The Wolfpacker NC State football recruiting mailbag: June 7
The first weekend of June and its ensuing commitments led to a reshuffling of NC State’s recruiting board heading into its first official visit weekend, but the news was not all negative.
Going into the next three-day stretch of camps, the Wolfpack continues to trend in the right direction with a recently offered prospect. A few of this week’s mailbag questions asked about NC State’s wide receiver recruiting, and others touched on legacy recruiting, the rest of the summer schedule and more.
The Wolfpacker football recruiting mailbag
Is anybody on commitment watch?
I am definitely keeping an eye on Zane Williams’ recruitment after the linebacker picked up an offer during last week’s camp. He has family connections to the program, and NC State was his first power-five offer. Earlier this week, I submitted a prediction for the Wake Forest high star, and I could see his recruitment moving pretty quickly.
As you interact with more wide receiver recruits, what do you feel we need to do to gain commitments from top recruits, especially those from North Carolina?
Why is the WR position so hard to recruit for us? Is this due to our recent history or NIL?
What is your assessment of Joker Phillips?
Yes, NC State has struggled with wide receiver recruiting lately, but I can not overstate how highly both high school coaches and athletes speak of Joker Phillips. They love him and how he recruits.
With that said, he has struggled to land many commitments. Part of that, in my opinion, is simply because the in-state receivers NC State continues to recruit are among the best in the nation. Noah Rogers was a five-star recruit, Nathan Leacock was a top priority for Tennessee, and Jonathan Paylor, Alex Taylor, Terrell Anderson and Jordan Shipp are all elite prospects with major Big-10 and SEC interest.
Phillips has done a great job of establishing relationships early, but it is tough to compete with a hard push from Georgia, Clemson, South Carolina and other similar programs at this point in the process. It is the same discussion when recruiting other positions. Amaris Williams, Chris Peal and Keith Sampson Jr. are all examples of that. It has just been more pronounced at receiver over the past couple of years because so many of NC State’s top in-state prospects developed into national recruits.
So, is there a solution? I do not think NC State’s recent history on offense has much to do with the lack of success on the recruiting trail, but once prospects see how exciting Robert Anae’s offense can be, that could help. Over the past couple of months, multiple prospects told me they are looking forward to what that system looks like on Saturdays.
NIL is also an elephant in the room. It definitely plays a factor in recruiting, so NC State needs to continue strengthening its resources there. Putting a receiver or two in the NFL would also really help with recruiting, in my opinion. That works strongly in NC State’s favor right now with defensive lineman and quarterbacks.
Why do we miss on so many legacy recruits and how do we compare to other schools in this catagory?
I do not think legacy recruits are as much of a lock as they used to be. NC State absolutely sells the family angle, so the staff is doing everything it can there. Santana Wilson loved that part of its visit. These days, a family connection alone is not enough to secure a commitment, and it is absolutely not a problem exclusive to the Wolfpack.
What is your current RPM record for accuracy in prediction of NC State commitments who do ultimately come to NC State?
So far, I have maintained 100-percent accuracy. That includes predictions for Kevin Concepcion, Brandon Cisse, Kelvon McBride and others last year, along with Brody Barnhardt and Jayden Scott this cycle.
I know that June is a big month with camps and OVs. What is the recruiting calendar after June, and what can we expect?
The summer dead period begins June 26, so, once the final weekend of official visits wrap up, schools can not host prospects on visits until July 24. During that time, quite a few recruits will commit. Daemon Fagan and Tamarcus Cooley are examples of prospects who visited in June but opted to wait until July to make their decisions.
NC State will then host its Alpha Wolf Showcase, reserved for elite prospects, in late-July before a dead period begins again and lasts through August. That lone visit weekend in July can be really important. It is the program’s last chance to make an in-person impression before the next wave of early-August commitments begin.
During your interview with Dave Doeren, what was your perspective on NIL and its impact on our ability to recruit effectively compared to other schools based upon his comments?
NC State and Doeren fully recognize how important NIL is, and they are doing everything they can to make sure recruits know the Wolfpack has resources. This quote stood out to me.
“Everybody wants to know what your plan is, not necessarily what do I get if I come?” Doeren said. “It’s more along the lines of: how do you use if with your team now? That’s how we talk about it because that’s what you’re supposed to do, versus inducing and recruiting with it.
“It’s more along the lines of, ‘Hey, this is what the Pack of Wolves does. This is what Savage Wolves does for our current players. Here’s how this can help you if you’re a student-athlete here at NC State.’
“We try to stay within the framework, and our own players are good salesmen for us.”
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