State myself, I knew that was not going to leave you. I just knew we were going to keep recruiting him. [Offensive line] Coach [Mike] Uremovich did a great job, and we all did a good job of just continuing after him. We didn't stop. We knew we needed him, number one, and we knew he belonged here." The coaches relied on a tag-team effort of White and Uremovich, along with the head man, and they also had some help down the stretch. Richard - son took his official visit the weekend of Dec. 6, when the Pack had many of their current commits in town. Shortly after, the big man backed off his plans to enroll early in Charlottesville, and the tide began to turn. Then Richardson, despite a knee injury that limited him to three games during his senior year, played in the prestigious Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and actually earned the starting job at left tackle, protecting the blind side of NCSU commit Jalan McClendon. In addition to McClendon, three other Wolfpack pledges were in the game — wide receiver Maurice Trowell, running back Marcelias Sutton (although he played defensive back in the game) and linebacker Germaine Pratt, who had formed a particularly close bond with the big man during their coinciding official visits. Richardson and Pratt were usually not far from one another after the workouts ended. "It wasn't just the coaches, it was the rest of the recruiting class," White explained. "We knew that was going to be what he wanted. Will's a smart guy, he knew the advantages and disadvantages [of both schools], and the number one thing was the people. "We felt like we could put him around our recruiting class, and that was the key. Our guys killed it; our recruiting class got him to change. The Shrine Bowl was huge, where he played with four of those guys." Richardson still took his official visit to Virginia the weekend of Jan. 17. However, by the end of the following Monday, he had officially flipped to NCSU. "I think it all came down to the people," Richardson said after he an - nounced his decision. "I love all the people in the class and all the coaches. "And I wanted to stay in state. NC State has been trying to tell me that for a long time, and I thought about it and prayed a lot about it. I decided that NC State is the place for me." "That's huge, and I remember selecting NC State for the same exact rea- son," said White, who lettered for the Pack from 1997-2000. "I could have gone out of state or gone other places in state, too, but I decided to come here. I feel like I can relate to those kids when they make their decisions. Every in-state kid that committed, I told them, 'I know exactly how you feel.' "Like Coach Doeren said, picking NC State is bigger than just football if you're from the state. It's almost like a 40-year decision versus a four-year decision when you come here as an in-state football player." — Ryan Tice Richardson, a 6-6, 308-pound offensive tackle from Burlington (N.C.) Cummings, flipped his commitment from Virginia to NC State after playing in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas game with three other Wolfpack pledges. PHOTO BY RYAN TICE 34-36.In-State Recruiting.indd 36 2/25/14 3:40 PM