Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/108303
try to answer as many of them as lenging to be part of the Wolfyou can. We just wanted them to pack two-deep in the fall. give ourselves time to get a staff NCSU also signed three linein place." backers, including Artemis RobThe Wolfpack have been lookinson of Laurinburg (N.C.) Scoting for vertical taller receivers land County, who is the younger since losing Owen Spencer and brother of former NC State star Jarvis Williams to graduation outside linebacker Terrell Mantwo years ago. The additions of ning of the Green Bay Packers. 6-6, 215-pound Pharoah McKQuinton Patterson of Shelby ever of Tabor City (N.C.) South (N.C.) Crest was the defensive Columbus; 6-3, 190-pound JuMVP for North Carolina in the michael Ramos of Hampton Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas. (Ga.) Lovejoy; 6-3, 201-pound Lake Mary (Fla.) High's Jerod Marquez Valdes of St. PetersFernandez had both Rutgers and burg (Fla.) Lakewood; and 6-3, Pittsburgh in pursuit follow200-pound Johnathan Alston of ing the coaching change, but he Bunn (N.C.) High should help elected to remain firm to NC fill that void. Cherry and CopeState. land will both work out of the "The three linebackers were slot in the future. committed [before he arrived] McKever, a quarterback at and we were able to hold on to South Columbus, has the versaall three," Doeren said. "That was tility to play multiple positions tremendous." on offense or defense, but will The 6-3, 295-pound Blankenstart off at wide receiver. ship is joined on the offensive All three running backs also line by 6-5, 290-pound Tylar have good hands for the passReagan of Jacksonville (Fla.) ing game. Dayes, Josh Mercer of Bartram Trail High and 6-7, Guyton (Ga.) South Effingham 310-pound Patrick Roane of and Dakwa Nichols of RockingHope Mills (N.C.) Gray's Creek ham (N.C.) Richmond County all High, plus junior college transfer were in the fold by late SeptemAli Kassem of Brooklyn (N.Y.) Doeren and his staff placed an emphasis on building this recruiting class ber. Dayes eventually officially with winners, landing 24 players (including the two transfers) that partici- ASA. visited Vanderbilt and Central pated in prep playoffs and six that advanced to their state championships. Kassem, who is listed at 6-7 photo by Ken Martin and 350 pounds, actually weighs Florida before signing with the Wolfpack. Vero Beach (Fla.) High cornerbacks in the 380-pound range according to DoBrissett, a former Rivals.com four-star Sean Paul and Dravious Wright and eren. The former Western Michigan player recruit, and Jefferson (Ga.) High senior Charlotte Independence cornerback/ from Cincinnati is expected to fortify the Bryant Shirreffs will be thrown into the safety Jack Tocho were badly needed adguard position for the Wolfpack. quarterback competition down the line, ditions in the secondary, especially with Detroit Cass Technical's Kenton Gibbs with Brissett having to sit out a season due star David Amerson entering the NFL and Plantation (Fla.) High's Monty Nelson to NCAA rules. Draft a year early. strengthen the depth at defensive tackle. The defensive backfield will be fortified Safeties Malcolm Means of Lewisville Both are 6-2 — Nelson is 20 pounds with three new cornerbacks and two safe(S.C.) High and Joshua Jones of Walled heavier at 310 — and are the lone defenties, though some of the players have the Lake (Mich.) Western were both added in sive linemen signed. flexibility of playing either position. mid- to late-January, and could be chal"We got two defensive tackles," Doeren JUMP TO CONTENTS Page 3 said, "that I think are really good football players." The Wolfpack had nine players decommit or end up at another college during the recruiting cycle. Linebacker Ford Howell was the lone decommit prior to the coaching change, settling on Wake Forest. Safety Chris Holmes (Duke), safety Hassan Childs (South Florida), cornerback Da'Wan Hunte (Purdue), cornerback Marcus Edmond (Clemson), wide receiver Kyrin Priester (Clemson) and tight end Chris Burton (Cincinnati) all found new homes after Doeren was hired. Defensive end Desmond Owino landed in junior college, and wide receiver Jalen McDaniel (school to be determined) were also unable to sign with NC State due to academics. The recruiting of the last two months will put a premium on a few positions in the class of 2014. The Wolfpack has already hosted some of the top juniors in the state at various home basketball games and will have a major junior day Feb. 16. Doeren looks forward to having more time to form complete relationships with in-state juniors and sophomores and their families. He expects to have at least 20-plus scholarships to use in 2014, and will target several positions on offense and defense, plus find some future replacements for his junior-dominated special teams specialists. "In this class I think we really got some things done from a skill standpoint," Doeren said. "This next class, offensive line and defensive line — particularly defensive end and defensive tackle — [and] linebacker, those areas will be huge. Tight end will be a big area for us in this class. "Not that we won't recruit everything else, we will. We'll have a lot of scholarships to recruit with." ■ For regular reports on NC State football recruiting plus videos of Wolfpack commitments and targets visit TheWolfpacker.com.