NC State Signs 17 Players to their 2023 Recruiting Class on Early Signing Day

Early Signing Day went as expected for the NC State Football team today, signing 17 verbal commitments to their 2023 recruiting class. Here’s a breakdown of the class.

8 of the 17 players are 4-star prospects.

4-Star Prospects

JUCO Defensive Lineman Jykeveous Hibbler (ESPN)
Safety Daemon Fagan (247, ON3, Rivals & ESPN)
Tight End Javonte Vereen (ON3 & ESPN)
Safety Zack Myers (247 & Rivals)
Running Back Kendrick Raphael (ESPN & Rivals)
Offensive Lineman Darion Rivers (ON3)
Wide Receiver Kevin Concepcion (Rivals)
Cornerback Brandon Cisse (ON3)

4 Players in the Top 300

Safety Daemon Fagan (247, ON3, Rivals & ESPN)
Tight End Javonte Vereen (ON3 & ESPN)
Offensive Lineman Darion Rivers (ON3)
Cornerback Brandon Cisse (ON3)

Breakdown by Position

Quarterback (1)

3-Star Lex Thomas (Heritage/Wake Forest, NC)

Running Back (1)

4-Star Kendrick Raphael (Naples/Naples, FL)

Tight End (1)

4-Star Javonte Vereen (Havelock/Havelock, NC)

Wide Receiver (1)

4-Star Kevin Concepcion (Chambers/Charlotte, NC)

Offensive Line (4)

4-Star Darion Rivers (West Charlotte/West Charlotte, NC)
3-Star Rico Jackson (Dillard/Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
3-Star Obadiah Obasuyi (Alpharetta/Alpharetta, GA)
3-Star Kamen Smith (Wilkes Central/Wilkesboro, NC)

Defensive Line (2)

4-Star Jykeveous Hibbler (Northwest Mississippi Community College/Mississippi)
3-Star Isaiah Shirley (Watauga/Boone, NC)

Linebacker (3)

3-Star Rohan Davy (St. John’s/Silver Spring, MD)
3-Star Kamal Bonner (Colquit County HS/Moultrie, GA)
3-Star Kelvon McBride (Cottage Hill Christian Academy/Mobile, AL)

Defensive Back (4)

4-Star Cornerback Brandon Cisse (Lakewood/Sumter, SC)
4-Star Safety Daemon Fagan (Heritage/Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
4-Star Safety Zack Myers (Christ School/Arden, NC)
3-Star Defensive Back Terrente Hinton (Hutchinson Community College/Kansas)

Notes on Each Player

3-Star QB Lex Thomas (5’11″/193)

• Brother of current Wolfpack players Thayer & Drake Thomas
• Only played 3 games as a Senior due to injury.
  • 2,492 yards and 30 touchdowns as a Junior
• Verbally committed on June 23, 2021.
• #22 player in NC (247 & ESPN)

4-Star Running Back Kendrick Raphael (5’11″/180)

• Senior Stats: 1,731 yards and 22 touchdowns, averaging 12.4 yards per carry.
• #18 Running Back in the nation (Rivals).
• Former Iowa Verbal Commit.
  • Verbally committed to NC State November 29th.

4-Star Tight End Javonte Vereen (6’4″/209)

• Senior Stats: 72 receptions for 1,098 yards and 13 touchdowns. Also tacked on 5 rushing TD’s.
• ESPN ranks him as the #9 Tight End nationally
  • They also rank him as the #9 player in the state of North Carolina.
• Verbally committed on April 1, 2022.

4-Star Wide Receiver Kevin Concepcion (5’11″/173)

• 29 receptions for 519 yards and 4 touchdowns. 2 rushing touchdowns. 35 yards per kickoff return.
• Rivals ranks him as the #12 player in North Carolina.
• Verbally committed on August 20th, 2022.

4-Star JUCO Defensive Lineman Jykeveous Hibbler (6’2″/255)

• 2022 stats: 41 tackles, 16.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks
  • Spent 3 years at Northwest Community College. Has 2 years of eligibility.
• ESPN ranks him as the #3 JUCO player in the 2023 class.
• Verbally committed on December 11th, 2022.

3-Star Defensive Lineman Isaiah Shirley (6’3″/259)

• Senior Stats: 70 tackles, 6.5 sacks, and 15.5 tackles for loss.
• ON3 ranks him as the #20 player in the state of North Carolina.
• Verbally committed on June 21st, 2022.

3-Star Linebacker Rohan Davy (5’10″/215)

• Senior Stats: 76 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 8 pass breakups, and 2 sacks
• ESPN ranks him as the #6 player in Washington D.C.
• Verbally committed to NC State on December 20th, 2022.
• Former Cincinnati Verbal Commit.

3-Star Linebacker Kamal Bonner (6’2″/200)

• Senior Stats: 125 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 3 sacks
• Former Georgia Tech Verbal Commit.
• Verbally committed to NC State on December 14th, 2022.

3-Star Linebacker Kelvon McBride (6’3″/210)

• Senior Stats: 76 tackles
• Former Vanderbilt Verbal Commit.
• Verbally committed to NC State on November 25th, 2022.

4-Star Cornerback Brandon Cisse (6’0″/170)

• Senior Stats: Defense: 69 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, 9 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 4 interceptions. Offense: 49 carries for 598 yards and 6 touchdowns/19 receptions for 349 yards and 4 touchdowns
• ON3 ranks him as the #4 player in the state of South Carolina and #270 player nationally.
• Verbally committed on June 14th, 2022.

4-Star Safety Daemon Fagan (6’2″/180)

• Senior Stats: 76 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 11 pass breakups
• Verbally committed on July 4th, 2022.
• Rivals ranks him as the #13 Safety and the #221 player nationally.

4-Star Safety Zack Myers (6’1″/190)

• Senior Stats: Defense: 25 tackles and 2 interceptions. Offense: 25 receptions for 636 yards and 8 touchdowns.
• Verbally committed on June 24th, 2022.
• 247Sports ranks him as the #11 player in the state of North Carolina.
• Rivals ranks him as the #17 Safety.

3-Star JUCO Cornerback Terrente Hinton (6’3″/190)

• 2022 Stats: 18 tackles, 1 tackle for loss and 1 interception.
• ON3 ranks him as the #37 JUCO player nationally in the 2023 class, and the #7 Cornerback.
• Verbally committed on December 19th, 2022.

4-Star Offensive Lineman Darion Rivers (6’6″/255)

• ON3 ranks him as the #235 player nationally and the #9 player in the state of North Carolina in 2023.
• Verbally committed on March 3rd, 2022.

3-Star Offensive Lineman Kamen Smith (6’5″/275)

• Rivals ranks him as the #18 player in the state of North Carolina in 2023.
• Verbally committed on July 10th, 2022.

3-Star Offensive Lineman Obadiah Obasuyi (6’6″/280)

• Verbally committed on June 12th, 2022.

3-Star Offensive Lineman Rico Jackson (6’6″/295)

• Verbally Committed on the day he signed, December 21st, 2022.
• Former Illinois verbal commit.