The Wolfpacker

March 2018

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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36 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ 2018 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Derrick Eason DEFENSIVE LINEMAN Norfolk (Va.) Norview High 6-4, 245 pounds Measurables: At a Nike Camp in Wash- ington, D.C., checked in at 6-4, 242 pounds and was laser-timed in the 40-yard dash at 5.04 seconds … Also registered a 4.46-second shuttle time, a 33.0-foot power ball throw and a 24.6-inch vertical leap for an overall Nike rating of 71.07. Stats: During his junior season, compiled 52 tackles, nine stops for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries. Ratings: Listed by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect and the No. 25 player in Virginia … Rated by 247Sports as a three-star talent, the No. 23 player in the state and the No. 59 strongside defensive end in the country … Ranked by ESPN as a three-star recruit, the No. 22 player in the state and the No. 94 defensive tackle in the nation … Regarded by The Virginian-Pilot as the No. 7 player in the South Hampton Roads Region … Tabbed by Recruit757.com as the No. 7 player in the Tidewater region. Honors/accomplishments: Selected Region 5A Co-Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches as a senior … Named to the 2017 All-USA Virginia first team by USA Today … Also earned first-team all-state honors as an offensive lineman and second-team accolades as a defensive lineman for Class 5 from the coaches … Named all-region 5A for both offensive and defensive lines … Also was first-team all-region as a junior … Was second- team 5A all-state and second-team All-Tidewater as a junior. Recruitment: Enjoyed a big spring evaluation period, picking up offers from Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among oth - ers … Narrowed his choices to NC State, North Carolina, Maryland and Temple during the summer and verbally committed to the Wolfpack July 28 … Officially visited Notre Dame Jan. 26 and added a late Miami offer after surprisingly not signing in December … Appeared poised to switch to the Irish, but ended up signing with NCSU. Recruiter of record: Cornerbacks coach George Barlow. Quotable: "A college coach said he likes Eason because 'he's really long, has great reach, really quick and is a prototypical defensive end that can player either side [weak - side or strongside].'" — Larry Rubama of The Virginian-Pilot Scouting report: Has a big frame with good reach … Could grow into a defensive tackle down the road … Spent a good portion of his senior season playing offensive tackle for Norview. 2018 projection: The defensive line is wide open, but Eason is still growing and it may take a redshirt year for him to develop and find a position along the defensive line. Gabriel Gonzalez OFFENSIVE LINEMAN Mebane (N.C.) Eastern Alamance High 6-5, 275 pounds Measurables: At a Nike Camp in Charlotte, checked in at 6-5, 275 pounds and was laser-timed in the 40-yard dash at 5.15 sec - onds … Had a 4.77-second shut- tle time, a 40.0-foot power ball throw and a 30.7-inch vertical leap for an overall Nike rating of 81.96, fifth best among offensive linemen in attendance. Ratings: Rated by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect and the No. 49 player in North Carolina … Listed by 247Sports as a three- star talent, the No. 38 player in the state and the No. 104 of - fensive tackle in the country … Ranked by ESPN as a three-star recruit, the No. 28 player in the state and the No. 87 offensive tackle in the country … Tabbed by The Fayette- ville Observer as the No. 41 player in the state. Honors/accomplishments: Selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Caro- linas All-Star Game and started at right tackle … Invited to participate in the Blue-Grey All-American Game Jan. 6 in Tampa, Fla., but did not participate… Tabbed as a first-team all-state selection by NCPreps.com and USA Today … Was a three-year starter. Recruitment: Received his first Power Five offer from NC State just before the spring evaluation period began … Added tenders from Duke, Minnesota, Purdue, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia during the spring evaluation period … Verbally committed to the Wolfpack June 24 over finalists Duke, ECU and Virginia Tech. Recruiter of record: Linebackers coach and defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable. Quotable: "He's a big boy, and he makes things happen. When Gabe turns it on he can be as good as anybody around. We feel like he needs to keep that switch on all the time. Most of the time he dominates the guys across from him." — Eastern Alamance head coach John Kirby Scouting report: Has good athleticism for an offensive lineman … Still plenty of room to grow in his frame … Needs to get stronger in the weight room. 2018 projection: Gonzalez will probably redshirt this upcoming season. De'Von Graves CORNERBACK Appomattox (Va.) County High • 6-1, 198 pounds Measurables: At NC State's summer camp before his junior season (2016), Graves checked in at 6-1, 178 pounds with a 6-foot-3 wingspan … Hand-timed at 4.50 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 4.15 seconds in the shuttle … Also had a 32.3-inch vertical leap. Stats: Had a big senior season with 31 receptions for 941 yards and 14 scores, plus 46 tackles and three picks … As a junior, recorded 30 catches for 704 yards and nine touchdowns … Contributed 27 receptions for 539 yards and six touchdowns, plus 50 tackles (32 solo), two tackles for loss, two interceptions, 19 passes broken up, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery during his sophomore year … As a freshman, notched 12 catches for 202 yards and two scores, and compiled 27 tackles, five inter- ceptions (one pick-six) and seven passes broken up on defense. Ratings: Ranked by Rivals.com as a four-star talent, the No. 6 player in Virginia and the No. 18 athlete in the nation … Listed by 247Sports as a four-star prospect, the No. 8 player in the state and the No. 29 athlete in the country … Tabbed by ESPN as a four-star recruit, the No. 7 player in the state and the No. 34 athlete in the country … Rated by the Daily Press as the No. 10 player in Virginia. Honors/accomplishments: Named first-team all-state for both offense and defense as a senior … Helped lead his team to three straight state titles … Also ran track and field, and played basketball. Recruitment: Was offered by NC State on the spring game weekend of 2015 … Verbally committed on April 10, 2016, and then held firm despite aggressive overtures from Tennes - see, Virginia, Virginia Tech and West Virginia, among others … Enrolled early at NC State. Recruiter of record: Cornerbacks coach George Barlow. Quotable: "Zone is pretty easy for those guys, but when you lock up that's something a lot of kids can't do. He's good at it." — Ap- pomattox head coach Doug Smith Scouting report: Has the length and ath- leticism sought at the cornerback position … Showed play-making abilities on both sides of the ball in high school … Will need to adjust to the significant jump in level of competi- tion, but has the tools to do it. 2018 projection: By enrolling early, Graves has a chance to make an immediate impact at NC State. The secondary struggled last season and loses two senior starters at corner in Johnathan Alston and Mike Stevens. Graves has the athleticism to find himself on the depth chart fairly quickly.

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