The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY JACEY ZEMBAL H ead coach Dave Doeren is excited about the length and athleticism of NC State's 23-member recruiting class, par- ticularly on the offensive line, among the receiving corps and in the secondary. "We are trying to continue to build competitive depth," Doeren said. "We wanted to get longer at some positions. Height and wing- span are measurements we look at, and they are very important to us." Rivals.com ranked NC State's recruiting class No. 8 in the Atlan- tic Coast Conference and No. 43 in the country. The additions of Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek tight end Thad- deus Moss and Palmyra (N.J.) High wide receiver Kelvin Harmon give Doeren 10 Rivals.com four-star prospects in the last three years. The 6-4, 247-pound Moss is ranked No. 123 overall in the country for the class of 2016, the only signee in Rivals' top 250 players na- tionally. Moss, the son of legendary former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss, also was ranked No. 7 in North Carolina by Rivals.com and headlines seven signees who made the state's top 50. "He is such a natural receiver," said Rivals.com recruiting analyst Adam Friedman, who handles the Mid-Atlantic region. "The ath- leticism he has at that size is pretty exceptional. He got much faster and much more explosive after he transferred to Mallard Creek. "I love the way he makes plays with the ball in his hands and picks up yardage after the catch. He also has the size and strength to be a quality blocker if he needs to be." Seven of the signees have already enrolled at NC State. Offen- sive linemen Justin Witt of New Lenox, Ill., and Bryce Folsom of Alpharetta, Ga.; linebacker Garrett Hooker of High Point, N.C.; cornerback Bryce Banks of Columbia, Mo.; tight ends Dylan Autenrieth of Dallas, Ga., and Bryce Dixon of Angier, N.C.; and quarterback Dylan Parham of Raleigh will all take part in spring practice and the Kay Yow Spring Game April 9. In addition, pre- ferred walk-on linebackers David Pierson of Wendell, N.C., and Matt Stevens (the younger brother of rising sophomore cornerback Mike Stevens) of Charlotte are also on campus. Doeren and his staff signed players from eight different states, including nine from North Carolina. Increased efforts in Virginia netted three signees, which tied Georgia and Florida for the second most represented state. NCSU was able to sway seven players who committed to other colleges at one point in the recruiting process. Givens and Harmon both originally picked South Carolina; Banks had chosen Missouri; Dixon picked Old Dominion; offensive lineman Kollin Byers of Shelby, N.C., selected Charlotte; offensive lineman Justin Chase of Chesapeake, Va., was headed to East Carolina; and offensive lineman Kendall Brown of Jacksonville, Fla., verbally committed to Appalachian State. The latter followed new NC State offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford to Raleigh. South Carolina, Missouri and East Carolina all had offseason coaching changes, which helped lead to those flips. The Pack didn't have to sign players at every position like in past recruiting classes. The Wolfpack passed on inking a running back and only needed to bring in one defensive lineman and two linebackers. The key areas included signing seven offensive line- men, four cornerbacks, three wide receivers, three tight ends and two safeties. The Pack prefers signing tall, rangy linemen, and all but two — interior blockers Harrison Gee and Joe Sculthorpe — of the seven were at least 6-4. The group will likely redshirt, but the seven could be the backbone of the Wolfpack's offense down the road. New head strength and conditioning coach Dantonio Burnette will be in charge of helping those linemen and the other signees add muscle and weight. The prospects that are considered lanky or slender now won't look that way after a year or two of hard work, and that's how long-term team needs end up being taken care of by players full of upside. "If you go to any strength coach and say, 'Hey, I'm going to give you a bunch of long guys that can run and bend,' and they are going to smile," Doeren said. "There are going to be able to do a lot with that." The wide receivers, tight ends and cornerbacks, though, could easily get the chance to play right away, providing depth and help- ing on special teams. Autenrieth and unique jack-of-all-trades Dixon joined Moss to address the tight end needs, a position where the Pack graduated one from last year's team and lost another, David J. Grinnage, early to the NFL Draft. Preferred walk-on Thomas Ruocchio of Raleigh also joins the group. Wide receivers Harmon, C.J. Riley of Coconut Creek, Fla., and Daeshawn Stephens of Durham, N.C., joined the tight ends in boosting the Wolfpack passing game. It wouldn't shock anyone if multiple receivers play right away next fall. ■ 2016 NC State Signees Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Dylan Autenrieth* TE 6-4 225 Dallas, Ga. (North Paulding) Bryce Banks* CB 6-2 184 Columbia, Mo. (Rock Bridge) Kendall Brown OT 6-4 265 Jacksonville, Fla. (Trinity Christian Academy) Kollin Byers OL 6-4 250 Shelby, N.C. (Crest) Justin Chase OT 6-6 285 Chesapeake, Va. (Great Bridge) Bryce Dixon* TE 6-3 210 Angier, N.C. (Green Hope) Bryce Folsom* OL 6-4 263 Alpharetta, Ga. (Chattahoochee) Ben "Shug" Frazier DT 6-2 321 Buford, Ga. (Buford) Harrison Gee OL 6-3 278 Burlington, N.C. (Walter M. Williams) JJ Givens CB 6-2 174 Mechanicsville, Va. (Atlee) Kelvin Harmon WR 6-3 196 Palmyra, N.J. (Palmyra) Garrett Hooker* LB 6-2 247 High Point, N.C. (Ledford) Tim Kidd-Glass S 6-0 206 Danville, Va. (George Washington) Nick McCloud CB 6-2 175 Rock Hill, S.C. (South Pointe) Brock Miller LB 6-4 210 Port St. Lucie, Fla. (John Carroll Catholic) Thaddeus Moss TE 6-4 247 Charlotte, N.C. (Millard Creek) Dylan Parham* QB 6-4 210 Raleigh (Southeast Raleigh) C.J. Riley WR 6-5 188 Coconut Creek, Fla. (North Broward Prep) Joe Sculthorpe OL 6-2 290 Hampstead, N.C. (Topsail) Isaiah Stallings S 6-4 205 Fayetteville, N.C. (Terry Sanford) Daeshawn Stephens WR 6-2 205 Durham, N.C. (Hillside) James Valdez CB 6-0 189 Orangeburg, S.C. (Orangeburg-Wilkinson) Justin Witt* OT 6-6 290 New Lenox, Ill. (Lincoln-Way West) * Early enrollee Palmyra (N.J.) High wide receiver Kelvin Harmon is one of two four-star prospects the Wolfpack landed, along with Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek tight end Thaddeus Moss, and both could see action this fall. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM BUILDING DEPTH NC State's Recruiting Efforts Continue To Pay Off