The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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MARCH 2016 ■ 29 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE management, is right across where I would stay. "The visit was real eye-opening. It gave me a good feel for what it is to be a stu- dent-athlete at NC State." Rivals.com rates Givens as the No. 13 senior in Virginia and the No. 46 safety in the 2016 class. He notched 34 tackles, 13 passes broken up and seven interceptions as a senior en route to 5A Conference 16 Defensive Player of the Year honors. At the Nike Opening Regional in Char- lotte, Givens was laser timed at 4.56 sec- onds in the 40-yard dash, clocked at 4.25 seconds in the 20-yard pro agility shuttle and registered a 34.7-inch vertical leap. "He's a confident guy, and confidence is something you have to have playing the defensive back position," said NC State cornerbacks coach George Barlow, who recruited Givens. "At some point, at any point, you are not going to be successful, and you have to be able to bounce back. "He's a kid that has a lot of confidence, and he has worked hard to be confident. But the biggest thing is he has confidence in himself, and that shows in his outward personality." On Jan. 30, three-star defensive back Nick McCloud from Rock Hill (S.C.) South Pointe High joined the class. Mc- Cloud had taken an official visit to NC State the weekend of Dec. 4 and traveled to Georgia Tech Jan. 22. He also had of- fers from Kansas State, Maryland, North- western, UCLA, Vanderbilt and West Vir- ginia, among others. The 6-2, 175-pounder compiled 68 tackles, two stops behind the line of scrim- mage, six interceptions (two of which he returned for touchdowns), eight passes broken up and three forced fumbles as a senior, while helping South Pointe to a second straight Class AAA state title. "He's a guy that came on really late," Barlow noted. "He's very versatile, can play a lot of positions, has great ball skills and loves the game. He's an excellent basketball player also. "I like his competitive nature. He wants to win at everything he does. That is some- thing that we needed to add to my room." McCloud is an excellent student, rank- ing 19th out of his class of 347 academi- cally. He is also a National Honor Society member. Rivals.com ranks McCloud as the No. 9 senior in the Palmetto State and the No. 54 safety in the country. NCSU recruited both Givens and Mc- Cloud to play corner. The same day that McCloud commit- ted, offensive tackle Kendall Brown from Trinity Christian in Jacksonville, Fla., switched his pledge from Appalachian State to NC State while on an official visit in Raleigh. The 6-4, 265-pound Brown followed his recruiter Dwayne Ledford, who was App State's offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator before being hired at NCSU in January as the Pack's offensive line coach and run game coor- dinator. Brown played primarily defensive tackle until midway through his senior season when he switched to offense. Other mid-majors like Georgia Southern, Old Dominion, Troy and Tulane were recruit- ing Brown, who impressed enough on offense to be picked second-team all-state for the 3-A classification by the Florida sportswriters. Brown — who has a seven-foot, one- inch wingspan — helped Trinity Christian win three straight state titles. Last fall, the school finished ranked No. 33 nationally by MaxPreps.com. "He's one of the more athletic guys that I've seen at the tackle position. … He's just very, very athletic and long," Ledford said. "I think he has a tremendous upside to him." The final member of the class to commit was four-star wide receiver Kelvin Har- mon from Palmyra (N.J.) High. Like Giv- ens, Harmon was a one-time South Caro- lina commitment. The 6-3, 196-pounder reopened his recruitment in December. He had already officially visited NCSU last September, when the Pack finished runner-up to the Gamecocks for his origi- nal pledge. Harmon took an official visit to Miami the weekend of Jan. 29, but picked State over the Canes Feb. 1. "It's a comfortable place for me," Har- mon said. "Their program is on the rise. They want to use me as the 'X' receiver [lined up outside], and I think I have a good chance to play early." Harmon caught 66 passes for 1,111 yards and 14 touchdowns during his se- nior season, and was named Burlington County's Player of the Year and first-team all-state. Rivals.com rates him as the No. 7 prospect in New Jersey and the 54 wide- out nationally. Receivers coach George McDonald recruited Harmon for the Pack. Prior to January, NC State also landed cornerback Bryce Banks from Columbia (Mo.) Rock Bridge High in December. Banks was briefly committed to Missouri over the summer. He made official visits to NC State and Illinois before picking the Wolfpack Dec. 10. He enrolled for the spring semester. The 6-2, 184-pounder was picked first- team all-state by USA Today after making 30 tackles and breaking up six passes as a senior. At the Nike Opening Regional in Columbus, Ohio, last spring, Banks was timed at 4.24 seconds in the 20-yard pro agility shuttle and registered a 33.9-inch vertical leap. Banks overcame a difficult upbringing to make it to NC State. "That's one of the things that I liked about him. He's been able to overcome the adversity that he has had in his life," Barlow said. "The off-the-field maturity, that is one of the things that is going to help him be really good. He has the skill set — he can play corner, play safety, play nickel. … Off the field, the work ethic, the willing- ness to make sacrifices, the competing — all of those things he does very well." ■ Four-star wide receiver Kelvin Harmon from Palmyra (N.J.) High originally committed to South Carolina before picking NC State over Miami. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN "It's a comfortable place for me. Their program is on the rise. They want to use me as the 'X' receiver [lined up outside], and I think I have a good chance to play early." ■ Kelvin Harmon