The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/368728
36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER and it turned out to be a great class. "We wanted to build a legacy. We want to win championships under Coach Doeren and all of the position coaches. I think we have a really good chance of doing that." Doeren's final haul of three four-star signees was more than the school had in the previous three classes combined, and Pratt, Street and defensive tackle Justin Jones are living up to the hype. Others such as three-stars Hines, Adams, Hill and full- back/tight end Jaylen Samuels are showing that the rankings don't mean much on the college field. The Pack emerged on the radar of each recruit thanks to their relationships with the coaching staff, early playing time and the ability to return an in-state program back to glory — or some combination of the three. "I knew they were expecting something big out of us," Samuels noted. "We knew we had to come in here and adapt to college real fast, so that's what we did." Hines said having a big group of early enrollees helped the nine that arrived in Jan- uary. They didn't have to go through any- thing by themselves, and the bond that they built during the recruiting process, thanks in large part to Twitter, carried over to when they came together in Raleigh. Several were among the top performers in the spring game, and they have continued to grow. "I think we just kind of fed off of each other," he said. "We are one team, no mat- ter what class you're in, but obviously when the early guys came in, we bonded. I think we leaned on each other and helped each other throughout the process. "If you had a bad day and were frus- trated, you had someone to talk about it with that was going through it. When you had a good day, you had someone to rejoice with; it was definitely a big help." Now the class is intent on proving they aren't just any group of rookies. They want to prove on the field this fall they can be counted on like their older teammates, and they will have that opportunity. "My mindset is that I can't act like a freshman," Adams added. "I have to act like I'm a veteran, just like anybody else. "We knew we weren't just going to come in and take peoples' spots — we knew we had to work for it — but we also knew we were going to have a big impact. Every- thing is going to be set for the next few years ahead." ■ Defensive end Kentavius Street, the highest-ranked recruit in the Pack's freshman class, will be looking to make an impact this fall. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN