Recruiting
NC State Athletics Recruiting on a Hot Streak
I feel bad for the campus employees having to change out all the red bulbs at the Belltower. While I fully understand that recruiting is only half the battle (apparently we need to win games too?), the positive momentum of so many State programs is undeniable. Each and every week for the last four months, news of outstanding commitments have trickled in across the board. Here’s some of highlights of said signings.
Football
At some point in the near future, we’ll have yet another convo about whether or not Doeren is the right guy for the job. You’ll hear the continual “so you’re just fine with mediocre success, huh?” and, frankly, I don’t have time to respond to that BS right now. I want to focus on the fact Doeren and staff took more big steps in recent weeks, with a TON of quality signings and even more folks on campus getting the full Wolfpack experience.
How about a top-5 dual threat QB?
Next Chapter 🐺 Committed ‼️ #blessed @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/u3XvZJRNug
— MJ Morris (@mj_morris7) June 3, 2021
And here’s a Vonwolf prediction…lots of folks in the Southeast are going to be kicking themselves that they didn’t get him. Morris has raw skills that should develop nicely by the time he steps on campus. His sophomore season saw a jump in decision making and accuracy, completing 61% of passes with a 3-1 TD to INT ratio, while also gaining nearly 7 yards per carry. Best part? While he loved the coaching staff, he wanted to be the next name drafted out of QBU. GUYS ARE SEEING WHAT STATE IS SENDING TO THE NFL.
Then the good times kept rolling. How about a 4-star linebacker Torren Wright? Not only is he an in-state pickup, but the kid can play anywhere in that linebacker core.
I am blessed and truly thankful to say I am 1000% committed to @PackFootball #WPN🐺 pic.twitter.com/6xPAiSm0VC
— Torren Wright (@TorrenWright) June 8, 2021
Wrestling
State has been crowned champs of the ACC four times in the last six years. And those other two years? Runner-up. The team is absolutely STACKED as just about everybody returned for another go at a National Championship. But Popolizio and crew aren’t done working the road. FloWrestling.com has the Wolfpack with the 4th best recruiting class next year. State went into the heart of Pennsylvania and literally just grabbed up a bunch of state champions that are going to be exciting to watch for years to come.
The ACC is in trouble.
Our 2021 recruiting class was once again ranked in the top-5⃣ nationally, the 3⃣rd time in the last 6⃣ years!
#⃣5⃣ by @InterMat
#⃣4⃣ by @MatScoutWillie2⃣nd straight top-🔟 classes, 4⃣th straight in the top-2⃣0⃣overall.
🔗: https://t.co/yfJeP5eRNJ pic.twitter.com/HLhdrigh6o
— NC State Wrestling 🤼♂️ (@PackWrestle) May 17, 2021
Tennis
Wrestling’s fourth ranked class in the country is pretty good, no? What about TOP RANKED?!?!?
We can't wait to get this TOP-RANKED recruiting class to Raleigh 😤
📰 https://t.co/E2xuqW1WNb#GoPack #PackRisin pic.twitter.com/JxO9Pjb5Is
— NC State Men’s Tennis 🐺🎾 (@PackMensTennis) June 4, 2021
After some ups and downs on the season, the Men’s team ended up as the 26th ranked team in the country. Having the top class is going to change things completely. A beautiful mix of international and homegrown players, State is on the verge of making noise like their female counterparts. All losses last year came against ranked opponents (i.e. they ain’t losing to chumps). Should be interesting to see how Coach Spencer gets the new guys to play.
Swimming
How’s this for successful recruiting, notice anything that stands out from the top-10 ranked men’s swimmers?
I mean…LFG Pack!
Women’s Basketball
We talked about the insanity that is State WBB a couple months back. Back-to-back ACC Championships, everyone is returning and then they go out and get transfers that are literally Freshman of the Year in Power 5 conferences. Three State players are representing Team USA this summer and the two incoming freshmen are both ranked top-65 in the country. Wes Moore literally has an embarrassment of riches.
ESPN currently has State’s class ranking as #12 in the country. Add in the transfers of Diamond Johnson and Madison Hayes and they’d compete with anybody.
Football Recruiting
NC State is Still Aggressively Recruiting 3-Star DT Drayden Pavey Despite Not Making Top-3
3-Star 2025 Defensive Tackle Drayden Pavey (6’3″/305) will be taking an Official Visit to NC State on June 18th. He also has Official Visit’s scheduled for Purdue, Wisconsin and Arizona.
ON3 ranks Pavey as the #4 player in the state of Kentucky (Robert A. Taft High/Burlington, KY)
NC State has already made quite the impression. They only offered him on April 24th. Getting an Official Visit scheduled a week after offering a player is a good sign.
When Pavey released his Top-8 back in February, NC State was obviously on the list. It consisted of Miami (OH), Toledo, Boston College, West Virginia, Pitt, Cincinnati, Indiana and Purdue. Wisconsin is also new to the scene, offering Pavey on April 21st.
As a Junior, Pavey had 46 tackles 7.5 sacks and 9 tackles for loss.
Glad you left out MBB.