The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/790572
64 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ 2017 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE passes for 1,233 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He also plays basketball and was averaging 10.9 points per game through 25 contests. Virginia has also offered. Two-star Robert Mayo from Freedom High in Woodbridge, Va., reports an early offer from the Pack to go along with one from Maryland. Mayo (6-3, 200) is ex- pected to visit NC State in March. The top in-state option is likely to be Tre Turner from Greensboro's Northwest Guilford High. Turner caught 52 passes for 1,065 yards and 12 touchdowns last sea- son. The 6-4, 190-pounder is also a good basketball player. Rivals.com rates him as the No. 4 prospect in North Carolina, and the No. 12 wide receiver and No. 70 overall player in the country. Duke, Florida, Florida State, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Penn State, South Carolina, Tennes- see, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wisconsin are among the others on his lengthy offer list. ■ Tight Ends 2017 TE On Roster: 7 Projected Take: 1 Matt Alaimo from St. Joseph Regional in Montvale, N.J., has a pair of teammates — linebacker Louis Acceus and offensive lineman Joshua Fedd-Jackson — who signed with NC State in February. Arkansas, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Rut- gers, Syracuse and Virginia are among the 6-5, 235-pound Alaimo's other offers. He caught 25 passes for 371 yards and a touch- down last fall. ■ Offensive Linemen 2017 OL On Roster: 17 Projected Take: 2-3 The Pack is one of the early favorites for Jovaughn Gwyn from Harding Univer- sity High in Charlotte. The 6-3, 290-pound Gwyn also has been offered by Duke and Wake Forest. Gwyn, who took third in the 4-A heavyweight division at the state wrestling championships, visited NC State Jan. 21 for junior day. Another in-state option is Avery Jones from Havelock High. The 6-4, 275-pounder is listed as the No. 17 player in the state and the No. 13 offensive guard in the coun- try by Rivals.com. Duke, Maryland, Mis- souri, North Carolina, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have also offered. The biggest home-state offensive line product, literally, is 6-7, 300-pound Michael Edwards from South View High in Hope Mills. Rivals.com ranks him as the No. 22 re- cruit in North Carolina and the No. 30 offen- sive tackle in the 2018 class. NC State, North Carolina and Wake Forest have offered. NC State has hosted Jake Kradel from Butler (Pa.) High on a pair of unofficial visits. Rivals.com rates the 6-4, 270-pounder as the No. 23 junior in the state. Boston Col- lege, Iowa State, Minnesota, Rutgers, Syra- cuse and West Virginia have also offered. ■ Defensive Ends 2017 DE On Roster: 10 Projected Take: 2-3 NC State has followed a fairly consistent pattern of signing tall, lean and athletic defen- sive ends that can be molded by the strength staff. Alim McNeill from Raleigh's Sander- son High might be an exception to that. The 6-2, 260-pound McNeill's stock has exploded since January. Boston Col- lege, Duke, Florida State, Maryland, Vir- ginia Tech and Wake Forest have joined NC State in offering. He has been a repeat visitor to the nearby campus. McNeill had 84 stops, 18 tackles for loss, six sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries, an interception and one pass bro- ken up as a junior. He is — temporarily — rated as a two-star prospect and the No. 40 player in North Carolina by Rivals.com. Another Raleigh-based end prospect with an offer is Millbrook High's Joseph Bo- latepeli. The 6-4, 240-pounder is listed as a three-star talent and the No. 37 player in the state by Rivals.com. He also has offers from, among others, Boston College, Mary- land, Miami and Rutgers. He compiled 82 tackles, including 17 for loss, last season. ■ Defensive Tackles 2017 DT On Roster: 8 Projected Take: 3 NC State appears to be in good early posi- tion with Elijah Brown from Providence Day in Charlotte. The 6-4, 270-pounder also has offers from East Carolina and Wake Forest. As a junior, Brown recorded 70 tackles, seven stops for loss and six sacks. Rivals.com rates him as the No. 38 junior in the state. Another Charlotte product high on the Pack's board is four-star Jordan Davis from Mallard Creek High, a school that NC State has signed one player from in each of the past four recruiting classes. Florida and UNC have joined NC State in offering the big defensive tackle. The 6-6, 320-pounder is rated as the No. 10 recruit in the state, and the No. 15 defensive tackle and No. 227 overall player in the land by Rivals.com. ■ Linebackers 2017 LB On Roster: 8 Projected Take: 2 By taking three linebackers in the 2017 class, NC State is expected to be more selec- tive at the position among the current juniors. Four-star Alan Tisdale from Page High in Greensboro, N.C., visited NC State for its junior day Jan. 21. The athletic 6-3, 210-pounder reportedly has run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds. Rivals.com rates Tisdale as the No. 7 pros- pect in the state, and the No. 8 outside line- backer and No. 136 overall recruit nationally. He has a lengthy offer list that also in- cludes Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest. Tis- dale has led Page to back-to-back 4-AA state title game appearances, and he had 11 tackles in the championship loss to Wake Forest (N.C.) High in December. ■ Cornerbacks 2017 CB On Roster: 7 Projected Take: 3 Three seniors are set to graduate, so this will be a position of need in the 2018 class. Graves, if he holds firm, likely fills one of the spots. NC State would love for one- time UNC commit D.J. Crossen from Dud- ley High in Greensboro, N.C., to join him. The 6-2, 190-pound Crossen was at State's junior day Jan. 21, days before announcing his decommitment from the Heels. Duke, Louisville, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest have also offered. Crossen posted 64 tackles, three intercep- tions and 12 passes broken up while helping Dudley to a 4-A state title. Two of his former teammates, rising sophomore nickel back Trae Meadows and incoming freshman of- fensive tackle Bryson Speas, are at NC State. Crossen is listed as the No. 13 player in Rivals.com rates Havelock (N.C.) High's Avery Jones as the No. 17 prospect in North Caro- lina and the No. 13 offensive guard nationally. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN