The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Remaining On The Board mitments in a pair of signees from the 2012 collection that will be attending prep school this fall for academic reasons — defensive end Desmond Owino at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., and wide receiver Xavier Griffin at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy. The Pack is down to a limited few spots in N the class and may take six to eight more to fill it out. Here are nine prospects that remain high on NC State's recruiting board, broken down by position. Absent from the list is a quarterback. State is likely to sign one signal-caller in the 2013 class, but they are still in the process of evalu- ating targets entering the fall. RUNNING BACK MARQUEZ GRAYSON Lexington (N.C.) High Grayson (6-1, 200 pounds) first emerged on State's radar when he rushed for 1,378 yards and 11 touchdowns, while catching 10 passes for 175 yards and two scores, as a sophomore. $19995 FREE SHIPPING!!! The Team Effort "Bucket" Cooler Cart Bag features 8 forward- facing, strategically- placed, zippered pockets that offer first-rate organization and functionality. They include The Bucket cooler pocket, a velour- lined water-resistant valuables pocket, a range finder pocket, dual apparel pockets, two accessory pockets, and a ball pocket. Vibrant Wolfpack red and five embroidered logos enable you to display your Pack pride. NC, IN & MI Residents Add Sales Tax For Faster Service on Credit Card orders, call 1-800-421-7751 www.comanpublishing.com 78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BUCKET CART BAG NC STATE BY MATT CARTER C State has 16 verbal commitments in the 2013 class, plus two likely recom- He followed that up by rushing for 1,093 yards and 17 touchdowns on 157 carries, while making 16 receptions for 215 yards and a score, as a junior. Owning offers from Clem- son, Duke, East Carolina, NC State, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, Grayson has narrowed his primarily focus to four programs. "At this point, it's North Carolina State, Wake Forest, Tennessee and Virginia Tech," Grayson told Rivals.com in August. "They all run the ball, and that's something I like to do." Rivals.com rates Grayson as a three-star prospect, the No. 18 recruit from the state of North Carolina and the No. 29 running back nationally in the 2013 class. He plans to pick a school during the sea- son. He wants to major in business manage- ment or sports medicine. "They have to offer what I'm majoring in," Grayson said. "It would have to have a family atmosphere." WIDE RECEIVER JOHNATHAN ALSTON Bunn (N.C.) High Considered one of the top two-way players in the state, Alston may be the first head-to- head battle between NC State and UNC since Larry Fedora took over the program in Chapel Hill. Carolina had an advantage — Alston grew up a UNC fan — but his more frequent visits to NC State may be a sign that the Pack is a strong contender. Alston's most recent visit to NC State came on Aug. 18, and he wanted to make one more trip to UNC before making a final deci- sion. He had earlier been considering Notre Dame before narrowing his focus. "I believe I wouldn't go wrong with who I pick," Alston said. "They are both good schools. "I wanted to wait until official visits, but spots started filling up quick, so my decision is going to come pretty soon. I'm not sure yet, but probably sometime this month." The 6-1, 200-pound Alston is rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 61 athlete in the country by Rivals.com. He is also listed as the No. 25 prospect in the state of North Caro- lina. He caught 27 passes for 523 yards and seven touchdowns, and compiled 67 tackles, 12 stops for loss and six sacks as a junior. Both UNC and NC State are recruiting Alston as a wide receiver. WIDE RECEIVER MARQUEZ NORTH Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek High Many consider North to be the top recruit in the state of North Carolina. He is rated as such by Rivals.com, which also lists him as a four-star prospect, the No. 3 receiver in the 2013 class and the No. 28 overall player in the country. North (6-3, 205 pounds) owns an offer list that reads like the who's who of college football. NC State has been fairly consistently listed among North's top five schools, but he has rarely done inter- views since late in the spring and has insisted in the rare chats with the media that he is not focused on recruiting. Conventional wisdom is that Georgia and UNC are North's top two schools, with Clemson and NC State also in the mix. As a junior, North caught 39 passes for 1,022 yards and 19 touchdowns. He also ran 18 times for 410 yards and four scores, and returned four kickoffs for touchdowns (from distances of 89, 90, 92 and 97 yards). WIDE RECEIVER KYRIN PRIESTER Snellville (Ga.) Brookwood High Priester was a verbal commitment to Geor- gia until mid-June when he opened up his re- cruitment. Since then, Pries- ter has zeroed in on NC State and South Carolina, with the Pack coming on strong thanks in part to his friend- ship with one-time teammate and current Wolfpack com- mitment Jerod Fernandez from Lake Mary (Fla.) High. "That's my best friend; he's not going to lie to me," the 6-1, 180-pound Priester said. "He's been up there. He told me it's a nice school, a good education, that we could go in there and get some playing time as true freshmen. "We want to go to college together so that's another big plus." Priester is expected to officially visit NCSU Oct. 6 for the weekend of the Florida State game. Rivals.com rates Priester as a three-star prospect, the No. 33 player in Georgia and the No. 63 receiver in the country. He caught 31 passes for 565 yards and five scores last year at Lake Mary.