Asaad Brown: ‘At the end of the day, I knew NC State was home’

Asaad Brown II took a couple of visits following his March 3 unofficial trip to NC State, but he knew he found his collegiate home once he sat in head coach Dave Doeren’s office earlier this month. 

With an offer list packed with power five programs spanning from Pennsylvania to Arizona, the three-star nickel received plenty of interest from prestigious programs over the years, but the Wolfpack stood out. 

He met with Doeren during his recent NC State visit and, after building strong bonds with both the head coach and nickels coach Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, his choice was clear. It was time to run with the Pack. 

“I just felt like it was the right time to do it and, with the relationship with coach Lindsay, I wanted to be coached by him at the next level,” Brown said. 

Aughtry-Lindsay reminds Brown of his high school coach, and he appreciates that the Wolfpack assistant played for the program as well. The defensive back told his future position coach about his decision first and then informed Doeren. 

The news was met with some surprise from Lindsay and quite a bit of excitement from the head coach, Brown said. After first camping at NC State as a freshman, the Wolfpack maintained a steady presence in his recruitment, which paid off once it was time to make his collegiate choice. 

“NC State has been consistent,” Brown said. “They never wavered. I’ve had programs be in the picture, then they go ghost, then they come back in the picture. [NC State] never wavered.”

“That really set them apart from a lot of people.”

Over the past couple of years, the defensive back built an extremely strong bond with Doeren, which helped the Wolfpack stand out. 

“We have a relationship where I’m able to call him on a consistent basis. . .,” Brown said. “That made me feel comfortable that I’m able to go talk with him just like I do the position coach.”

Coming out of the visit, Brown planned on returning for the April 8 spring game after stopping by a few other programs and likely committing. The trips he went on between March 3 and Wednesday were not enough to sway him from his decision, so he decided to go ahead and make his commitment public.  

“I went to a couple [schools], but, at the end of the day, I knew NC State was home,” Brown said. “Like I told coach Doeren, I’m not focused on no other programs, I’m not going to do no other visits and, to be honest with you, I’m not going on no more official visits, so I’m locked in.”

Prior to his decision, Brown said he had already started to set official visits. His visit list is a lot more straightforward now. He will make one official stop at NC State, closing his recruitment. 

During his junior season at Chesapeake (VA) Oscar Smith High, Brown did not see many targets to his side of the field, so he embraced his role as a physical tackler in the secondary. That is one of a few traits that will help him develop into a productive player for the Pack. 

“Covering the seams and the flats, the curls, I love that, being able to break on the ball like that,” Brown said. “And I don’t mind tackling.”

Brown said, standing 6-0 tall, he weighs at least 183 pounds and has the frame to get up to 195 to 200 while maintaining his speed. 

He will arrive on campus in January and already has some goals in mind for the next stage of his football career. 

“I’m gonna go to the league as a nickel. . .” Brown said. “I’m going to be a freshman All-American.”

After spending the majority of his high school career with Oscar Smith High, the defensive back transferred to Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic in Fredericksburg, Virginia. He will graduate and enroll early with the Pack thanks to that decision. Brown said he is very close with his family, so spending his last year of high school away from home will also help him get used to moving away for college. 

“I didn’t want to worry about missing my parents or anything like that,” Brown said. 

The defensive back has a ton of family in North Carolina, including relatives in the research triangle area, Greensboro and New Bern. He is looking forward to hosting them for game days in the upcoming years. 

“They’ll be able to see me now, and I’ll be right up the street, so that was big,” Brown said. 

Brown has not spoken to his fellow NC State commits yet but said the spring game could be an opportunity for the three members of the 2024 class to connect. Current Wolfpack cornerback Brandon Cisse reached out and congratulated the defensive back on his decision. Nate Evans, who is also from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Cisse helped recruit Brown to Raleigh. 

Now, the St. Michael’s star plans on convincing his extremely talented peers to join him in Raleigh, using his commitment to show NC State is a viable destination for Virginia’s elite talent. He specifically mentioned that he and the staff have talked about getting four-star class of 2025 EDGE Ari Watford and three-star class of 2024 EDGE Anthony Reddick on campus. 

“I’m definitely going to try to use my commitment as a way to get guys to their program,” Brown said.

Brown’s recruiting reach also extends outside of Virginia. He plays for the Bootlegger Stars 7 on 7 team, which is based out of Louisiana. 

The On3 industry Ranking considers Brown the No. 14 prospect in Virginia, the No. 654 recruit nationally and the No. 58 cornerback. NC State’s 2024 recruiting class now ranks No. 33 in the country.

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