Ronnie Royal III commitment to NC State analysis
NC State football recruiting made its ninth addition to the 2024 class. On3 Industry three-star athlete Ronnie Royal III announced his pledge Friday afternoon.
Here is an analysis of Royal’s commitment.
1. Ronnie Royal III is a two-way playmaker
Schools like the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Ronnie Royal III on both sides of the football. Over the past two seasons, he has rushed for 2,497 yards and 43 touchdowns and caught 68 passes for 952 yards and eight scores. Defensively, he had 40 tackles and two picks in 13 games last year.
Plus, as observed in the video below, Royal piled up plenty of thumping hits.
Royal has long been a star in the Alabama prep scene. He was a MaxPreps Freshman All-American in 2020 and was playing varsity as an eighth grader.
NC State offered Royal in January and recruited him for defense.
2. Two-team ACC race
There was a time where Royal may have looked unlikely to leave the heart of SEC territory. Alabama stopped by his high school twice during the evaluation period. Ultimately, however, Royal took a pair of official visits in June to old ACC Atlantic Division rivals: Boston College and NC State.
Along the way, Royal also claimed offers from, among others, Arkansas, Central Florida, Florida State, Mississippi State, Missouri and South Carolina.
3. Done at safety?
The early bet is that Royal will be a safety for NC State, but he may have the versatility to play corner or nickel as well.
If Royal is a safety, NC State is quite possibly done recruiting the position for this cycle.
In March, the Pack landed On3 Industry three-star Brody Barnhardt from Charlotte Providence Day. Barnhardt had nine total Power Five offers, and he had narrowed his choices down to the Wolfpack, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wisconsin before picking NC State.
Like Royal, Barnhardt is a two-way playmaker.
The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Barnhardt caught 20 passes for 343 yards and five touchdowns as a junior. He also averaged 32.3 yards per kickoff return with a long of 90 yards and returned 15 punts for an average of 21.9 yards with a long of 68. Barnhardt impressively returned three punts and one kickoff for touchdowns.
He’s recorded at least 100 tackles the past two years, including 102 as a junior. He has 11 career interceptions (six as a sophomore with one being a pick six and four last fall) and 23 total pass breakups.
4. What’s next in secondary?
Royal is unlikely to be the final defensive back in the NC State football recruiting class.
One player to watch closely this weekend is On3 Industry three-star corner Jivan Baly from Norcross (Ga.) Meadowcreek High. The On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) favors NC State at 92.9 percent with Baly. He is officially visiting Raleigh after taking a similar trip last weekend to Mississippi State.
Another defensive back to watch is On3 Industry three-star Therrian Alexander III from Decatur (Ga.) Southwest Dekalb High. The speedster had a multi-day unofficial visit to Raleigh this week. He has also visited Mississippi State and Ole Miss this month.
5. Back to Alabama
On Nov. 25, 2022, not only did NC State football score a thrilling rivalry win in double overtime over archrival North Carolina. That was the day that for the first time, NC State head coach Dave Doeren landed a prospect from the state of Alabama, one-time Vanderbilt commit and linebacker Kelvon McBride from Mobile (Ala.) Cottage Hill Christian Academy.
Less than a month later, junior college cornerback Rente Hinton, who played high school football in the Mobile suburb of Saraland High, joined the NC State football recruiting class.
That means Doeren went from going over 10 years without signing a player from the state of Alabama to potentially getting three from there in a span of about seven months, if Royal follows through with signing.
And more may come. Defensive lineman Chris Burge from Leeds (Ala.) High is officially visiting this weekend. He has yet to be offered by the Wolfpack, but does have scholarships from Maryland and Missouri, among others.
6. Big weekend ahead?
Royal was one of 13 official visitors last weekend but the first of the uncommitted group, which consisted of eight prospects, to announce he was going to NC State.
This weekend, the Wolfpack will be hosting six official visitors, including the aforementioned Burge. None of them have yet committed to NC State.
For a preview of this weekend’s visitors, check out TheWolfpacker.com’s newsstand.
7. Ronnie Royal III’s Highlights
8. Class of 2024 Commitment Timeline
Oct. 24, 2022 – On3 Industry three-star linebacker Cannon Lewis, Ona (W.Va.) Cabell Midland
March 13, 2023 – On3 Industry three-star quarterback Cedrick Bailey Jr., Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna
March 22, 2023 — On3 Industry three-star defensive back Asaad Brown II, Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith High
April 5, 2023 — On3 Industry three-star safety Brody Barnhardt, Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day
April 19, 2023 — On3 Industry three-star running back Jayden Scott, Stockbridge (Ga.) High
June 9, 2023 – On3 Industry three-star linebacker Zane Williams, Wake Forest (N.C.) High
June 11, 2023 — Defensive lineman Chase Bond, Massillon (Ohio) Washington High
June 16, 2023 — Running back Isiah Jones, Rolesville (N.C.) High
June 23, 2023 — On3 Industry three-star athlete Ronnie Royal III, Alexandria (Ala.) Gulf Shores School
9. Commits By Position
Quarterback — 1
Running back — 2
Wide receiver — 0
Tight end — 0
Offensive line — 0
Defensive line — 1
Linebacker — 2
Nickel — 1
Safety — 2
Cornerback — 0
Specialist — 0
10. Commits By State
North Carolina — 3
Alabama — 1
Florida — 1
Georgia — 1
Ohio — 1
Virginia — 1
West Virginia — 1
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