The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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72 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State is down to a few positions on the recruiting board. The focal points on offense are running backs and offensive linemen, and on defense it is all about the linemen. The one exception to that is cor- nerback, where NCSU is not recruiting the position but would take New Bern (N.C.) High standout Mike Hughes. Here is a breakdown of where NC State's recruiting stands heading into the 2014 football season. Running Back The goal would be to take a pair of run- ning backs in the 2015 class, and NC State still has a chance to find them within the borders of its home state and perhaps even its own county. The Pack is expected to be among the finalists for four-star running back Bryce Love from Wake Forest (N.C.) High. He is rated as the No. 4 player in the state, the No. 5 all-purpose running back in the land and the No. 104 overall prospect in the 2015 class by Rivals.com. Love (5-10, 185 pounds) rushed for 1,973 yards and 26 touchdowns last year while helping Wake Forest to the 4-AA state title game. Love has gone back and forth between making a decision in the fall and taking all five of his official visits. He has said that out-of-state options Stanford, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and Florida would be locks to get official visits if he used them. In-state choices NCSU, UNC and East Carolina, where his older brother Chris is a redshirt freshman wide receiver, are also under consideration. One of Love's good friends is Raleigh Millbrook's Marcus Marshall. The 5-9, 200-pounder is the younger brother of Georgia junior running back Keith Mar- shall. Like his older brother, Marshall is a speedster — he was timed at 4.35 seconds in the 40-yard dash at NC State's summer camp and earned an offer from the Pack. The three-star prospect has also been offered by Boston College, Connecticut and Wake Forest, among others, after rush- ing 179 times for 988 yards and seven touchdowns as a junior despite playing running back for just eight of Millbrook's 14 games. Marshall was a frequent visitor to NC State over the summer, and he noted that he talks with the Pack coaching staff at least a couple of times a week. A team- mate, linebacker James Smith-Williams, is committed to State. Another friend of Love's is Garner (N.C.) High four-star standout Nyheim Hines. The 5-8, 180-pounder would like to play both slot receiver and running back in college. Last year, Hines rushed 299 times for 3,137 yards and 49 touchdowns, and caught 29 passes for 599 yards and nine scores. He has also been a standout in track with a best time of 10.52 seconds in the 100-meter dash. Hines is hoping to narrow his list to five schools around the start of September. He has taken multiple unofficial visits to NC State and Duke. He also traveled to Georgia, Florida, Ohio State and West Vir- ginia during the summer. Rivals.com rates Hines as the No. 9 all- purpose back in the country and the No. 10 player in the state. His twin sister, Nyah Hines, also runs track, and where she ends up could play a significant role in what Hines does. NC State and Duke are known to be recruiting Hines' sister for track. Outside of Wake County, NCSU con- tinues to be in the mix with three-star run- ning back Reggie Gallaspy of Greensboro (N.C.) Southern Guilford High. The 5-10, 210-pounder released an updated top five of Arkansas, NC State, Vanderbilt, Duke and Michigan State late in the summer, but conventional wisdom suggests the first three schools on that list lead. As a junior, Gallaspy rushed 282 times for 1,704 yards and 26 touchdowns, and caught 14 passes for 245 yards and a score in 12 games while dealing with a nagging ankle injury. Rivals.com regards Gallaspy as the No. 36 running back nationally and No. 14 player in the state. Although Concord (N.C.) High bruiser Rocky Reid has been verbally committed to Tennessee since April, he has not ruled out visiting other schools. NC State and Wis- consin have been the two mentioned most prominently. The three-star prospect has been a work- horse for Concord. As a junior, the 6-0, 210-pounder rushed 432 times for 3,355 yards and 39 touchdowns. He ran 41 times for 224 yards and a touchdown in a close loss to Havelock (N.C.) High in the 3-A state title game. Rivals.com rates Reid as the No. 60 run- ning back nationally and the No. 24 recruit from North Carolina. The one known out-of-state running back prospect with an offer from NC State is Markeis Hallback from Moore Haven (Fla.) High. Prior to the summer, the 5-11, 185-pounder reported offers from Duke, Iowa, NC State, Northwestern and Virginia, among others, with a top two of Duke and Iowa. Offensive Line One of the big developments of the sum- mer was when three-star tackle Emanuel McGirt (6-5, 270 pounds) of Durham (N.C.) Hillside High backed out of a verbal com- mitment to North Carolina. He had origi- nally picked the Heels over NC State in June. The Pack is now squarely in the mix with McGirt. ■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING There's Work Still To Be Done Bryce Love — the nation's No. 5 all-purpose back and No. 104 overall player according to Rivals.com — ran for 1,973 yards and 26 scores while helping Wake Forest (N.C.) High to the 4-AA state title game in 2013. PHOTO BY RYAN TICE