NC State will kick off their season this Thursday night at 7pm against Western Carolina on ACC Network. Before they do, we are going to break down the Wide Receiver Room.
Heading into Week 1, the Wolfpack’s starting Wide Receivers are:
X – Redshirt Junior Dacari Collins (6’4″/214)
Y – Redshirt Freshman Noah Rogers (6’2″/205)
IWR – Sophomore Kevin Concepcion (5’11″/189)
Concepcion is entering into his 2nd season at NC State, breaking nearly all of the school Freshman Receiving records last year. He was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and earned Freshman All-American honors. Concepcion finished his first collegiate season with 71 receptions for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also rushed the ball for 320 yards, averaging 7.8 yards per carry. Concepcion broke NC State’s Freshman records for receptions and touchdown receptions.
All signs point to the fact that KC hasn’t taken his foot off the gas this offseason, putting in the work in the weight room to add weight and get stronger. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds this offseason. Last year the offense ran strictly through #10, but that won’t happen again in 2024. The Wolfpack offense has too many weapons this year, and doesn’t need to do that. What this does mean, is that teams won’t be able to double-team Concepcion like they did last year, because they will have to account for the likes of Noah Rogers. Also, KC should be able to stay fresh in 2024. The workload took a toll on his body throughout last season.
It is not shocking at all to see Redshirt Freshman Noah Rogers starting heading into Week 1. Rogers transferred in from Ohio St. this offseason, and 247Sports ranked him as the #39 overall player in the Portal, and the #6 Wide Receiver.
If you look at his .9751 rating of Rogers from 247Sports coming out of High School, you realize that he’s the most talented Wide Receiver to land at NC State since they began their recruiting database in the early 2000’s.
ON3 rated Rogers as a 5-Star prospect in the the 2023 class, and the #26 overall player nationally, the #3 Wide Receiver and the #1 player in the state of North Carolina.
Rogers was teammates with Tamarcus Cooley at Rolesville, who transferred to NC State from Maryland this offseason. As a Senior at Rolesville, Rogers had 39 receptions for 799 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also returned a Kickoff for a TD. As a Junior, he had 70 receptions for 1,432 yards and 22 touchdowns. He also returned a Punt for a TD.
Get ready to see catches like this from Rogers all year long.
Looks like former 5 ⭐️ recruit Noah Rogers is already making big plays in fall camp.
The dynamic receiver vs. Aydan White will be an intense battle all month.
As good as KC is, Rogers is likely the most talented player, of any position, on NC State’s entire roster. He’s a game changer.
Redshirt Junior Dacari Collins is 1 of 3 Redshirt Juniors in the Wide Receiver room. There are no Seniors. Collins transferred from Clemson prior to last season. He was a 4-Star recruit in the 2021 recruiting class out of Atlanta, Georgia, and ESPN ranked him as the #130 overall player nationally in the class, and was an Under Armour All-American as a Senior.
Last season, he battled injuries early on, and it took him around 7 games to truly buy into NC State’s culture, but he showed flashes of what he can do at the end of the season. 167 of his 212 receiving yards came in the final 5 games.
Collins has adjusted to the role of being a leader in the Wide Receiver room heading into the 2024 season. While I think Collins will feature in NC State’s offense prominently this season, I don’t necessarily think that his starting role is a lock all year long. I think other receivers I will mention later will push him for that spot.
2nd String Wide Receivers
X – True Freshman Terrell Anderson (6’2″/204)
Y – Junior Wesley Grimes (6’2″/193)
IWR – Redshirt Junior Jalen Coit (5’11″/172)
Wesley Grimes transferred in from Wake Forest this offseason. As a Sophomore this past season, Grimes caught 20 passes for 339 yards and 4 touchdowns in 12 games. As a True Freshman, he played in his 6 games, collecting 4 receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown.
Like Rogers, Grimes transferred home. He was a 4-Star prospect out of Millbrook High School here in Raleigh. ON3, 247Sports and Rivals all ranked Grimes as a Top-250 prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #36 overall player nationally, the #4 Wide Receiver, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
He rank a 4.42 laser timed 40-yard dash this offseason.
I know that Grimes is listed as the backup to Rogers, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him usurp Collins at some point this season, and start on the outside opposite of Rogers.
One of the most epic highlight reels I’ve ever seen was a collaboration of Rogers and Grimes back in high school (excuse the language).
Terrell Anderson is the 12th highest ranked recruit out of high school to commit to NC State since they started recruiting rankings in the early 2000’s. ON3 ranked him as the #50 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #9 Wide Receiver, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Anderson had 64 receptions for 1,114 yards and 14 touchdowns for Grimsley (Greensboro, North Carolina) this past season. He also had 1 rushing touchdown, and 1 kickoff returned for a touchdown. Grimsley finished the season 13-1, losing to Weddington in the Elite 8. Weddington would go on to win the 4A state championship.
Coit is listed as Concepcion’s backup at Inside Wide Receiver, but I don’t see this lasting all that long. True Freshman Jonathan Paylor arrived later than nearly everyone else because he didn’t enroll early, choosing to participate in his Senior season of Track. He will be a dual athlete at NC State. Personally, I think he’s third on the depth chart right now simply because he is playing catch up, having to learn the offense at a rapid pace.
Paylor was a consensus 4-star prospect, with Rivals ranking him as the #64 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, and ESPN ranking him as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina.
As a Senior at Cummings (Burlington, North Carolina), Paylor rushed 2,378 yards and 30 touchdowns, averaging 14.1 yards per carry. He also had 25 receptions for 381 yards and 3 touchdowns. Paylor also returned 2 punts for touchdowns, and 1 kickoff for a touchdown. Cummings finished the season 9-3, falling to Southeast Alamance in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Once he gets acclimated, he will be hard to keep off the field. Think Concepcion, but shorter and stockier. He’s electric, and has the speed to take it to the house at any moment. Paylor is the kind of player I expect NC State to try to get the ball in his hands in a variety of ways, like they did with KC last year.
The other 3rd string Wide Receiver to keep an eye on is True Freshman Keenan Jackson. Back on National Signing Day in December, Jackson flipped his commitment from UNC to NC State. Rivals ranked Jackson as a 4-Star prospect, and 247Sports ranked him as the #11 player in the state of North Carolina.
Jackson put up crazy numbers for Weddington (Matthews, North Carolina) this past year, with an insane 102 receptions for 1,704 yards and 19 touchdowns. Those numbers ultimately led the Warriors to a 4A State Championship.
In Fall Camp, Jackson received the most praise from all the coaches out of the talented Freshmen group.
Make sure to check out our other position group previews:
NC State Basketball5 days ago
NC State Football4 days ago
Football Recruiting5 days ago
NC State Football4 days ago
NC State Football5 days ago
NC State Football4 days ago
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