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It's well-rounded group in terms of needs, overall talent and geographic demographics. A total of 24 of the 25 signees played in their state playoffs and six played in state championship games. There were 12 all-state performers, 17 allstar game participants and six who played in the North Carolina-South Carolina Shrine Bowl. "We wanted to build this class with winners," Doeren said. "I know people on the outside are concerned with rankings and stars and those things matter to our staff, but I like recruiting winners — guys with championship rings. We have guys who are competitors and were on teams who won games." Yes, Doeren re-recruited the top of Tom O'Brien's final class. Guys like wide receiver Bra'Lon Cherry, linebacker Quinton Patterson, running back Josh Mercer, linebacker Jerod Fernandez, running back Dakwa Nichols and offensive lineman Cole Blankenship. But he also went out immediately looking to fill some of the Wolfpack's needs from outside those who had already committed, not just for the future but to give depth to some of the issues that plagued the Pack last season, at wide receiver, at running back and at linebacker. The veteran coaching staff brought in wide receiver Johnathan Alston, defensive tackle Monty Nelson, safety Malcolm Means, and transfers Jacoby Brissett, Traveres Copeland and Ali Kassem, all of whom were eager to join Doeren's program, though both Brissett and Copeland will have to sit out next season under NCAA transfer guidelines. Blankenship, Cherry and Brissett were so eager, they went the Rivers' route, enrolling in January to spend the spring working out with their new teammates. Doeren was able to use his persuasive abilities to bring wide receiver Jumichael Ramos into the fold, even though he had JUMP TO CONTENTS Defensive back Jack Tocho from Charlotte Independence High was rated a three-star recruit, the No. 58 cornerback in the country and the No. 22 prospect in North Carolina by Rivals.com. photo by ken martin previously committed to Georgia Tech. He expects Ramos and his other five receivers to challenge for the rotation as soon as possible. He and his staff went to Florida to sign nine players. They stayed home to find nine North Carolinians, picking up some important players from the football-rich flatlands around Richmond and Scotland counties. Artemis Robinson, younger brother of former Wolfpack linebacker Terrell Manning, has been waiting for his chance to follow in Manning's footsteps. They also tapped into some of their old stomping grounds in the Midwest, from their days at Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Besides linebacker Audie Cole, a quarterback turned linebacker, when's the last time NC State recruited Michigan at all, let alone the urban areas around Detroit, the home place of defensive tackle Kenton Gibbs and safety Josh Jones? Finally, Doeren and his staff got a benefit that none of his recent predecessors ever had during critical on-campus visits: home basketball wins over Duke and North Carolina, something that hasn't happened at State since the 2002-03 bas- Page 33 ketball season. Means stormed the court with the student body following the basketball victory over Duke at PNC Arena, and committed to the Pack shortly thereafter. Alston committed the day of the North Carolina game, when ESPN's Game Day was on campus and Doeren and fullback Logan Winkles warmed up the crowd by playing guitar for American Idol Scott McCreery. Doeren understands that his first class is not going to be highly populated with five-star recruits, most of who had been shored up by their favorites while Doeren was still coaching Northern Illinois to its second consecutive Mid-America Conference championship. Nor does he expect to sign such a large, diverse class ever again, just because his on-going relationship as NC State's head coach with future players has already been forged. He has faith that he and his staff can develop the players he found willing to join his initial recruiting class, so that the Wolfpack can be successful this fall and in years to come. "We're excited about the results, but from here on the process will be different," he said. "Our relationship will be for 12 months now." "They [high school players] are already calling us, wanting to come up to our underclassman recruiting days. They'll know me, they'll know our kids, they'll know our academic people, they'll be here on game days. They'll know everything about us." That's a comforting feeling for a new coach, though he's greatly appreciative that he and his staff, less than six weeks after they started recruiting, were able to find so many capable players who were willing to take a leap of faith in building a new program. ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.