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NC State Football

Five NC State Early Signing Day Standouts

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With a shift in the college football landscape, 12/15 becomes the day where players can make it official early. Even though State’s class currently ranks 8th in the ACC, their overall recruiting scores have increased over last year. Within this initial group, some absolute STUDS. Here are our top-5 to watch.

 

Michael Allen – RB

We have a feeling this dude is going to be special. Not only ranked as a top-25 running back in the country, but he’s laser focused and mature beyond his years.

In just his senior season;

  • 1,169 rushing yards (7.4 per carry) and 18 touchdowns
  • 643 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns
  • Nearly a 20-yard per punt return average

He already has a college frame at 5′ 9″ 200 pounds, which would be fairly comparable to Bam Knight. But we like his aggressive running style and clean hands like Person.

Allen will be in the gym and working hard in classes. Perfect State culture pickup that will do big things for the Pack.

 

Torren Wright – LB

State is growing athletic freak LB’s like nobody’s business. The fact Wright can learn alongside thisLB core at State currently, gives us goosebumps.

Wright is 6′ 2″, 210 pounds of solid animal. The 10th best player in the State did everything his senior year.

  • 116 tackles (71 solo)
  • 13 tackles for loss, 4 sacks
  • 3 INT’s

Whether they keep him at OLB, or eventually move him closer inside, Wright has the football awareness to make a difference.

 

MJ Morris – QB

We profiled Morris a few months back. He has massive talent (top-25 QB in his class) and everything he says is just so “right”. He is all in on the State culture and will be a great player with further development at the college level.

In his senior season;

  • 3,089 passing yards (63% completion)
  • 33 TDs – 9 INTs
  • 602 rushing yards (6 yard average) and 7 touchdowns

To keep things further in perspective, he understands the game. For his high school career, a 4-1 TD to INT ratio. He moves so well and has the arm strength to go places. Allow him to learn from Leary and how he reads defenses, and this guy will shine brighter.

 

Brandon Cleveland – DE

Big dude, big personality. Cleveland, from day one, has been riding that NC State train hard. The kid wants it. His talent-level (Top-25 D-line in country) makes him an intriguing project for State.

In his senior year;

  • 50 tackles (31 solo)
  • 26 tackles for loss (!) with 8 sacks
  • 1 INT

The 6′ 3″ 265 pounder is going to fit right in with a State program that are getting big guys to the next level. We’re talking about a guy that each and every high school game was averaging three tackles for a loss and a sack. He will have to pick-up his speed a bit at the college level, but strength is certainly not an issue.

 

Rylan Vann – OL

We like his brother and we REALLY like Rylan. He might be the highest IQ of the group and he has the physical tools to back it up. In high school he played; center, guard, tackle, fullback/H-back and all along the d-line. Not only that, but he’s a state champion wrestler.

Great leverage and unbelievable understanding of gameplay. Doeren and company have a guy that can plug and play in so many places.

 

The Rest

“The Rest” sounds harsh, but it isn’t. This is a really fun class that will see lots of growth over the upcoming years. Would highly recommend following State Football twitter to watch all these interviews.

 

 

 

 

NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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