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The world of football recruiting rankings and star systems can be quite a conundrum.  Do stars matter?  Do they not matter?  Today I will be starting a new series called “Pack of Stars” where I will be looking at NC State’s Top-25 football commits of the past 14 years (that’s how far back the databases at both Scout and Rivals go).  Each player will get there own piece.  I don’t have an algorithm that I conjured up to determine these 25 players.  I looked at the Scout and Rivals databases, took the highest national ranking between the two sites, assigned that ranking to the player, and put them in order.  As I go through each of these, at times you will think “stars” are a brilliant indicator of talent, and at other times you will want to throw out the system entirely.  Without further adieu…

#25 – Defensive Tackle – Justin Jones

Justin Jones was a member of the 2014 Wolfpack recruiting class.  He played for South Cobb High School (Austell, GA).  Coming out of high school Jones stood 6’2″ and weighed 275lbs.  Scout and 247 gave Jones 3-stars, while ESPN and Rivals gave him 4.  In fact, Rivals ranked Jones as the #241 player in the 2014 recruiting class.

After arriving last summer, NC State head coach Dave Doeren thought Jones was physically ready to play as a true freshman, and didn’t need to redshirt.  Last season Jones was able to break into the rotation, seeing action in 10 games, and recording 11 stops.  Jones missed the Spring Game earlier in the year due to a shoulder injury.  The true sophomore had a chance to move into a more prominent role this year with the exit of T.Y. McGill and Thomas Teal at the Tackle positions, but the NC State coaches decided to move fellow true sophomore Kentavius Street (just a hint…you will see Street later on this series) from Defensive End to Defensive Tackle.  Jones will definitely be in the rotation this season, but we will have to see how much he pushes his fellow Tackles Kentavius Street and Bradley Chubb (also a Sophomore) in order to get significant playing time.

Jones is only a Sophomore and has plenty of time for those “stars” to shine.

 

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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

Colorado DT Transfer Chazz Wallace is Taking an Official Visit to NC State Tomorrow

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17 hours ago

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May 6, 2024

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NC State has offered Colorado Defensive Tackle Transfer Chazz Wallace (6’2″/295), and he confirmed with me that he will be taking an Official Visit to Raleigh tomorrow.

Wallace played in 10 games for Coach Prime this past season, starting in 4. He finished with 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks. His PFF Grade was 56.4.

Prior to Colorado, Wallace spent his first three years at Old Dominion.

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NC State Football

NC State Offers FCS DT Brandon Lane

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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NC State offered Stephen F. Austin (FCS) Transfer Defensive Tackle Brandon Lane (6’3″/300) yesterday.

Lane started in 6 of the 11 games he played in for Stephen F. Austin this past season. He finished the year with 44 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. His PFF Grade was 74.6, which ranked 4th on the Lumberjacks Defense. His 79.9 Run Defense Grade ranked 3rd on the team. In 2022, Lane played 7 games as a reserve for Stephen F. Austin, recording 11 tackles 2.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack.

Lane spent his first two collegiate seasons at South Dakota State (2000-21). In 2000, he played in 1 game. In 2021, he played in 3 games as a reserve for the Jackrabbits. The 2000 season was the Covid Year, and the 2021 season was his redshirt year. As a result, Lane still has two years of eligibility remaining.

Around a week-and-a-half ago, Lane committed to Michigan St., but then he decommitted from the Spartans on May 2nd.

I don’t think Michigan St. is necessarily off the table, and he has visited Washington and West Virginia.

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NC State Football

Congrats to NC State Football’s Spring Graduates!

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4 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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Congratulations to the 7 NC State Football Players that just graduated this Spring.

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2024 Football Spring Graduates

Linebacker Devon Betty (1 year of eligibility)

Defensive End Davin Vann (1 year of eligibility)

Cornerback Aydan White (1 year of eligibility)

Offensive Guard Anthony Carter Jr. (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Matt McCabe (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Tackle Patrick Matan (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Brendan Lawson (no longer on the roster)

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NC State Football

Proposed Bill in the NC House Would Require NC State & UNC To Play One Another, as well as ECU, UNCC and App St.

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4 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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A bill has been proposed by members of the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play one another, as well as East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

According to House Bill 965, which you can read here in full, NC State and UNC would be required to play one another annually in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball. The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would also be forced to play a game annually in all three sports against either ECU, UNC-Charlotte or App St. Every six years, NC State and UNC would be required to have played a home and away game against each of the three school in all three sports.

Here’s the exact wording from the proposed bill:

Competition Required. – A high-enrollment institution shall do all of the following in each eligible sport: (1) Every academic year, play at least one home or one away game against (i) another high-enrollment institution and (ii) an eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. (2) Every six academic years, play at least one home and one away game against each eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. A high-enrollment institution shall alternate home and away games that are scheduled against the same eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution.

For glossary of terms being referenced above:

For the purposes of this bill, “High-enrollment institutions” = NC State and UNC, while “Eligible constituent institutions” = East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

It’s worth noting that NC State already has games schedule against each of these teams home-and-away in Football between now and 2031.

2025 – East Carolina (H)

2025 – @ App St.

2026 – App St. (H)

2028 – @ East Carolina

2030 – Charlotte (H)

2031 – @ Charlotte

What are your thoughts?

For more details, check out this article at WRAL.

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