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What will NC State do at Cornerback in 2024 Without White & Battle?

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4 months ago

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Cornerbacks Aydan White and Shyheim Battle both had the ability to return to NC State for their final year of collegiate eligibility in 2024. We found out this week that neither will be returning. White has entered the Transfer Portal, and Battle is entering the 2024 NFL Draft.

These are big shoes to fill. Battle is a 4-year starter, and White is a 2-year starter. White earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2022, and 3rd Team honors this season.

Who will fill those big shoes?

NC State returns Brandon Cisse (6’0″/180), who will be a True Sophomore next year. Cisse played in all 13 games as a True Freshman, logging 148 snaps. After playing only on Special Teams against UCONN, Cisse saw action on defense in every game thereafter. Cisse finished 2023 with 10 tackles and 1 interception, and recorded a PFF Grade of 68.7, which was the 8th best grade on the Wolfpack defense.

I expect Cisse to be in contention for one of the starting Cornerback spots.

The Wolfpack also picked up Maryland Cornerback Corey Coley Jr. (6’2″/180) out of the Transfer Portal.

Coley Jr. played in 11 games for Maryland this year, starting in 2, finishing with 9 tackles and 2 pass breakups. His PFF grade was 61.3 (305 snaps). In 2022, Coley Jr. played in 11 games, starting in 1, finishing with 14 tackles (291 snaps). He played in 11 games as a True Freshman in 2021, starting in 3, finishing with 14 tackles and 1 pass breakup (230 snaps). While Coley Jr.’s numbers don’t blow you away, he does bring a wealth of experience to the table, logging 826 snaps at Maryland over the past three seasons. Coley Jr. has 1 more year of eligibility.

Cisse and Coley Jr. both know that White and Battle’s exodus means opportunity for them.

Beginning tomorrow, Villanova Cornerback Transfer Devon Marshall (6’0″/200) will be on NC State’s campus for an Official Visit. Marshall played in 13 games for the Wildcats this year as a True Sophomore, collecting 47 tackles and 11 pass breakups. As a Freshman, he played in 9 games, with 13 tackles and 2 pass breakups. His PFF grade this season was a solid one 76.4, and his Coverage grade was an even more impressive 78.8.

Marshall has already taken Official Visits to West Virginia and Tennessee, but it’s likely NC State is the last one. I expect that he wants to make a decision in the next couple of days, so he can begin classes at his new school next week. With NC State getting the last visit, and considering the timing, I believe the Wolfpack are in a great position to land Marshall. If Marshall is a member of the Wolfpack in 2024, I expect him to compete with Cisse and Coley Jr. for one of the starting jobs. He has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

The Wolfpack also returns Rente Hinton (6’3″/212), who was a JUCO transfer in NC State’s 2023 recruiting class. ON3 ranked him as the #36 overall Junior College prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, and the #7 Cornerback. It was a rough first year in Raleigh for Hinton, posting a PFF Grade of 46.0, which was the lowest grade by a player on the Wolfpack defense with 100+ snaps (101 snaps). He has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Jackson Vick (6’0″/182) will be a Redshirt Sophomore for NC State next season. He was listed as the 3rd string Cornerback on the Wolfpack’s Depth Chart for the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Vick only played 3 snaps on defense this season (against VMI), and the rest of his snaps were on Special Teams.

Isaiah Crowell (5’11″/182) was listed as the 3rd string Nickel in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. Tamarcus Cooley, who transferred in from Maryland, told me that he is expecting to play Nickel next season.

As we saw with Cisse this season, NC State is willing to play True Freshman in the secondary. The Wolfpack are bringing in some talented Freshman Defensive Backs in 4-Star Ronnie Royal III, 4-Star Asaad Brown and 3-Star Jivan Baly. Brown and Baly were listed as Cornerbacks in most recruiting databases, while Royal was listed as an Athlete or as a Safety, but I think Royal could play Corner if needed.

I would expect for NC State to try to go get some more help at the Cornerback position in the Portal if possible.

As things currently stand, I would expect Cisse and Coley Jr. to be the most likely players currently on the roster to vie for the starting spots, and if Marshall ends up committing, throw him in the battle with the two of them.

 

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

NC State’s 2024 Transfer Class Rankings After Carter Commitment

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5 hours ago

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May 14, 2024

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NC State Football

NC State’s Current 2024 Football Scholarship Breakdown

Published

14 hours ago

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May 13, 2024

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Here’s a look at NC State’s current Football scholarship breakdown.

Offense

Quarterback 
Redshirt Senior Grayson McCall
Redshirt Freshman Lex Thomas
4-Star Freshman Cedrick Bailey

Transferred Out: MJ Morris
Transferred In: Grayson McCall

Running Back
Redshirt Senior Jordan Waters
Redshirt Senior Running Back Demarcus Jones
Redshirt Junior Jordan Poole
Sophomore Kendrick Raphael
Redshirt Freshman Daylan Smothers
3-Star Freshman Jayden Scott
3-Star Freshman Isiah Jones

Transferred Out: Jordan Houston, Michael Allen, & Delbert Mimms III
Transferred In: Jordan Waters & Daylan Smothers

Wide Receiver
Redshirt Junior Jalen Coit
Redshirt Junior Jakolbe Baldwin
Redshirt Junior Dacari Collins
Junior Wesley Grimes
Sophomore Kevin Concepcion
Redshirt Freshman Noah Rogers
4-Star Freshman Jonathan Paylor
4-Star Freshman Terrell Anderson
4-Star Freshman Keenan Jackson
4-Star Wide Receiver Jimmar Boston
3-Star Freshman Christian Zachary

Transferred Out – Porter Rooks, Anthony Smith, Terrell Timmons, Josh Crabtree, Christopher Scott & Julian Gray
Transferred In – Wesley Grimes

Tight End
Junior Justin Joly
Junior Dante Daniels (JUCO Addition)
Sophomore Juice Vereen

Transferred Out – Christopher Toudle, Cedd Seabrough & Fred Seabrough
Transferred In – Justin Joly

Offensive Line
Redshirt Senior Dawson Jaramillo
Redshirt Senior Timothy McKay
Redshirt Senior Anthony Belton
Redshirt Senior Zeke Correll
Redshirt Junior Sean Hill
Redshirt Junior Anthony Carter Jr.
Redshirt Junior Matt McCabe
Redshirt Junior Patrick Matan
Redshirt Sophomore Rylan Vann
Redshirt Sophomore Jacarrius Peak
Redshirt Sophomore Valen Erickson
Redshirt Freshman Obadiah Obasayui
Redshirt Freshman Kamen Smith
Redshirt Freshman Darion Rivers
Redshirt Freshman Rico Jackson
4-Star Freshman Tyler West
3-Star Freshman Robby Martin
3-Star Freshman Trent Mitchell

Transferred out: Lyndon Cooper & Jaleel Davis
Transferred In: Zeke Correll & Valen Erickson

Defense

Defensive Line
Senior Defensive End Davin Vann
Senior Nose Tackle Chazz Wallace
Redshirt Senior Defensive End Noah Potter
Redshirt Senior Defensive End Red Hibbler
Redshirt Junior Defensive End Travali Price
Junior Nose Tackle Brandon Cleveland
Redshirt Sophomore Nose Tackle DJ Jackson
Redshirt Freshman Defensive End Isaiah Shirley
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Chase Bond
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Justin Terrell
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Joshua Alexander-Felton

Transferred Out: Nose Tackles C.J. Clark & Nick Campbell
Transferred In: Nose Tackle Chazz Wallace

Linebackers

Redshirt Senior Devon Betty
Redshirt Junior Sean Brown
Redshirt Junior Caden Fordham
Redshirt Junior Jayland Parker
Junior Wyatt Wright (JUCO Addition)
Redshirt Freshman Kelvon McBride
Redshirt Freshman Kamal Bonner
4-Star Freshman Elijah Groves
3-Star Freshman Cannon Lewis
3-Star Freshman Zane Williams
3-Star Freshman Joshua Ofor

Transferred Out: LB’s Daejuan Thompson & Torren Wright

Defensive Backs

Redshirt Senior Safety Kerry Martin Jr.
Senior Safety Ja’Had Carter
Senior Cornerback Aydan White
Senior Defensive Back Corey Coley Jr.
Senior Safety Devan Boykin
Senior Safety Bishop Fitzgerald
Senior Safety Donovan Kaufman
Junior Cornerback Devon Marshall
Junior Cornerback Rente Hinton
Redshirt Sophomore Cornerback Jackson Vick
Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Back Isaiah Crowell
Sophomore Cornerback Brandon Cisse
Redshirt Freshman Defensive Back Tamarcus Cooley
Redshirt Freshman Safety Zack Myers
Redshirt Freshman Safety Daemon Fagan
4-Star Freshman Safety Ronnie Royal III
4-Star Freshman Cornerback Asaad Brown
3-Star Freshman Cornerback Jivan Baly
3-Star Freshman Safety Brody Barnhardt

Transferred Out: Safety Jakeen Harris, Defensive Back Nate Evans, Defensive Back Darius Edmundson, Nickel Cecil Powell
Transferred In: Tamarcus Cooley, Corey Coley Jr., Devon Marshall, Donovan Kaufman, Kerry Martin Jr. & Ja’Had Carter.

Specialist

Redshirt Junior Caden Noonkester

That’s 84 players on scholarship, with 1 available.

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NC State Football

Ohio St. Transfer Safety Ja’Had Carter Commits to NC State!

Published

18 hours ago

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May 13, 2024

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Ohio St. Transfer Safety Ja’Had Carter (6’1″/205) has committed to NC State!

Carter took an Official Visit to NC State last week.

Last year, Carter played in 8 games as a reserve (6 at Safety/2 on strictly Special Teams) for the Buckeyes, recording 5 tackles.

Prior to joining Ohio St., Carter played his first 3 seasons at Syracuse. In 2022, he was All-ACC Honorable Mention, tallying 36 tackles, 3 interceptions and 3 pass breakups. In 2020, as a True Freshman, Carter earned Freshman All-American status. Over three seasons with the Orange, Carter started in 28 of the 31 games he has played in.

ON3 ranks Carter as the #41 Safety in the Transfer Portal.

This marks the 2nd Safety NC State has picked up out of the Transfer Portal in the past week, with Akron’s Kerry Martin Jr. committing last week.

PFF

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NC State Football

NC State is an Early Underdog Against Tennessee in Week 2

Published

2 days ago

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May 12, 2024

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NC State will play Tennessee on September 7th in Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) in their 2nd game of the 2024 College Football season.

DraftKings has released an early game line, and they have the Wolfpack as an early 5.5-point underdog against the Volunteers.

NC State is ranked in the Top-25 in most Way-Too-Early Preseason Polls, but so is Tennessee.

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

If NC State could find a way to pull off the upset (current) against Tennessee in Week 2, the Wolfpack could be setting things up nicely for a special season in 2024.

The Wolfpack are 1-2 all-time against the Volunteers.

 

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