Last night 4-star 2016 linebacker Elysee Mbem-Bosse (Ellenwood, GA) revealed his Top 5 schools, and NC State was one of the teams that made the cut. When Mbem-Bosse revealed his Top 7 back in June, NC State wasn’t on his list. Something must have happened for the Wolfpack to move up his list like this, so I talked with Mbem-Bosse last night to figure out what it was.

“NC State is a really good school. They have some really great coaches. I have a great relationship with them, and with some of the players there too. One of my former defensive tackles, Quentez Johnson, plays at NC State,” said Mbem-Bosse. “I think what really changed things was the visit I took up there. I realized what kind of place it was…the atmosphere. Getting to sit down face-to-face with the coaches again.”

Mbem-Bosse also gave me a little bit of insight on the reasons for including the other four schools in his Top 5.

Wake Forest
“Wake Forest is a great school. They have amazing academics,” said Mbem-Bosse. “They were actually the first school that offered me, before all of these other offers started coming in.”

Michigan
“Growing up I always watched Michigan football because they were so big back then,” said Mbem-Bosse. “I would say they have the biggest program and fanbase in all of college.”

USC
“USC has an amazing facility. I was up there this summer, and had a great time,” said Mbem-Bosse. “I loved hanging with the coaches and the players. I loved the feeling of being at Southern California.”

Auburn
“Auburn is a great school. I will say that it is the closest to home. I’m not saying that distance matters for me, but it is the closest,” said Mbem-Bosse. “I’ve visited multiple times because it is the closest, and every time I go I get a positive vibe. They have amazing facilities and great coaches. They have the best defensive coordinator that you could get in all of college football right now.”

Mbem-Bosse said that he plans on making another cut to his list prior to making his final decision, and he doesn’t have anymore visits planned on the calendar at this point. He did say that NC State was recruiting him just as hard as the other four schools, and said that the NC State coaches recruiting approach goes beyond football. Their goal is to develop you into a man.

“They tell me it’s a great place to be at. Coach Doeren is a great guy,” said Mbem-Bosse. “He doesn’t just care about you as a football player. He wants to see you develop into a man. Education comes first for him.”

Football Recruiting

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

Published

4 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

5 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

6 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