The Wolfpacker 3-2-1: NC State builds recruiting momentum at receiver, offensive line
NC State is continuing to refine its official visit schedule ahead of the busiest month of the year for high school football recruiting. The Wolfpack’s 2025 class will start to take shape after the staff hosts most of its priority prospects on official visits.
Over the past few days, NC State adjusted its slate of summer visitors, offering up a clearer picture of the program’s recruiting board. A few key recruits are starting to trend strongly towards the Pack as June draws closer.
This week’s 3-2-1 recruiting feature shares an update on recent developments around a group of key offensive lineman, an update on a couple of wide receivers and more.
3 things we learned about NC State football recruiting last week
1) Arrion Concepcion shifted his official visit schedule
Arrion Concepcion scheduled two official visits earlier this year— Virginia Tech May 31 and NC State June 21. He no longer plans on visiting the Hokies this weekend, the three-star receiver informed TheWolfpacker.com Tuesday.
I submitted an RPM pick in NC State’s favor in March, and the Wolfpack buzz around his recruitment has just continued to grow over the past couple of months. Virginia Tech was considered the program’s main competition. Concepcion, a legacy recruit for NC State, is trending heavily towards the Pack.
2) Isaac Sowells Jr. released his top 5
Isaac Sowells Jr., one of the top center prospects in the country, dropped his top five last week, and NC State made the cut alongside South Carolina, Kentucky, Louisville and Miami.
The Wolfpack emerged as the team to beat this spring, with Kentucky and Miami in a tier behind the program. Offensive line coach Garett Tujague has built a very strong connection with the offensive lineman and his family. Every time he visits, the program leaves a great impression, and that should continue on his June 21 official visit.
He shifted his weekend in Raleigh back a week and, ever since then, the momentum around his recruitment has been Wolfpack-focused. Sowells is already building friendships with quarterback commit Will Wilson, tight end commit Gus Ritchey and priority offensive lineman Michael Gibbs, who will all visit the same weekend.
Miami will host him the week prior, and the Hurricanes are a team to keep an eye on, but NC State continues to do a great job in the priority center’s recruitment.
3) NC State adjusted its offensive line board
Four-star offensive tackle Lucas Allgeyer is no longer visiting NC State next month, per a source. The nation’s No. 23 tackle was always a long shot recruit for the Pack, and he does not plan on traveling to Raleigh anymore.
NC State remains the trending team for Gibbs and Sowells. Both of them are projected to the Pack. If they both joined the class, that would leave one spot for three June 14-16 visitors.
*** Four-star tackle Connor Howes
*** Three-star tackle Austin Pay
*** Three-star interior offensive lineman Andrew Stargel
Out of that group, NC State sits in the best spot with Howes, who recently confirmed that the Pack is still interchangeable with Arkansas for the top spot in this recruitment. Recent offers from Ole Miss and Miami are worth monitoring, but NC State remains a top contender for the No. 130 recruit in the country.
Pay and Stargel are both long shots at this point, but it’s a good sign that they scheduled official visits recently. They have lengthy Power Four offer lists and will visit alongside Howes. If the Pack can land a commitment from one of those three heavily recruited prospects to join a class of Gibbs and Sowells, that would be a home run cycle for NC State’s offensive line.
Four-star offensive tackle Chastan Brown was another prospect to keep an eye on earlier in the cycle, but TheWolfpacker.com confirmed Tuesday that the Pack does not plan on hosting him on an official visit.
2 questions for this week
1) Will the Pack lose any priority recruits to early commitments?
NC State will not host any official visitors during the first weekend of June. That’s a strategic choice by the Pack. Last year, the same plan led to a few priority recruits committing elsewhere before the program crowded a pair of visit weekends later in the month that ended up incredibly successful.
Going into this weekend, here are a few visits to keep an eye on.
*** Three-star cornerback Jayden Shipps (Maryland)
*** Four-star offensive tackle Connor Howes (Arkansas)
*** Linebacker Jaiden Braker (South Carolina)
*** Defensive lineman Caleb Bell (Georgia Tech)
2) Will Caden Gordon and Jamar Browder play together in college?
One source recently mentioned that three-star cornerback Caden Gordon was closing in on a June 21 NC State official visit. He is still working on setting his travel schedule in stone, but the Pack still appears set to host him at some point.
Jamar Browder, Gordon’s teammate at Lake Worth (Fla.) Santaluces Community High, recently locked in a June 7-9 visit with the Pack. NC State started prioritizing him recently, and he told TheWolfpacker.com that the program established itself as one of his top three schools. Now, he’s trying to convince Gordon to visit the same weekend. They are interested in teaming up at the next level and will also visit Georgia Tech together in June.
NC State is trending in a positive direction with both Santaluces High prospects.
1 prediction: Michael Gibbs will join the Pack after a push from Virginia Tech
Gibbs released a top five Sunday, but the list of schools actually in contention, based on intel around his recruitment, appears smaller. NC State, Duke, Virginia Tech, Penn State and UVA all made the cut.
He has official visits set with the Pack, Blue Devils and Hokies. The lineman is not visiting Penn State or Virginia in June and, ahead of Gibbs’ late-June, early July commitment timeline, that essentially takes them out of the picture.
That leaves three programs to watch closely, and there is significantly more buzz around NC State and Virginia Tech here. I still give the Pack the edge here thanks to its proximity to home and longstanding connection with the lineman in his family. With that said, Virginia Tech built enough momentum this spring to establish itself as a contender.
He will spend June 7-9 with the Hokies. As long as he leaves that visit uncommitted, the Pack will most likely host him just a couple of weeks before his decision. That puts NC State in a great spot for the No. 18 recruit in North Carolina.
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