The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/266935
48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE STEPHEN LOUIS ■ WR West Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Lakes High • 6-1 • 190 pounds Stats: As a senior, rushed for 1,013 yards and 15 touchdowns and had 25 total scores. Ratings: Ranked as a three-star prospect by Rivals. com … Rated as a two-star prospect by Scout.com … Listed as a two-star prospect, the No. 296 player in the state and the No. 271 wide receiver in the country by 247Sports … Tabbed a three-star prospect, the No. 246 player in the state and No. 164 wide receiver in the country by ESPN … Evaluated as the No. 100 player in the state by FlaVarsity.com … Rated as the No. 20 player in regional "Top 63" by ESPN 106.3 … Ranked as the No. 4 player in Palm Beach region by Prep Builders … Deemed the No. 11 player in Palm Beach County by the Sun-Sentinel … Rated as the No. 13 player in Palm Beach region by the Palm Beach Post. Honors/accomplishments: Named third-team Class 7A All-State by Florida Sportswriters as a running back in 2013 … Selected by area coaches first-team all- county for Class 7A as a receiver … Was Palm Beach Lakes' first-ever 1,000-yard rusher and led county in total touchdowns as a senior … Named first-team All- Area in track as a junior by the Palm Beach Post after finishing fourth in the state finals in the triple jump and eighth in the 110-meter hurdles. Recruitment: Originally committed to Western Michigan in May … Strong senior season highlight film earned him offers from NC State, Arkansas, Auburn, Central Florida, Minnesota, Penn State and West Vir - ginia in the fall … Officially visited NC State for the UNC game Nov. 2 and verbally committed to the Pack on Nov. 18, cancelling a scheduled visit to Arkansas in December … Enrolled early at NC State. Recruiter of record: Former cornerbacks coach Richard McNutt. Quotable: "He's been a great leader for us. He's done all the right things, and I think that's made a dif- ference for him as far as recruiting goes. I'm excited for him." — Palm Beach Lakes head coach Willie Snead to the Sun-Sentinel. Dave Doeren on Louis: "I know just being tied in to some of those coaches down there, many of them raved about this guy, and I have a lot of respect for Coach Snead and his opinion." Scouting report: Exciting playmaker with the ball in his hands that excels in the open field … Appears on film to have breakaway speed to go with good size for a receiver … Must make transition to full-time receiver. 2014 projection: Louis seems to be a good fit for NC State's offense. He can be a factor taking jet sweep handoffs and catching quick passes in space. It's likely that NCSU will use a true freshman or two this fall at receiver. Louis is a strong candidate to play if he can grasp the offense. JUSTIN JONES ■ DL Austell (Ga.) South Cobb High • 6-3 • 275 pounds Measurables: At the Nike Training Camp in Atlanta, ran the 40-yard dash in 5.16 seconds and the shuttle in 4.75 seconds … Registered a 26.5- inch vertical leap. Ratings: Ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 20 player in the state, the No. 241 recruit in the nation and the No. 14 strongside defensive end in the country by Rivals.com … Rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 49 player in the state and the No. 42 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com … Listed as a three-star prospect, the No. 36 player in the state and the No. 23 weakside defensive end in the country by 247Sports … Tabbed as a four-star prospect, the No. 39 player in the state and the No. 38 defensive tackle in the country by ESPN … Evaluated as the No. 67 player in the state by National Underclassmen. Honors/accomplishments: Played in the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 10 and the Georgia Rising Seniors All-Star Game in December 2012 … Named the top defensive lineman in the 15-stop Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour in 2013 … Named Cobb County all-area by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution … Picked second-team 4-AAAAAA all-region by area coaches … Was second-team All-County by the Marietta Daily-Journal as a junior. Recruitment: Picked up offers from Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Wake Forest among others. … Visited NC State in June, and at that point NCSU vaulted to the top spot on his leaderboard … Verbally committed on June 24, the same day his good friend Bradley Chubb of Powder Springs (Ga.) Hillgrove High picked the Wolfpack. Recruiter of record: Wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson. Quotable: "Jones showed up late at the RCS Atlanta stop, but with the way he performed at the event, many offensive linemen probably hoped he would have missed the event all together. Jones' weapon of choice against block - ers is his violent set of hands, which combined with his strength and explosiveness off the ball make him a handful to deal with." — Rivals.com. Dave Doeren on Jones: "He's a versatile guy — can play defensive end or defensive tackle. He's a big guy that can run and is very strong. He's a kid that was probably 240-250 when we started recruiting him, and he's now up in the 270s and looks great." Scouting report: Versatile defensive line prospect who could project as a powerful end off the edge or a quick, athletic tackle in the interior … Has impressed scouts with his strong hands and quick burst off the snap. 2014 projection: The first step will be finding if Jones is a better fit for playing on the edge or interior of the defensive line. If it's at defensive end, then Jones is a good bet to get quick playing time. If it's at tackle, then he is more likely to redshirt to get bigger and stronger. TYLER JONES ■ OL Stone Mountain (Ga.) Stephenson High • 6-3 • 277 pounds Measurables: At the Nike Training Camp in Atlanta, ran the 40-yard dash in 5.78 seconds and the shuttle in 4.73 seconds. Ratings: Ranked as a three-star prospect, the No. 48 player in the state and the No. 48 offensive tackle in the country by Rivals.com … Rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 71 player in the state and the No. 46 offensive guard in the country by Scout.com … Listed as a three-star prospect, the No. 78 player in the state and the No. 47 offensive guard in the country by 247Sports … Tabbed a three-star prospect, the No. 45 player in the state and the No. 33 offensive tackle in the country by ESPN. Honors/accomplishments: Selected as the overall MVP of the National Underclassmen South Five-Star Showcase in Marietta, Ga., in Atlanta … Named second-team Class AAAAA All-State by the Georgia Sportswriters and honorable mention All-State by the Atlanta Journal Constitution … Played in the Florida-Georgia All-Star Game in West Palm Beach, Fla., Jan. 4 … Named the No. 7 offensive player at the Rivals Camp Series presented by Under Armour stop in Atlanta and the No. 25 offensive lineman overall in the 15-stop tour in 2013. Recruitment: Lengthy offer list included Michigan State, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Ohio State, South Carolina and Wake Forest among others … Was supposed to visit NCSU in the summer, but the Pack filled up at offensive line before the trip … Verbally commited to Mississippi State in July … NCSU re-evaluated its offensive line needs and restarted its recruitment of Jones, convincing him to visit unofficially for the Central Michigan game Sept. 28 and switch his pledge to the Wolfpack two days later. Recruiter of record: Defensive line coach and run game defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. Quotable: "Jones has a great frame. His powerbase is ideal for impeding pass rushers. He may have had one of the best punches I have ever seen while in pass setting. He delivers a nice blow to the inside shoulder of the defender, throwing them off balance. While punching he simultaneously sits in his chair using great hip and knee flexibility to keep pass rushers at bay." — National Underclassmen recruiting analyst Barry Every. Dave Doeren on Jones: "He played in an all-star game, the Florida-Georgia game, and I had several people talk to me about how athletic he was in the game. The thing we liked was the second-level ability that he has to get up on the linebacker and to pull, be in space." Scouting report: Hails from strong high school program that had four defensive linemen sign to play college football in 2013 … Good strength for his size with nice mobility and lateral quickness … Will have to figure out if he has the length to stick at offensive tackle, or if he would be a better fit inside at guard. 2014 projection: Typically you expect offensive linemen to redshirt, but the line was a weak point for NCSU in 2013. Although odds may be better that Jones will redshirt next fall, it is not a given. 44-53.Recruiting Bios.indd 48 2/25/14 4:20 PM