NC State Football Recruiting Update – January 24, 2019

Staff Changes

Todd Goebbels comes to State from Marshall to be our new Tight Ends/Special Teams Coordinator to replace Eddie Faulkner, who went to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tony Gibson comes to State from West Virginia to become the new Co-Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach to replace Ted Roof, who went to App State.

Both coaches are considered to be excellent teachers and very good recruiters. Goebbels recruited 4 4* players to Marshall as the recruiting coordinator and Offensive Coordinator in the last cycle, and Gibson helped to recruit a huge amount of talent at West Virginia.

No word yet on who the new Recruiting Coordinator will be now that Eddie Faulkner has left, but my guesses would be either Aaron Henry, George McDonald, or Kevin Patrick, since they have been on staff for a while. Recruits seem to love Aaron Henry, but I’m not sure he has developed enough clout with in-state coaches yet to be super influential.

Junior Day

Junior Day is set for Saturday, January 26th at Carter-Finley. This is an invite only event.

Big time names expected to attend: 3* RB Trenton Simpson, 4* WR Mushin Muhammad, Commit 4* WR Porter Rooks, 3* DE Quentin Williams, 3* DE Malik Puryear, 4* 2021 DE Jahvaree Ritzie, 3* ATH Ja’Qurious Conley, 3* DE Justin Reed, 3* LB Mohamed Kaba, 4* WR Josh Downs, 3* CB Jaidyn Denis, 4* OT Mitchell Mayes.

Recent Visits

3* LB Mohamed Kaba and 4* OT Mitchell Mayes both visited Raleigh immediately after the dead period ended.  We are in excellent shape for both of them and with 4* WR Josh Downs. One or more of them might commit during Junior Day this upcoming weekend.

Worth Noting

4* DE Kendrick Bingley-Jones, HS teammates with Porter Rooks, has decommitted from Florida recently.

Remaining Targets in the 2019 Cycle

Our coaches would like to add another Offensive Linemen, Wide Receiver, and Defensive Back in the 2019 cycle by National Signing Day.

3* DB/ATH Jamel Starks is really highly thought of by our staff, and rumors are circulating that we might be looking towards the JUCO ranks to get a wide receiver.

Potential O-Line Targets are Virginia transfer R.J. Proctor, Oregon transfer Jacob Capra, Illinois transfer Adam Solomon.  Interestingly enough, former Pack OG TJ McCoy is listed on the transfer portal again (he transferred from State to Florida because of a family illness, now is transferring from Florida).  Capra, Solomon, and Proctor were all 3* Offensive Linemen coming out of high school.

State could be potentially interested in JUCO WR Brandon Pierce from the College of the Canyons. Pierce is rated the #10 JUCO Wide Receiver in the country (3*) in the 2019 class by 24/7 sports and Scout. He was rated a 3* Defensive Back out of High School by Rivals. This season he had 47 catches for 801 yards with 7 touchdowns. He has an official visit to Utah State set up for 1/26, but does not have any more official visits set after that.

Highlights of Pierce

3* ATH Cecil Powell (6’1″, 192)  is another intriguing and late-blooming prospect State is showing some interest in. He has been offered by Kansas, Louisville, and State. Attends Piper HS in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Rated the #86 Safety in the country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, NR 2* on Rivals, and the #38 Safety in the country (3*) by ESPN.

Highlights

Review:

Strengths – Very athletic, good size, good ball skills (ball hawk sometimes on film), good open field tackler

Weaknesses – Can take bad angles at times when coming up in run support, needs to improve his top end speed, needs to have better technique at times when backing into pass coverage (swivel and backpedal in particular).

He reminds me of a combination of the tackling ability and coverage ability of Germaine Pratt’s film from high school when Pratt was a safety but the size of a smaller linebacker like a Jerod Fernandez.

Griffin Decommits.. Who’s Next on the RB Board?

Jamious Griffin has decided to decommit from State after a very heavy pursuit period by Georgia Tech and Auburn.  As much as I don’t think our coaches will give up on him, he will be a National Signing Day decision and looks like he is leaning towards staying closer to home.  Florida State sent a coach to Griffin’s High School to meet with him on Wednesday, Clemson has some interest in him but I think Griffin is a back up plan to another running back (Dukes) they are after. Auburn and Georgia Tech seem to be our biggest competition for him, with most analysts thinking that he will wind up at Georgia Tech.

Possible targets on the RB board (Transfers):

Greg Bell – Nebraska – 6′, 200 – 4* in the 2017 cycle, was the #1 JUCO RB in the country at Arizona Western College before transferring to Nebraska. Played in 4 games in the 2018 season so he did not burn his redshirt. 35 carries for 173 yards during 4 games in the 2018 season.

Amir Rasul – Florida State – 6′, 200 – 4* in the 2016 class, was the #8 RB in the country in the 2016 class according to 24/7 sports and Scout, the #12 RB in the country according to Rivals.  Never could crack the rotation at Florida State – 10 carries for 46 yards with 1 touchdown and 3 kickoff returns for 31 yards during the 2018 season.

Ty’son Williams – South Carolina – 6′, 218 – 4* in the 2015 class, was the #21 RB in the country in the 2016 class according to 24/7 sports and Scout, a 3* RB (#43 in the country) in the 2016 class according to Rivals. Previously was committed to UNC and played a year at UNC, then transferred to South Carolina, graduated from South Carolina, broke his hand during the 2018 season.

Other new targets (High School):

Micah Kelly – Ocean Springs HS – Pascagoula, Mississippi – 5’10”, 185 (Reportedly runs a 4.45 40) – Rated the #61 Running Back in the country (3*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, NR 3* on Rivals, the #81 Running Back in the country (3*) on ESPN.

Senior Stats – 263 carries for 1,560 yards with 16 Touchdowns, 10 receptions for 150 yards and 2 Touchdowns.

Highlights

Review:

Strengths – Very good acceleration in open field, very shifty, very quick twitch, catches ball well out of backfield, gets to hole quickly, runs a very similar kind of offensive scheme as we do (pistol with zone/man blocking running plays)

Weaknesses – Needs to gain weight to be able to run between the tackles more, needs to run with pad level lower at times, uses speed too much at times to hide poor technique (particularly with pass plays), needs to run better routes during passing plays.

He reminds me a lot of a combination between a Matt Dayes and Zonovan Knight on film.  Perhaps not as quick as Knight, but finds holes fast and is quick twitch like Dayes.

Kelly was offered a scholarship to State on 1/22/19.  We instantly made his top 4 school list, despite his committal to Toledo on Sunday, 1/20/19.

He reopened his recruitment, and NC State is in his Top-4.

Jordan Houston – 5’9, 180, reportedly runs a 4.38 40. Attends Flint Hill Academy in Oakton, Virginia.  Rated the #8 All-Purpose Back in the country (3*) by Rivals, the #9 All-Purpose Back in the country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, and the #44 Running Back in the country (3*) by ESPN.

Offered by State on Wednesday, 1/23/19.  Currently committed to Maryland.

Senior Stats: 128 carries for 1,582 yards with 20 Touchdowns, 5 catches for 127 yards with 2 Touchdowns, 16 tackles with 2 sacks and 1 Interception on defense.

Highlights

Review: 

Strengths – Hits hole quickly, very good ability to cut quickly in the open field, very quick twitch and elusive athlete, good cut back ability and good vision, very good overall athlete, good hands out of the backfield

Weaknesses – Does not play against top level competition (Flint Hill is a private school outside of Fairfax, VA), needs to gain strength to run between tackles, tends to bounce all runs outside before blocks have a chance to develop, runs a little too high at times when running dive and lead plays.

On film, he reminds me a little bit of Zonovan Knight for his ability to take outside runs and create a huge play. I don’t think he is a 4.38 kind of guy, more like a 4.45-4.5 kind of guy (my guess was right – he did run a 4.43 40 at Auburn’s Camp during the summer of 2018) Quick twitch and elusive like Hines, but with a little bit less speed. He could be very dangerous in our offense, both running outside zone plays, but also with being a slot receiver.