NC State’s Best Football Recruiting Commits Ever According to ESPN

This is a breakdown of NC State’s best football recruiting commits over the past 14 years according to ESPN (ESPN’s recruiting rankings date back to 2006). I will be doing the exact same thing for Rivals and 247Sports over the next couple of days.

(All 4-Star Recruits)

1) DE Savion Jackson – 86 – 31st overall – 2019
2) DT Kentavius Street – 84 – 64th Overall – 2014
3) RB Johnny Frasier – 84 – 80th Overall – 2015
4) LB Payton Wilson – 84 – 105th Overall – 2018
5) QB Mike Glennon – 83 – 32nd Overall – 2008
6) ATH Brandon Barnes – 82 – 85th Overall – 2008
7) RB Nyheim Hines – 82 – 155th Overall – 2015
8) DE Darian Roseboro – 82 – 184th – 2015
9) OT Robert Crisp – 81 – 59th Overall – 2010
10) DT Alim McNeil – 81 – 251th Overall – 2018 –
11) CB Taiyon Palmer – 81 – 262nd Overall – 2018
12) DT CJ Clark – 81 – 270th Overall – 2019
13) OT Will Richardson – 81 – 290th Overall – 2014
14) RB Ricky Person – 80 – 299th Overall – 2018

12 Players Tied with a Grade of 80

(All 4-Star Recruits)

CB De’Von Graves – 80 – 2018
QB Devin Leary – 80 – 2018
QB Matt McKay – 80 – 2017 (247Sports and Rivals Ranked as 3-Star)
TE Thaddeus Moss – 80 – 2016
OT Emanuel McGirt – 80 – 2015
ATH Troy Vincent Jr. – 80 – 2014 (247Sports and Rivals Ranked as 3-Star)
QB Jalan McClendon – 80 – 2014
DT Justin Jones – 80 – 2014
CB Sean Paul – 80 – 2013 (247Sports and Rivals Ranked as 3-Star)
WR Hakeem Flowers – 80 – 2011 (247Sports and Rivals Ranked as 3-Star)
DE Fre’Shad Hunter – 80 – 2010 (Didn’t end up enrolling due to grades)
DE Mario Carter – 80 – 2008 (247Sports Ranked as 3-Star)

Quite a few of these recruits are so recent, it is unknown just how accurate their recruiting rankings were. With that being said, here are a few notes.

• 2019 commit Savion Jackson is the highest Wolfpack commit of the past 14 seasons according to ESPN.
• Kentavius Street, Mike Glennon, Nyheim Hines, Will Richardson, and Justin Jones lived up to the hype. All 5 of them had successful careers at NC State, and are currently playing in the NFL.
• ESPN took a shot with Matt McKay, Troy Vincent Jr, Sean Paul, Hakeem Flowers, and Mario Carter, ranking them with one more star than Rivals and 247. Sometimes you take a shot, and you miss, and I would say for the most part they did with each of these players. Vincent Jr., Doeren’s most significant commitment in his second year, flipping from a Penn St. commitment, transferred to Towson. Paul saw action in only 5 games over three seasons in Raleigh, picking up 6 total tackles. Flowers transferred to Nicholls State University after not finding his niche in Raleigh.
• All the recruiting databases overrated Brandon Barnes, Johnny Frasier and Robert Crisp. Barnes played in only 13 games over 3 seasons, accumulating only 214 yards in the ground, averaging 3.0 yards per carry. Crisp, the #2 Offensive Tackle in his class, couldn’t stay healthy, and find a consistent place in the starting plineup. Frasier, only played in 5 games, rushing for 64 yards, before deciding to leave the school to recover from an injury and focus on academics.
• We will have to wait and see if Thaddeus Moss lives up to his hype. He had flashes of brilliance in his freshman season, but transferred to LSU and sat out last season.