Football Recruiting
NC State Football Recruiting Update – May 16, 2019
NC State Football Recruiting Update – May 16, 2019
New Commitment
OT Austin Blaske (6″4, 295) attends South Effingham High School in Bloomingdale, Georgia. Rated a 4* and the #30 Offensive Tackle in the Country on 24/7 sports and Scout, NR 3* on Rivals, and a NR 3* on ESPN. Blaske had a very impressive showing at a Rivals Camp Series Event on March 15, 2019, and since, his recruitment has blown up. Here’s what Rivals had to say about his performance at the camp:
“Austin Blaske picked up an offer from Coastal Carolina not long after his impressive performance Sunday. The word spread pretty quickly. He is a big body at offensive tackle and he showed good bend and the ability to perform well against the quicker and bigger defensive ends.”
Rivals
Decommitment
4* CB Joseph Johnson has decommitted from State. Similar to Blaske, Johnson’s recruitment has exploded since a camp event earlier this spring. Johnson is going to officially visit Ohio State this weekend.
A Defensive Whiff…
Target 4* LB Mohamed Kaba from Clinton HS (NC) surprised a lot of people when he committed to South Carolina last week. Kaba probably has an opportunity to see the field quicker at South Carolina, particularly because we have 4*’s Payton Wilson and Levi Jones who are underclassmen in our program. We still have at least 3 targets on the board at Linebacker – 3* Jayland Parker, 3* Jamari Stewart, 4* Trenton Simpson.
This Week’s Decision
Target 4* DE Myles Murphy is deciding his college destination this Friday, May 17th. He trimmed his list to his top 5 on Tuesday night and did not include us so he is now off of our board.
New Offers
TE Sage Ennis – 6’4″, 220. Attends Lincoln HS in Tallahassee, Florida. Rated the #28 Tight End in the Country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, NR (3*) on Rivals, and a NR (3*) on ESPN. Junior Stats: 23 carries for 20 yards and 9 Touchdowns, 39 catches for 596 yards and 4 Touchdowns.
Junior Year Highlights:
WR/CB Marcus Clarke Jr – 5’11”, 175. Attends Winter Park HS in Winter Park, Florida. NR on 24/7 sports and Scout, NR (3*) on Rivals, and NR (3*) on ESPN. Clarke was rated the #10 prospect on the Orlando Sentinel’s Super 60 list last season. Junior Stats: 59 catches for 1,004 yards and 21 Touchdowns, 15 punt returns for 196 yards with 2 Touchdowns, 3 Interceptions for 100 yards with 2 Touchdowns, and 5 rushes for 14 yards.
Junior Year Highlights
WR Stephen Gosnell – 6’2″, 198. Attends East Surry HS in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina. NR (3*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, NR on Rivals, NR on ESPN. He did a lot of different things for East Surry during his junior season.
Junior Season Stats: Passing – 66 for 120, 1.134 yards with 14 Touchdowns and 7 Interceptions, 110 rushes for 1,080 yards and 17 Touchdowns, 21 catches for 430 yards with 7 Touchdowns, 13 Kickoff Returns for 272 yards.
Junior Year Highlights
LB Phillip Webb – 6’4″, 210. Attends Lanier HS in Buford, Georgia. Rated the #8 Outside Linebacker in the Country (4*) on 24/7 sports and Scout, the #5 Outside Linebacker in the Country (4*) on Rivals, and the #3 Outside Linebacker in the Country (4*) on ESPN. Junior Season Stats: 86 Tackles, 20 Tackles for Loss, 10.5 Sacks, 27 QB Hurries, 7 Pass Deflections, 1 Fumble Recovery for a Touchdown, and 3 Blocked Punts.
Junior Year Highlights
TE Matthew Hibner – 6’4″, 228. Attends Lake Braddock HS in Burke, Virginia. NR on 24/7, Scout, and Rivals so far. He officially visited Virginia Tech last weekend and rumors have him committing to them soon. He was just offered by Virginia Tech on April 29th.
Junior Year Highlights
WR Rico Powers – 6’2″, 180. Attends Jenkins HS in Savannah, Georgia. He has attended Benedictine HS in Savannah before (same high school as 2019 Commit S Jakeen Harris). Rated the #38 Wide Receiver in the Country (4*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, the #29 Wide Receiver in the Country and the #133 Overall Prospect in the Country (4*) by Rivals, and the #59 Wide Receiver in the Country (4*) by ESPN.
Junior Season Stats: 115 carries for 1,006 yards with 17 Touchdowns, 28 receptions for 561 yards with 6 Touchdowns, 9 Kickoff Returns for 122 yards, and 5 Punt Returns for 32 yards.
Junior Year Highlights
ATH James Shellman IV – 6’1″, 170. Attends Islands HS in Savannah, Georgia. Rated the #100 Athlete in the Country (3*) by 24/7 sports and Scout, and the #107 overall prospect in Georgia and a NR Athlete (3*) on Rivals. He plays QB almost exclusively for his high school, but probably projects as a wide receiver or defensive back due to his athleticism and ball skills.
Junior Year Highlights:
The Revised Hot 30 List
4* WR Mushin Muhammad, 3* OG Jonathan Odorno, 3* OG Sean Hill, 3* DT Henry Bryant, 4* CB Joseph Johnson, 5* DE Desmond Evans, 3* WR Jhari Patterson, 3* LB Jayland Parker, 3* LB Jamari Stewart, 3* WR Antonio Barber, 3* OT TJ Lawson, 3* OL Alex Atcavage, 4* DE Jacolbe Cowan, 4* DT Kendrick Bingley-Jones, 3* RB Elijah Green, 3* WR/ATH Stephen Gosnell, 3* OL Anthony Carter Jr, 4* LB Trenton Simpson, 3* TE Sage Ennis, 3* WR Aydin Henningham, 3* WR Marcus Clarke Jr, 3* S Nekhi Meredith, 4* ATH Ja’Quarious Conley, 4*WR Rico Powers, 4* LB Phillip Webb, 3* OG Vershon Lee, NR TE Matthew Hibner , 3* ATH Chris Long, and 3* ATH James Shellman.
3* ATH Justin Shorter was on this list before he re-classified to the 2021 class (he attends a Prep Academy in NJ currently). 4* DE Myles Murphy was on this list before he trimmed his schools to his top 5 on Tuesday night and did not include State in his top 5.
Newest Recruiting Graphics
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.
4-Star 2025 Safety Jordan Young (6’0″/170) revealed his Top-8 schools today, and NC State made the cut along with Alabama, FSU, UNC, Clemson, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas A&M.
It’s not shocking that Young included the Wolfpack, because back on April 15th he shared that he had locked in an Official Visit to NC State for June 19-21. He also has Official Visits scheduled to Clemson (May 31), FSU (June 14), and Tennessee (June 21).
All 4 recruiting databases rank Young as a Top-200 prospect nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, with ESPN, 247Sports and ON3 ranking him in the Top-35. 247Sports ranks him as the #29 overall player nationally, the #2 Safety and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
This past season, Young had 66 tackles, 4 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 interception and 3 pass breakups for Monroe High School. On the offensive side of the ball, he had 34 receptions for 812 yards and 8 touchdowns.
Young is planning to announce his commitment on October 12th.
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