The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/790572
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY MATT CARTER T he Wolfpacker hands out its annual best of the best honors from the recruiting class. Biggest Get: Rivals.com rates defensive tackle Grant Gibson from Charlotte Mallard Creek and wide receiver Antoine Thompson from Plant City (Fla.) High as four-star recruits, the only two in the class. Biggest Steal: Three-star offensive line- man Bryson Speas from Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High is not regarded among the top players in the state by many services, but he was a former Virginia commit who was heav- ily pursued by Virginia Tech shortly before National Signing Day. Speas also was the top vote getter among offensive linemen on the Associated Press All-State team. Most Underrated: Two-star defensive end Kevince Brown from Winter Park (Fla.) High had offers from Kentucky, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others, and piled up 11.5 sacks as a senior. Instant Impact: Junior college transfer Larrell Murchison — a native of Elizabeth- town, N.C., who played at Louisburg (N.C.) College — should be able to immediately fill an opening in the defensive tackle rotation next fall. Potential Surprise Instant Impact (Of- fense): Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren singled out three-star running back Erin Col- lins from Armwood High in Seffner, Fla., as someone who could play right away. Al- though the Pack must replace Matt Dayes at running back, Collins will have to emerge from a crowded backfield competition. Potential Surprise Instant Impact (De- fense): Three- star linebacker Louis Acceus is undersized at 6-0 and 200 pounds, but he was hailed as perhaps the best linebacker to ever come from traditionally tal- ent-rich St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, N.J. Future Pro: Three-star cornerback Chris Ingram from Mooresville (N.C.) is a good- sized defensive back (6-0, 180 pounds) with long arms and natural cover abilities. It's a tribute to his talent that Clemson pursued him after his early pledge to the Pack. Biggest Sleeper: Rivals.com rates wide- out Max Fisher from Gonzaga High in Wash- ington, D.C., as just a two-star prospect, but he is a tall (6-3, 205 pounds) and sure-handed receiver who comes from a well-regarded program. Biggest Upside: Defensive end Xavier Lyas, a three-star from Durant High in Plant City, Fla., needs to get significantly bigger (he only weighs 215 pounds) and is new to the sport, but 6-4 pass rushers that run a 4.7 40-yard dash and have a nearly 10-foot stand- ing broad jump are hard to find. Most Intriguing: Three-star linebacker Isaiah Moore from Chesterfield (Va.) L.C. Bird High lacked major offers, but he had 106 tackles as a senior and is praised for his athleticism at 6-3, 220 pounds. Best Playmaker: You don't have three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons at the high school level like three-star wideout Emeka Emezie did for Marvin Ridge High in Waxhaw, N.C., without showing some abil- ity to get yards after the catch and stretch the field vertically. Best Two-Way Prospect: Running backs coach Des Kitchings said on National Sign- ing Day that he knows the defensive coaches will try to poach three-star Nakia Robinson from Miami Jackson High away from him. Robinson could project at cornerback, but will begin his career at tailback. Best Pedigree: Easily belongs to two- star tight end Adam Boselli from Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla. His father, Tony, was an All-American at USC and the first- ever draft choice for the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he developed into a three-time All-Pro selection left tackle. Boselli's older brother, Aaron, is a redshirt freshman offensive line- man at Florida State. To top it off, Boselli's high school coach was former NFL quarter- back Mark Brunell. Late Bloomer: Post-grad Ibrahim Kante from Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, N.Y., went from a 17-year-old senior that was perhaps not even 6-0 tall at Cardinal Hayes High in Brooklyn, N.Y., to a 6-5, 235-pounder with a nearly seven-foot wing- span who picked up offers from NC State, Boston College and Rutgers in the weeks before National Signing Day. Late Find: Three-star defensive lineman Dante Johnson from Apopka (Fla.) Wekiva High missed his junior season with a torn ACL. He returned strong as a senior and earned offers from Central Florida, Iowa State and Purdue. Early Find: Not many colleges stop by C.B. Aycock High in Pikeville, N.C., but Kitchings was glad he did when he found physically imposing, then-sophomore tight end Damien Darden. After Darden impressed at a camp that summer, he was offered and became the second commitment in the class, picking the Pack before his junior year had started. Hardest Defensive Hitter: Three-star linebacker Raven Saunders of Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Dwyer High packs a punch at 6-1, 215 pounds. He forced four fumbles in seven games as a junior and 22 of his 63 tackles as a senior went for a loss. Hardest Of- fensive Hitter: Defensive line- men are not likely to enjoy lining up across from three-star offensive lineman Joshua Fedd-Jackson from Montvale (N.J.) St. Jo- seph Regional School. The 6-3, 336-pounder has a habit of driving defenders into the ground with the full force of his weight com- ing down on them. Future Face Of The Program: Three-star quarterback Matt McKay has impressively enrolled early at NC State despite being just 17 years old. He will not turn 18 until Oc- tober. The local product of Wakefield High in Raleigh will make a feel-good story if he develops into the quarterback of the future. ■ Defensive tackle Grant Gibson from Charlotte Mallard Creek is one of two Rivals.com four- star prospects in the class. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN CLASS AWARDS The Best Of The 2017 Class