The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING A Look At Some Of NC State's Remaining Targets For 2012 BY MATT CARTER ing 20 commitments through Dec. 8. The recruiting board has shrunk dramatically and is down to just a handful of players. Here are the prospects that highlight the list. N Cornerback Chris Bivins Gainesville (Fla.) High Calling Bivins a commitment to South Florida is merely a technicality. He did verbally commit to the Bulls over the summer, but since then has taken offi- cial visits to Arkansas (Oct. 7), NC State (Sept. 3) and Texas Tech (Oct. 28), in ad- dition to South Flor- ida (Nov. 18). Tennessee also offered Bivins while he was on an unofficial visit there. The 5-11, 175-pounder was expected to announce his decision by the middle of December so that he can enroll early at the school of his choice. Rated by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect, the No. 34 corner- back in the country and the No. 57 player C State has very few spots left in their 2012 recruiting class after accumulat- in Florida, Bivins runs the 40-yard dash in less than 4.5 seconds. Linebacker Beniquez Brown Florence (Ala.) High NC State is a long shot for Brown, a 6-2, 210-pounder. He has named Mississippi State and Tennessee his favorites with Arkansas third. How- ever, Brown wants to take all five of his official visits, and NC State will receive one on Jan. 20. Brown was selected for the 25th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic Dec. 10. As a senior running back, he ran for more than 1,000 yards for the third straight year, rushing for 1,263 and 25 scores. He had 64 tackles on defense. Ri- vals.com rates Brown as a three-star recruit, the No. 14 player in Alabama and the No. 36 athlete in the country. Linebacker Nick Dawson Charlotte (N.C.) Berry Academy Dawson took an official visit to NC State the weekend of Nov. 5 when the Pack shut Wolfpack Commit Leads Team To State Title Greensboro (N.C.) Page stunned favored Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek High in a 4-AA state semifinal Nov. 25 in Greensboro, but the Pirates star quarterback, NC State commitment James Summers, was not content. He wanted it all, and he got it after an MVP-winning performance in the title game against undefeated Garner High Dec. 3 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Summers completed 11 of 16 passes for 131 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, and ran 14 times for 116 yards. He even added an interception and pass breakup on defense while leading Page to a 35-21 win. "We weren't satisfied just getting to the state championship, but now we're satisfied," Summers told the Greens- boro News and Record after the game. "We did what we said we were going to do." The 6-2, 195-pound Summers had a memorable postseason. He threw for 86 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 131 yards and three scores in a 40-26 win over defending state champion Matthews (N.C.) Butler High Nov. 18. A week later against an undefeated Mallard Creek squad ranked No. 10 in the country by Max Preps, Summers completed 11 of 18 passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns, and ran 19 times for 152 yards and two scores in a 41-27 win. In its last three playoff games, Page defeated three teams with a combined record of 29-1 entering the contests with the Pirates. Summers accounted for 800 total yards and 11 touchdowns in that span. He finished the season 91-of-182 passing for 1,500 yards with 18 touchdowns, and also rushed 183 times for 1,581 yards and 22 scores. Page, which finished 15-0, was ranked No. 17 in the Dec. 5 Max Preps national poll. Summers will join fellow NC State commitment K'Hadree Hooker, a 6-2, 290-pound defensive tackle from South Lenoir High in Deep Run, N.C., in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game Dec. 17 in Spartanburg, S.C. Other Wolfpack commits will also be in all-star games. Athlete Lakeith Walls from Cleveland Rhodes High competed in the Northeast Ohio Thanksgiving All-Star Classic in Cleveland Nov. 23. Walls played as a running back in the contest. Defensive end Tyler Knox from Myrtle Beach (S.C.) High and offensive lineman Eddie Gordon from Boiling Springs (S.C.) High both played in the South Carolina Auto Dealers Association North-South All-Star Game in Myrtle Beach Dec. 10. Receiver Charlie Hegedus and cornerback Niles Clark, teammates at Marietta (Ga.) Lassiter High in were se- lected for the Georgia North-South Game Dec. 30 in Columbus, Ga. — Matt Carter 60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER out UNC 13-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium. NCSU appears to have landed in Daw- son's top two along wi th Louisvi l le, NC State's Belk Bowl opponent. Dawson will take an official visit to Louisville Dec. 17. His father lives in that city. The 6-3, 230-pound Dawson is one of the top physical specimens in the state of North Carolina. He is ranked by Rivals.com as a four-star recruit, the No. 6 prospect in the state, the No. 6 inside linebacker in the country and the No. 132 player overall regardless of position. Offensive Lineman Mark Glowinski Lackawanna College (Scranton, Pa.) Glowinski enrolled at Lackawanna after not getting enough attention from college scouts at G.A.R. High School in Wilkes- Barre, Pa. The 6-5, 285-pounder has now emerged as one of the top junior college offensive linemen in the country. NC State and West Virginia recently of- fered Glowinski, joining a list that also includes Akron and Connecticut. Glowin- ski, who played a game at Carter-Finley Stadium against Georgia Military College Nov. 13, has an affinity for Florida schools, though. South Florida in particular is re- cruiting Glowinski aggressively. Running Back Todd Gurley Tarboro (N.C.) High Few players end their season on a higher note than Gurley did in 2011. Despite play- ing on a sore ankle, Gurley rushed for 242 yards and four touch- downs to lead Tarboro to a 39-36 win over Lincolnton (N.C.) High for a 2-A state title Dec. 3 at Carter- Finley Stadium. Gur- ley finished the season with more than 2,500 yards rushing and 38 touchdowns. On the recruiting trail, the 6-1, 200-pound Gurley appears to have narrowed his focus to Clemson, Georgia, NC State and UNC. Georgia and UNC were long considered the leaders, but Clemson and State have made strong late runs. Gurley officially visited NC State