Packed recruiting intel: Camp notes on Jonathan Paylor and Tyler West

The Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas hosted a camp at Page High in Greensboro Saturday morning, and a couple of top NC State football recruiting targets made the trip to the event. Elite wide receiver Jonathan Paylor and top offensive line prospect Tyler West both stood out.

West and Paylor are both strongly considering the Wolfpack right now and are in the final stages of their recruiting processes. They plan on announcing their decisions in the late summer, and NC State has done a great job of establishing itself in their respective top twos.

TheWolfpacker.com watched both rising senior athletes compete and spoke with both of them after the camp.

Four-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor

Paylor released a top five list recently, but he confirmed Saturday that he is essentially down to two schools— NC State and South Carolina.

Coming off of his Gamecock official visit in late-June, I submitted a prediction for Paylor in the SEC program’s favor. After speaking with the four-star receiver and gathering some additional intel, I am starting to reconsider that pick.

NC State is making a significant move in his recruitment right now, and the two programs are as close as they ever have been. In fact, it seems like the Wolfpack is starting to swing some of the momentum here.

Offensive coordinator Robert Anae is a huge reason why. He has built an extremely strong bond with the Wolfpack assistant coach, who started prioritizing Paylor as soon as he took the job in Raleigh. Anae is making the program,’s plan for the versatile receiver very clear, and that definitely has the rising senior’s attention.

Earlier this year, Paylor told me South Carolina’s effort recruiting his parents helped the Gamecocks take the lead in his recruitment. He told me Saturday that NC State has started to do the same, and his family would be happy with him at either program. That is a significant shift worth monitoring.

Moving forward, the receiver said his recruitment is pretty much wrapped up, but he will take at least one more visit at the end of July. He is leaning towards a trip to South Carolina, but an NC State visit is still on the table. Penn State could also host him on another visit, but they are not on the same level as the Wolfpack and Gamecocks right now.

Paylor is talking to Alex Taylor and Terrell Anderson right now about teaming up in Raleigh and forming an elite class with the Pack.

Things are trending in a positive direction right now for NC State, but a late-July trip to Columbia has my attention. That could quickly reverse momentum. Paylor plans on pushing back his original commitment date of Aug. 5 so he can host a ceremony closer to the start of his high school season.

On the field notes for Paylor:

Paylor’s quickness and burst off the line of scrimmage is elite. He has legitimate track speed, and there are very few defensive backs who can keep up with him.

The camp listed him at running back Saturday, but he spent some time at wide receiver as well. His route running really stood out.

During one-on-ones, he split time between the slot and outside. Despite his listed height of 5-9, he showed off some impressive skill and athleticism on 50/50 balls. He strikes me as a pretty complete receiver overall who, if he was a couple of inches taller, would be a top-100 prospect.

His versatility and willingness to play any role in an offense would lend itself extremely well to Anae’s system. The receiver would be a star with the Pack, in my opinion.

He will continue to play both ways for Cummings High this fall and will not enroll early in order to finish up a decorated track career.

Three-star offensive lineman Tyler West

I spoke with West in-depth about his recruitment earlier this week, so we did not discuss that too much Saturday. NC State and Georgia Tech are the two contenders in his recruitment, and I get the vibe that both programs have a good shot here. I confirmed with West that the Wolfpack is recruiting him to play tackle. On3 lists him at 6-5, 275 pounds. Aug. 1 is his tentative commitment date.

On the field notes for West:

West worked at tackle all morning, but I would have been interested to see how he looked at guard. On3 considers him an interior prospect and, while his size might lend itself more towards that position, I will say his quickness jumped off the field. His quick feet really impressed me.

His agility and burst are probably his strongest assets on the field, which are obviously important traits to have as a tackle.

The lineman was very physical during one-on-ones. A defensive lineman beat him once, but he also had one really impressive rep.

It is worth noting that West plays in a run-heavy offense at Andrews High, and camp one-on-ones are pass blocking matchups. He is working very hard to improve that part of his game, and I expect exponential growth in that area of his game over the next year.

While I will not claim to be an expert evaluator of offensive linemen, On3’s recent rating of 88 seems in the right ballpark to me. He is a tad underrated by the other recruiting services.

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