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Recruiting Update – November 4, 2017

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Here is an update of some happenings in the NC State Football recruiting world by Matt Ritter.

 

New Commitment!
Alim McNeil committed to NC State this morning.

 

Official Visitors This Week:

4* LB Payton Wilson – Currently committed to UNC.  Rated in the top 5 OLB prospects in the country by every major recruiting service.  State has been steadly recruiting him and we were his first offer, despite his commital to UNC early last summer.  Interesting to note that he is done for the season now after tearing his ACL last week.

Highlights:

 

Wilson was measured at 6’4″, 225 at The Opening this summer, so he could legitimately make a move to DE if he keeps growing.  Different from Artis, Wilson would probably need to redshirt next year because of his recent ACL injury.

 

Other Official Visits Scheduled:

Target 4* OG Jovaughn Gwyn will be officially visiting on December 8th.

Target 3* ATH Joe Wilkins Jr. will also be officially visiting on December 8th.

 

Other Potential Visitors:

Target 4* DT Jordan Davis has not scheduled any official visits yet, but it looks like Miami, UNC, and us will be receiving one (Florida could also be in play depending on who they hire).

Target 3* DE Joseph Boletepeli has already visited Maryland but has not lined up any more visits yet.  He might be on the outside looking in if we get some other D-Line prospects to commit/visit before he does.

Keep an eye on Target 3* DE  Jason Mercier.  He listed us in his top 4 schools last week.  He is scheduled to officially visit Rutgers (12/8), Maryland (12/15) and has already visited Toledo.  He is another prospect which will probably visit in January if we still have room.

 

Post-Season Accolades:

Commits Devin Carter and Gabe Gonzalez have both been invited to the Blue-Grey All-Star Game.

 

Update on Current Commits:

2017 Season Stats:

ATH Josiah Provillon – 46 catches for 487 yards and 5 TDs, 22 Tackles and 2 INTs on defense

TE Daveon Robinson – 30 catches for 465 yards and 5 TDs

QB Devin Leary – 104 for 172 passing for 1,974 yards with 22 TDs and 4 INTs, 30 rushes for 310 yards and 5 TDs

RB Trent Pennix – 145 carries for 843 yards and 13 TDs, 23 catches for 275 yards and 3 TDs, 10 Tackles and 2 INTs on defense

RB Ricky Person – 177 carries for 1,873 yards and 30 TDs, 13 catches for 194 yards and 3 TDs (missed 2 games with wrist injury)

CB Kishawn Miller – 12 Tackles, 3 INTs, and 4 PBUs (In just 5 games)

DE Joe Babros – 18 Tackles, 2 Sacks, 3 TFL, 5 QB Hurries, 1 Fumble Recovery for 46 for a TD (In just 6 games)

ATH Tyler Williams – 30 catches for 595 yards and 6 TDs, 41 rushes for 271 yard and 1 TD (Will play Safety for us)

WR Devin Carter – 37 catches for 675 yards and 11 TDs, 11 rushes for 65 yards and 2 TDs

LB Calvin Hart – 33 Tackles, 7 TFL, 2 Sacks (His HS team is rated the #3 team in the country by Maxpreps)

 

Stat Updates for Targets:

LB Payton Wilson – 108 Tackles, 21 TFL, 10 Sacks, 1 INT (He has also played some QB this year)

ATH Joe Wilkins Jr. –  20 catches for 443 yards and 6 TDs, 1 KOR for 97 yards (TD), 1 PR for 55 yards (TD), 2 INTs on defense

 

One last thing…

Just played around on 24/7 Sports’ Class Calculator.

If we get Wilson, Davis, Gwyn, Artis, and McNeill, we would finish with the #16 class in the country.

If we miss on Artis and get Wilkins instead, we will finish with the #17 class in the country.

Either way, it looks like a very good possibility for us to finish with a class in the top 20 in the country.

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 LB Cameron White Has NC State Official Visit Set

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3-Star 2025 Linebacker Cameron White (6’1″/225) will be taking an Official Visit to NC State on June 19-21, according to a source.

NC State offered White back on March 1st.

While White hasn’t officially released a Top-8, he did say that the 8 schools that are standing out are NC State, Louisville, Tennessee, West Virginia, UCF, Syracuse, Georgia Tech and Utah.

This Spring, he has taken unofficial visits to Tennessee, UCF, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Louisville, Miami. He’s expected to take an Official Visit to Louisville as well.

Rivals ranks White as the #37 Outside Linebacker nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, and the #79 player in the state of Florida.

This past year, White had 81 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and 5 sacks for Sumner (Riverview, FL).

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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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