Linebacker Garrett Hooker made it official today and committed to run with the Wolfpack. We caught up with him tonight and wanted to get his take on what led him to make this decision. While Hooker listed a variety of reasons for his commitment, relationships were at the top of his list.

“I knew when I was at camp at State on Thursday that I was going to commit. It’s all love down there. It’s fun. Everyone’s so close,” Hooker said. “I know a lot of the guys that are on the team already. I know Emanuel Olenga, Nyheim Hines, Woody Cornwell and Reggie Gallaspy. Reggie is one of my best friends. In fact, Reggie and Woody and I played pop warner football together as kids. It feels like family down there. It feels like home.”

Hooker also said that he wanted to go somewhere close to home so his parents could come and see him play. When he left NC State on Thursday, he told his mom that he was going to commit.

“There’s nothing more I could want, so I just went ahead and called them, because West Virginia, Virginia Tech and Clemson were all close to offering me, but I have been to all of those schools, and I knew I wanted to go to State, so I just went ahead and pulled it.” said Hooker

This wasn’t the first time that the NC State coaching staff laid their eyes on Hooker. The coaching staff realized last summer that this kid could hit, but their greatest concern was whether or not he follow a receiver in a pass drop.

“Last year I went to camp at NC State. They had already watched my film, and they knew that I could play the run, and that I could tackle. But at last years camp I ran a 5.0 40-yard dash,” Hooker said. “So they didn’t know if I could play in space or pass drops, so they didn’t offer me last year. But I went to camp this year and ran a 4.76, a 4.3 shuttle and did pretty good in one-on-one drills. Obviously a lot had changed and they offered me.”

The coaching staff has plans for Hooker to play the “Mike backer” position when he arrives.

Hooker already switched roles from recruit to recruiter before he even committed. Before he left camp last Thursday, he asked Coach White who he should be going after.

“I’ve already started recruiting. I knew after I left Raleigh on Thursday that I was going to go to State. From that point on, Coach White was telling me the guys they are going after like Diondre Overton, Cornell Powell, Dexter Lawrence. I’ve been hitting them up…I’ve been camping with these guys for years. I’m going to try to get these guys down to State and do something big down here. NC State is getting top notch guys…guys like Darian Roseboro. This program is going up. We’re trying to win championships down in Raleigh.

Football Recruiting

NC State Football Recruiting Update (9/21/23)

Published

2 days ago

September 21, 2023

Matthew Bradham

There’s been a lot of NC State football recruiting info flying around, and the update below won’t cover it all, but it’s my attempt at catching up a bit.

NC State offered 4-Star 2025 Running Back Marquise Henderson (5’11″/172) out of Anderson, South Carolina. Rivals ranks Henderson as the #24 Running Back nationally in the 2025 class, and the #2 overall player in the state of South Carolina. Henderson also holds offers from Georgia Tech, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Virginia Tech, Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Liberty, James Madison, Arizona an UVA. In 2022, Henderson rushed for 1,230 yards and 16 touchdowns, averaging 10.5 yards per carry. He also had 297 receiving yards and 4 touchdown receptions.

3-Star 2024 ATH/LB Justin Rowe out of Asheville, North Carolina, was on an unofficial visit for the VMI game this past Saturday. Rowe holds offers from Michigan, Tennessee, App St, SMU, Missouri, Virginia Tech, Boston College, Duke, ECU, Charlotte, James Madison, Marshall, Liberty, Vanderbilt and NC State. The Wolfpack offered him on June 7th.

On September 14th, NC State Offered Sophomore JUCO Offensive Lineman Markel Bell (6’9″/335) out of Holmes Community College in Goodman, Mississippi. Bell is ranked by 247Sports as the #2 overall player nationally in the Junior College ranks, and the #1 Offensive Lineman. At this point, Bell holds offers from Ole Miss, Mississippi St., Auburn, Arkansas, Houston, Louisville, Miami and others.

2026 Linebacker Anthony Davis, out of Loganville, Georgia, was in attendance for NC State’s game against VMI this past Saturday. Davis already holds offers from Auburn, Georgia Tech, App St., UCF, Arizona St., USF, Liberty and ECU.

2026 4-Star Tight End Kendre Harrison (6’7″/230) took an unofficial visit to NC State this past weekend. Harrison is the #5 overall player nationally in the 2026 class according to 247Sports, and the #1 player in the state of North Carolina (Reidsville High School). The North Carolina standout is the nephew of former NC State basketball player C.C. Harrison. Harrison already holds offers from NC State, Georgia, Wake Forest, Old Dominion, Louisville, Penn St, Oregon, Virginia Tech, UNC, Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Auburn. In 2022, Harrison had 263 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. On defense, he had 92 tackles, 24 tackles for loss and 9 sacks.

On September 11, NC State offered 4-Star 2025 Wide Receiver C.J. Wiley out of Milton, Georgia. ON3 ranks Wiley as the #191 overall player nationally in his class. He already holds offers from Georgia, Michigan, FSU, Ole Miss, Miami, Nebraska, Michigan St, UCF, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Maryland, BYU, Pitt, Texas A&M, Arizona St and others.

Football Recruiting

PI EXCLUSIVE: 4-Star PF David Punch Recaps NC State Official Visit

Published

3 days ago

September 20, 2023

Matthew Bradham

NC State hosted 4-Star 2024 Power Forward David Punch this past weekend on an Official Visit. I was able to catch up with him and get his thoughts.

I included NC State in my Top 7 because of how active they were in recruiting me. They were very consistent.

When I got there, I toured the practice facility and had a photo shoot. Then we watched the team practice on Friday night. Saturday we watched the practice in the arena, and then we toured it. After that we watched the football game, and then we watched film and had dinner at Coach Keatts’ house.

My favorite part of the Official Visit was watching them practice, and hanging out with the players.

The coaches showed me film on previous players at my position, and also showed me their style-of-play, which is mostly transition buckets, which is something I love.

They are very high on my list after the Official Visit.

Check out more about who David Punch is here.

Football Recruiting

NC State Now Has Seven 4-Star Commitments in Their 2024 Class

Published

4 days ago

September 19, 2023

Matthew Bradham

ON3 just updated their rankings, and NC State 2024 Offensive Lineman verbal commitment Tyler West jumped from a 3-Star prospect to a 4-Star prospect. ON3 now ranks West as the #22 Interior Offensive Lineman nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, and the #12 player in the state of North Carolina.

Now the Wolfpack’s 2024 recruiting class has SEVEN 4-star commitments.

OL Tyler West
WR Jimmar Boston
WR Jonathan Paylor
WR Terrell Anderson
ATH Ronnie Royal
QB Cedrick Bailey
CB Asaad Brown

This marks the 4th consecutive recruiting class in which NC State has landed SEVEN 4-Star commitments, and the 6th time it has happened under Dave Doeren.

2024 – 7
2023 – 7
2022 – 7
2021 – 8
2020 – 3
2019 – 7
2018 – 6
2017 – 3
2016 – 2
2015 – 5
2014 – 7
2013 – 2