Football Recruiting Update – May 20, is 2018
The Spring Evaluation Period is in full swing.
Our coaches have been hitting the road and evaluating tape, and we have extended a huge amount of new offers since the last update.
Upcoming Official Visits
3* DE Derrick McClendon from Tucker, Georgia will officially visit Raleigh on 6/14.
Reportedly 4* DT Joshua Harris and 4* OLB Rian Davis are in the process of lining up official visits to Raleigh early this summer.
Positional Breakdown of Need: Linebackers
We should take 2-3 linebackers in this year’s class.
Recent Commit: Jaylon Scott – Attends Shelby HS (North Carolina). 6’2″, 220. 4.86 40. Rated the #59 OLB in the country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, the #30 OLB in the country (3*) by Rivals, NR on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 85 Tackles, 20 Tackles for Loss, 5 Sacks, 1 Interception, 2 Blocked Punts, 2 Fumble Recoveries
Analysis: We have made his list of his top 4 schools along with Maryland, Syracuse, and Duke. Definitely needs to increase his overall speed. Overpursues plays at times. Needs to keep better leverage on tackles (dropped his head a few times on film instead of squaring up tackles). Has a knack of finding the ball and stopping the play. He may lack great overall speed, but I was impressed by his ability cover passing plays on defense. Needs to gain some upper body strength to be able to get off blocks quicker. Lines up at a hybrid defensive end position some for his HS, might grow into a defensive end in college. I feel good about our ability to land Scott, however, I think if we can land Freshwater and Thomas, Scott might be a backup plan (depending on numbers).
Here are 7 prospects to keep an eye on for our linebacker recruiting:
Lakia Henry – Attends Dodge City CC (Kansas). 6’1″, 227. Rated the #1 JUCO player in the country, the #1 ILB prospect in the country (4*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, a non-rated 4* on Rivals.
Stats: In 11 junior college games, he had 110 Tackles, 2.5 Sacks, 1 Interception
Analysis: We just extended an offer to him this week. He was very impressed by a recent visit to Tennessee. His recruiting is wide open and he is steadily adding offers from major schools. Originally a running back as a high school prospect from Vidalia HS in Georgia. I foresee him going to Alabama or Tennessee for college. Very athletic and a very hard hitter. A true head hunter who finds gaps in the offensive and explodes through them to make hits. He will need some coaching about alignment on defense, but other than that, he is a stud and will probably be a college level All-American.
Osita Eknowu – Attends Providence Day School (North Carolina). 6’2″, 220. 4.56 40. Rated the #7 MLB in the country (4*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, the #5 OLB in the country and the #148 overall prospect in the country (4*) on Rivals, and the #14 OLB in the country on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 59 carries for 468 yards and 13 Touchdowns. 73 Tackles, 2 Tackles for Loss, 2 Sacks
Analysis: He has an identical twin brother who is 6’4″, 290 and is an offensive lineman for Providence Day. We appear to be recruiting both brothers. Osita can get up and go for a guy of his frame. He is leaning to Notre Dame at this time. Very long frame. Highlight film demonstrates that he is very athletic and fast and covers a lot of space in the passing game. He is a guy with his speed could actually move to nickel in college. Already has good size and very easily could contribute as a freshman in college. Just received an offer from Auburn this week, but I see him committing to Notre Dame unless we can get him on campus in the next few weeks.
Traveon Freshwater – Attends Northeastern HS (North Carolina). 6’3″, 220. 4.6 40. Rated the #14 MLB in the country (4*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, the #8 Weakside Defensive End in the country and the #157 overall prospect in the country (4*) on Rivals, and the #34 OLB in the country (3*) on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 118 carries for 2,015 yards and 22 Touchdowns. 157 Tackles, 27 Sacks, 1 Forced Fumble.
Analysis: We are in great shape for Freshwater. We have been leading for him since December and we have not relinquished the lead. I look for us to get a commitment from Freshwater sometime in the next few weeks. A true stud in every sense. A game breaking and tempo changing talent who has a knack of making plays. Another one of those difference making players which we cannot allow to leave the state or commit to another team. The national leader in sacks during his junior season. Very well could move to defensive line ala Bradley Chubb. My only concern about Freshwater is the level of competition that he plays, but his athleticism and ability and film show me that he will not have any problems in college.
Drake Thomas – Attends Heritage HS (North Carolina). 6’1″, 225. 4.78 40. Rated the #20 MLB in the country (3*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, the #17 ILB in the country (3*) on Rivals, and the #14 ILB in the country (3*) on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 30 carries for 287 yards and 3 Touchdowns, 5 catches for 35 yards. 112 Tackles, 8 Tackles for Loss, 1 Sack, 3 Interceptions, 3 Forced Fumbles.
Analysis: We just gave his brother, WR Thayer Thomas, a scholarship this week, which should help our chances with Drake. I think that we are also in great shape to land Drake Thomas, and I expect him to commit to us before the end of the summer. High school teammates with 2018 commits Ricky Person and Joseph Boletepeli. A sure tackler in the field, but needs to improve his overall speed. He reminds me a lot of former Pack LB Riley Nicholson on film, he just likes to hit the crap out of people. Reads and reacts to plays well, but his lack of top end speed can be a liability at times in pass coverage (particularly when matched up against a slot receiver), hence the prediction he will stay at MLB. When he gets to the ball carrier, they usually go down, but his loading up for a big hit sometimes leads to broken tackles because he doesn’t square up the tackles all the time. Because of his knack to bring down the ball carrier and provide big hits, he could contribute immediately at State on special teams if he committed to us.
Ahdarrious Gee – Attends Crisp County HS (Georgia). 6’1″, 190. Rated the #29 MLB in the country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, the #29 OLB in the country (3*) on Rivals, and NR on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 73 Tackles, 3 Tackles for Loss, 4 Sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery
Analysis: Previously committed to South Carolina, but rescinded his commitment in February 2018. A very long player but needs to add 20-30 pounds to be disruptive in college. Needs to gain some strength to be able to take on ballcarriers one on one in the open field. Good ball skills when covering passing plays. Needs to learn how to more quickly diagnose plays (he backpedaled on some plays which were running plays). At this point it looks like a Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt race to land him. I definitely think he is a backup plan if we unexpectedly miss on Freshwater, Davis, Scott, and Thomas.
Rian Davis – Attends Weklva HS (Florida). 6’2″, 233. 4.6 40. Rated the #11 OLB in the country (4*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, the #38 Weakside Defensive End (3*) on Rivals, and the #11 OLB in the country and the #105 overall prospect in the country (4*) on ESPN.
Junior Stats: 93 Tackles, 13 Tackles for Loss, 3 Sacks, 13 QB Hurries, 2 Interceptions, 2 Fumble Recoveries
Analysis: He will be scheduling an official visit to Raleigh in the next several weeks. He moved from playing at Clear Lake HS in Texas to Weklva HS before his junior season. Long athlete with a great frame to tweak his strength in college. I am very impressed by his film. It is easy to see what our coaches like about him. He is very athletic and reads plays very quickly. He has a high motor on defense and does not give up on plays. Needs to work harder to keep outside containment at times, but could be a huge difference maker in our program. Our main competition for him appears to be Georgia, Clemson, and Louisville. I like our chances, but we need him to have a great visit to Raleigh in a few weeks to have a chance to land him.
Derek Boykins – Attends Central Cabarrus HS (North Carolina). 6’1″, 224. 4.61 40. Rated the #30 OLB in the country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, NR (3*) on Rivals, NR on ESPN.
Junior Stats: None available.
Analysis: Steadily gaining offers as the spring is increasing (got an offer from Clemson in March). He plays all over the place for his HS (safety, running back, quarterback, nickel back, linebacker). Very athletic, but will need to refine techniques and breakdown on ball carrier better on defense so he does not miss tackles as often. A sure tackler, uses leverage well to bring down ball carrier but does some hitting from the side because he does not read the ball carrier completely correctly at times. Needs to game some upper body strength to be able to scrape off of blocks better. Top 4 at this point are South Carolina, UNC, Clemson, and Tennessee.
*** Looks like Clemson will not take any more linebackers in this year’s class, which should improve our chances with several of our targets (Thomas & Davis)
QB Recruiting News:
Targets 4* Michael Johnson and 3* Jacob Zeno were both invited to the Elite 11 Finals in Oregon.
Upcoming Visits to Other Schools:
4* Safety JR Walker and 4* Defensive End Savion Jackson will both be officially visiting South Carolina on June 1st.
4* DT Joshua Harris will officially visit Ohio State either June 1st or June 8th.
Upcoming Decision:
Target 4* TE Luke Deal is committing to the school of his choice on May 25th at 4:19 pm at his school.
He is supposedly leaning to Clemson, but we may not be completely out of it. He took an official visit to State in early April.
My Crystal Wolf Predictions:
Look for several of these prospects to commit to State in the before the end of June:
LB Drake Thomas
LB Traveon Freshwater
RB Jamious Griffin
CB Syheim Battle
OG/OT Carter Colquitt
OT Zovon Lindsay or OT Jeremy James
Summer Camp Schedule:
Summer Camps will be coming up in a few weeks at State.
Usually the marquee camps are the 7 on 7 which are June 15th and June 22nd, and the Alpha Wolf Showcase, which should also be sometime around mid-June.
