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Football Recruiting Update – August 25, 2017

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Recent commits: 2019 LS Drew Little

 

Targets Committed Elsewhere: DE Jarrett Jackson committed to Louisville and is now off of our board. P Paxton Brooks committed to Tennessee and is now off of our board.

 

Targets Left:

4* DE/DT Alim McNeill – Reportedly deciding by September 9th

4* OG Jovaughn Gwyn – Reportedly deciding in September

4* DT Jordan Davis

3* DT Elijah Brown

3* DE Joseph Boletepeli – Reportedly deciding in September

4* LB Keshon Artis

3* LB Eriq Gilyard

3* LB Calvin Hart – Reportedly deciding in September

3* CB/S Kendall Williamson

3* DE Dennis Briggs (has been officially offered now)

3* DE Jason Mercier

3* DT Jalen Alexander

3* DE/DT Jordan Redmond

3* OT Kahric Belle

3* TE/ATH Messiah Swinson

3* WR Tra’von King

3* WR Jeshaun Jones

3* WR Joseph Wilkins Jr.

 

Cut Lists:

Target 3* CB/S Kendall Williamson has released his top 4 schools list. We made the cut along with Georgia Tech, Stanford, and Wake Forest. At this point, I don’t see Wake Forest landing him (unless something majorly changes).

 

2017 Season Performance Updates:

Commits RB Ricky Person, K Chris Dunn, WR Devin Carter, OL Gabriel Gonzalez, RB Trent Pennix, DB Tyler Williams, S Malik Dunlap, and Targets DE Alim McNeill, OG Jo’Vaughn Gwyn, and DE Joseph Boletepeli all played this week to start the season.

 

Most Florida, Virginia, and NJ area schools start season action on 8/25 or later.

 

Breakdown of this week’s game performances:

 

RB Ricky Person – 20 carries for 182 yards with 4 TDs, 1 catch for 22 yards . Was reportedly done after the first half. Heritage won 43-0. He had TD runs of 8 yards twice and a TD run of 49 yards.

K Chris Dunn – Hit a 41 yard field goal and missed a 49 yard field goal with 8 minutes left to go in the game. North Davidson lost 20-16.

WR Devin Carter –  Scored at least one touchdown on an end around. It was a 25 yard run. Clayton beat Garner 35-14.

 

ATH Tyler Williams – Caught 6 passes for 60 yards but Southeast Raleigh lost to West Carteret 47-14.

 

OT Gabriel Gonzalez – Helped Eastern Alamance rack up 257 rushing yards in a 58-16 win over Graham High.

 

Other interesting notes: Target DT Jordan Davis, who plays at Mallard Creek, did not play defense at all in Friday’s game. Instead, he played Left Tackle. Some sites are thinking that due to his size and length, he might project better at OT instead of at DT.

 

Extra Scholarship Available:

FR WR Antoine Thompson has decided to leave the program, reportedly as a result of another knee injury. Therefore, the 2018 class has an additional scholarship available.

 

Spots Available and Positions of Need:

3 Defensive Line positions, 2 Linebackers, 1 OT, 1 best available

 

Projections:

Here’s my current projection of how things pan out for each of our remaining targets:

4* DE/DT Alim McNeill – NC STATE

4* OG Jovaughn Gwyn – NC STATE

4* DT Jordan Davis – MIAMI

3* DT Elijah Brown – DUKE

3* DE Joseph Boletepeli – NC STATE

4* LB Keshon Artis – VIRGINIA TECH

3* LB Eriq Gilyard – KENTUCKY

3* LB Calvin Hart – NC STATE

3* CB/S Kendall Williamson – STANFORD

3* DE Dennis Briggs – MIAMI

3* DE Jason Mercier – PITTSBURGH

3* DT Jalen Alexander – MARYLAND

3* DE/DT Jordan Redmond – WISCONSIN

3* OT Kahric Belle – NC STATE

3* TE Messiah Swinson – BOSTON COLLEGE

3* WR Tra’von King – NC STATE (If we pick up another WR)

3* WR Jeshaun Jones – TENNESSEE

3* WR Joseph Wilkins Jr. – KENTUCKY

 

 

 

2002 NC State Graduate, School Administrator, Lifelong Pack Fan (Since my uncle graduated from State in 1937), Husband, Father, Workout Aficionado, Reader, Thinker, Recruiting Analyst in my spare time...

Football Recruiting

3-Star Edge Nik Alston Has Locked in an Official Visit to NC State

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According to a source, 2025 3-Star Edge Nik Alston (6’3″/260) has locked in an Official Visit to NC State for June 7-9.

Alston plays for Thompson High School in Birmingham, Alabama, and is ranked as the #40 overall player in the state in the 2025 class according to 247Sports.

Back on April 6th, Alston was in attendance for NC State’s 2024 Spring Game, and he walked away with an offer. He also holds offers from Minnesota, Washington, Liberty, Georgia Tech and Tulane.

He also has Official Visits scheduled for Washington, Minnesota, Liberty and Tulane. Honestly, some of the dates that I have found overlap at this point, but these were all reported at one time.

This past season, Alston had 37 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 fumble recoveries.

When I spoke with Alston in the past, he said NC State would be at the top of his list.

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Football Recruiting

3-Star CB Robert Jones III Includes NC State in His Top-10

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2025 3-Star Cornerback Robert Jones III (6’2″/170) recently revealed his Top-10 schools, and NC State made the cut along with Auburn, Kentucky, Miami, Louisville, Illinois, South Florida, UCF, Missouri and Florida.

ON3 ranks Jones III as the #59 overall player in the state of Florida in the 2025 recruiting class.

You can watch his highlights from the 2023 season here. He only played 7 games due to injury. Jones III had 9 pass breakups and 2 interceptions as a Junior.

Jones III has a commitment date set for May 28th, with an Official Visit to Illinois scheduled in June.

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Football Recruiting

NC State Football Recruiting Update

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Here’s a rundown of some of the happenings in the world of NC State Football Recruiting recently.

Thursday Visitor

4-Star 2026 EDGE Zavion Griffin-Hayes (6’6″/225) took an unofficial visit to NC State Thursday.

ON3 ranks Griffin-Hayes as the #78 overall player nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, the #9 EDGE, and the #7 player in the state of North Carolina.

Griffin-Hayes plays right down the road from NC State at Rolesville, where NC State’s Isiah Jones, Tamarcus Cooley & Noah Rogers played. The Wolfpack have yet to offer Griffin-Hayes yet, but he does hold offers from South Carolina, App St., Auburn, UCLA and others.

Griffin-Hayes has been a frequent visitor to NC State.

This past season as a Sophomore at Rolesville, Griffin-Hayes had 50+ tackles, 20+ tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.

4-Star RB Kentrell Rinehart is taking an Official Visit

4-Star 2025 Running Back Kentrell Rinehart (6’2”/205) is taking an Official Visit to NC State on June 21-23. He also has Official Visits scheduled to Minnesota and Syracuse.

Back on February 10th, Rinehart revealed his Top-5 schools, and he included NC State, along with Syracuse, Indiana, Kentucky and Minnesota.

Rivals ranks him as the #24 Running Back in the 2025 recruiting class, and the #14 overall player in the state of Ohio.

His Junior stats this past season (at Bishop Ready) were video game numbers, rushing for 2,837 yards (8.3 yards per carry) and 42 touchdowns.

Yesterday’s Visitors

3-Star 2026 Wide Receiver Nyqir Helton (5’11″/180) was on an unofficial visit to NC State.

Rivals ranks Helton as the #7 overall player in the state of New Jersey in the 2026 recruiting class. He holds offers from Penn St., Rutgers, UCONN, Maryland, Pitt, Syracuse, Boston College, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

As a Sophomore, Helton had 33 receptions for 606 yards and 7 touchdowns for Winslow Township (Atco, New Jersey).

4-Star 2026 Running Back Jaylen McGill (5’10″/185) was on an unofficial visit to NC State.

Rivals ranks McGill as the #238 overall player nationally in the 2026 recruiting class, the #17 Running Back, and the #2 player in the state of South Carolina.

McGill holds offers from Tennessee, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Coastal Carolina and Indiana.

As a Sophomore last year, McGill 1,602 yards rushing (9.1 yards per carry) and 24 touchdowns for Broome (Spartanburg, SC). He also had 88 yards receiving and 2 touchdown receptions.

3-Star 2026 Interior Offensive Lineman Steven Pickard Jr. (6’5″/300) was in Raleigh for an unofficial visit.

ON3 ranks him as the #10 overall player in the state of South Carolina in the 2026 recruiting class.

Pickard Jr. plays for Phillip Simmons in Charleston, SC.

4-Star 2025 Wide Receiver Braswell Thomas (6’2″/185) was also on campus.

Rivals ranks Thomas as the #8 player in the state of New Jersey in the 2025 recruiting class.

Thomas holds offers from Penn St., Rutgers, Tennessee, Georgia, and Nebraska.

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Football Recruiting

3-Star 2025 CB Jayden Shipps has Locked In His Official Visit to NC State

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I confirmed with 3-Star 2025 Cornerback Jayden Shipps (6’1″/180) that he will be taking an Official Visit to NC State on June 7-9.

Shipps also took an unofficial visit to Raleigh on March 22nd.

The Wolfpack offered a scholarship to Shipps on October 4th, and he also holds offers from Wisconsin, Tennessee, Michigan St., Syracuse, Duke, Pitt, South Carolina, West Virginia, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Maryland, Wake Forest and others

ON3 ranks Shipps as the #21 overall player in the state of Maryland in the 2025 recruiting class. Shipps had 24 tackles and 1 interception for Archbishop Spalding (Servern, MD) this past season.

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