The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/672211
14 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NC State has added three pledges to its 2017 football recruiting class and got a very early jump on its 2018 collection. The headliner of the recent pledges is four-star defensive tackle Grant Gibson from Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, which has won three straight 4-AA state titles in football. The 6-1, 290-pound Gibson picked the Pack March 1 after also considering offers from Georgia Tech, Tennessee and Virginia Tech. Rivals.com rates him as the No. 9 rising senior in the state of North Carolina and the No. 17 defensive tackle in the 2017 class. "It just felt like it was the best school for me, and I felt like the time was right, too," Gibson explained. "I knew for a long time that was the school that I wanted to go to. I was just ready to be done with the whole thing and lock in with that school." NC State also got its quarterback of the class in local product Matt McKay from Raleigh's Wakefield High. The still growing 6-4, 185-pound McKay also had offers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Old Dominion and Temple, but he chose the Pack Feb. 26. "All the coaches are family," McKay noted. "I felt like they are really trying to take the program to the next level." McKay, who will not turn 17 until late October, completed 165 of 300 passes (55.0 percent) for 2,119 yards with 22 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season. He also rushed 187 times for 1,019 yards and 11 scores while leading Wakefield to an 8-4 record and a berth in the 4-AA state playoffs. Rivals.com ranks McKay, who expects to graduate in December and enroll early at NCSU, as a three-star prospect and the No. 28 recruit in North Carolina. The lone out-of-state commitment of the five rising seniors thus far is linebacker Raven Saunders from Dwyer High in West Palm Beach, Fla. The 6-1, 215-pounder announced his decision to the Wolfpack coaching staff while on an unofficial visit to Raleigh April 2. "They were all excited," he recalled. "They gave me a big hug." He also had offers from Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Pitts- burgh, Temple and Florida Atlantic. Rivals.com rates Saunders as the No. 19 rising senior inside linebacker in the country and the No. 76 prospect in the Sunshine State. Saunders played his first three years at Oxbridge Academy in West Palm Beach before moving to Dwyer in the spring. Former Pack quarterback Jacoby Brissett and projected starting safety Shawn Boone, a junior, are both Dwyer alums. From the 2018 class, athlete De'Von Graves of Appomattox (Va.) County High decided that the loyalty State showed him in offering him first was enough to warrant the early commitment, which he gave April 9 after NC State's Kay Yow Spring Game. "They were the only school to offer me a full scholarship coming out of my sophomore season," Graves noted. "They saw potential in me. They saw something in me that no other school did, and I respect them for that. "It's an awesome school. I love their coaching staff. I am ready to give them 110 percent and play for them." Graves (6-2, 180 pounds) was a playmaker on both sides of the ball for Appomattox. He caught 27 passes for 539 yards and six touchdowns from his receiver position, and had 50 total tackles (32 solo), two interceptions, 19 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery at defensive back. He also had two tackles for loss. Appomattox went 15-0 and won the Group 2A state title. Graves saved some of his best for last, catching six passes for 120 yards in the championship game win over Berryville (Va.) Clarke County High. He said his initial preference would be to play defense in college. — Matt Carter NCSU Football Recruiting Is Off To A Strong Start TRACKING THE PACK ■ 2017 NC State Football Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Damien Darden TE 6-4 245 Pikeville, NC (C.B. Aycock) Grant Gibson DT 6-1 290 Charlotte (Mallard Creek) Chris Ingram DB 6-0 175 Mooresville, NC (Mooresville) Matt McKay QB 6-4 185 Raleigh (Wakefield) Raven Saunders LB 6-1 215 West Palm Beach, FL (Dwyer) Quarterback Matt McKay threw for 2,119 yards and 22 touchdowns and ran for 1,019 yards and 11 scores as a junior at Raleigh Wakefield High. PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBAL