Former Tennessee Wide Receiver commit Antonio Barber (6’2″/185) announced his Final-5 schools last night, and NC State made the cut along with Syracuse, Cincinnati, Liberty, and Colorado State.

Nothing else to be said, time to make a lifetime decision 💯🙏🏾 #Final5 pic.twitter.com/A3RBB5kXic

— Antonio Barber (@toniobarber11) August 14, 2019

Temple and South Florida were a part of Barber’s Top-7 back at the beginning of June, but dropped off this list.

247Sports Composite ranks Barber as the #15 player in the state of North Carolina in 2020, and he’s a consensus 3-star prospect. Barber plays for Hough High School in Cornelius, North Carolina.

The Wolfpack already has 3 wide receivers committed in their 2020 recruiting class:

4-Star Porter Rooks
4-Star Nate McCollum
3-Star Stephen Gosnell

Barber was a frequent visitor in Raleigh back in the Spring.

Photo Credit

NC State Football Recruiting Update – 8/7/19

Transferring Out:

Senior S Tim Kidd-Glass has announced that he will be transferring out of State.  This speaks volumes to me about how much defensive back recruiting has improved in the last several years. This will not affect 2020 recruiting class numbers at all because he was expected to graduate.

Spots Remaining:

Without more attrition, it looks like 4-5 more prospects will be taken. Preference will go to defense: linebacker, secondary, possibly another defensive lineman.  My guess would be 1-2 linebackers, 1 Cornerback, 1 Safety, and 1 Defensive Tackle/Defensive End type prospect. NC State might take another offensive lineman, if they are the best possible prospect left on the board, but I would guess the Wolfpack would only do that if a current lineman commit in the program decides to leave before National Signing Day.

Devon Beatty Update:

Target 4* Linebacker Devon Betty (St. Thomas Aquinas HS – Fort Lauderdale, Florida) will be officially visiting on September 6th. He could play a wide variety of positions, depending on how much he grows. He has very good athleticism and pass rushing skills.

Latest Recruiting Graphics:

Official offers went out to 2020 kids on August 1st. Here’s a link to a tweet from Target 4* LB Devon Betty:

#WolfPack ❗️❗️ pic.twitter.com/fcN0IsDp4g

— Devon Betty📍 (@devonbetty56) August 1, 2019

Commitment:

Target JUCO 3* Defensive End Pheldarius Payne has committed. He is rated the #2 JUCO DE in the country by 24/7 sports and Scout.

A lot of analysts are commenting about how fast NC State got onto Payne and how they beat a lot of bigger schools to the punch by getting him to commit so early.

I have a feeling he is going to be a big time player, similar to Larrell Murchison.

Highlights:

The Hot 10:

The last 10 prospects believed to be on NC State’s board (at this point) that they have a decent chance with are:

3* S Tyler Jones

3* CB Joshua Pierre Louis

3* OT Anthony Carter Jr.

4* LB Devon Betty

4* DE Jacolbe Cowan

3* DE Sean Martin (recently decommitted from UNC)

3* WR Antonio Barber

3* WR Jhari Patterson

3* LB Jamari Stewart

3* DE Zuriah Fisher

Committed Elsewhere:

Target 4* Defensive Tackle Kendrick Bingley Jones has committed to UNC. Reportedly, he has some academic issues which need to be addressed before he will be eligible.

Target 4* Safety Jaquarious Conley is also rumored to be committing to UNC soon. NC State did not make his top 4 schools and reportedly he also has some academic issues to correct.

4-Star 2020 Devon Betty (6’1″/210) will be taking an official visit to NC State on September 6th, the weekend of the Western Carolina game.

St Thomas Aquinas LB @devonbetty56 holds offers from Pittsburgh, Kansas, FIU, Missouri, Maryland and Florida State in addition to NC State. He tells @InsidePackSport that he'll be officially visiting the Wolfpack on Sept 6. Major target for #NCSTATE #PACK20 pic.twitter.com/i4obnPP0jv

— Steve Williams (@Steve_IPS) August 3, 2019

Rivals ranks Betty as a 4-star prospect, and considers him a Weakside Defensive End. They think he’s the 14th best at the position nationally. ESPN and 247 both consider Betty a 3-Star Outside Linebacker prospect.

Betty plays for St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

NC State offered Betty on July 24th.

He also holds offers from Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Pitt, South Carolina, South Florida, Texas, Maryland and others.

Photo Credit

Last night NC State landed a commitment from JUCO Defensive End Pheldarius Payne (6’3″/270).

NC State has landed a commitment from defensive lineman Pheldarius Payne of Lackawanna JC.

— The Wolfpacker (@TheWolfpacker) July 27, 2019

Payne plays for Lackawanna Community College in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He performed extremely well at NC State camp this summer and earned an offer on July 10th.

“God is love” Me and my family are blessed to say that I have received my second offer from NC State University 🐺 #GoPack pic.twitter.com/3uqhqmx2EQ

— First 48 (@Pheldarius) July 11, 2019

247Sports’ Composite Database ranks Payne as the #10 Junior College player in the 2020 recruiting class, and the #1 Strong side Defensive End, and a 3-Star prospect.

As a Freshman at Lackawanna last year, Payne had 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks in 11 games.

Payne held one other offer from Liberty University. He is the Wolfpack’s 16th commitment in 2020.

Photo Credit