The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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124 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State is down to a few spots left in the 2018 class. With 19 verbal com- mitments, there is room for six more before the Wolfpack hits the maximum of 25. Here are 10 names to watch. LINEBACKER KESHON ARTIS Chesapeake (Va.) Oscar Smith High On Oct. 24, Artis — a three-star pros- pect — announced his final three of NC State, Virginia Tech and Central Florida, and he had lined up official visits to all three programs. He went to Virginia Tech Oct. 28 when it hosted North Carolina. NC State was to be a week later but was postponed. The UCF trip was for Nov. 11, when the Knights were hosting Connecticut. The 6-0, 225-pound Artis is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 22 prospect in Vir- ginia in the 2018 class. He has been invited to play in the Offense-Defense All-Ameri- can Bowl in New Orleans. OFFENSIVE TACKLE KAHRIC BELLE North Miami Beach (Fla.) High The physically imposing 6-6, 290-pound Belle has led a low-key recruitment, only giving a couple of inter- views over the summer. In those, he confirmed that NC State was his leader over offers from Florida, Oregon, Purdue, Syracuse and Wisconsin. NC State has not let up on its interest in Belle. Wide receivers coach George Mc- Donald, who leads the Pack's recruitment in South Florida, went to see him during the NC State's bye week. Rivals.com rates Belle as a three-star prospect. DEFENSIVE END JOSEPH BOLETEPELI Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High Boletepeli is using the fall to get in some of his official visits. He traveled to Maryland Oct. 13 and wants to see Michigan State in Novem- ber. The other schools that Boletepeli has unofficially visited are NC State, North Carolina, Louisville and Wake Forest. He has been to every NC State game in the state, including the season-opening contest in Charlotte against South Carolina. The 6-4, 240-pounder compiled 44 tack- les, a pair of sacks, two interceptions, one pass broken up and two fumble recoveries through nine games for an undefeated Heri- tage squad. Rivals.com rates Boletepeli as the No. 33 prospect in the state. One of Boletepeli's teammates, four-star running back Ricky Person, has verbally committed to NC State. DEFENSIVE TACKLE JORDAN DAVIS Charlotte Mallard Creek High Like Belle, Davis has kept a low profile on the recruiting trail. The massive 6-6, 320-pounder has spent most of this fall playing offensive tackle for state power Mallard Creek, but his preference is to re- turn to the defensive tackle position he played most of his high school career prior to his senior season. Davis unofficially visited NC State for the Marshall contest Sept. 9. Conventional wisdom has suggested that Georgia and NC State have emerged as the top two schools. Rivals.com lists Davis as a four- star prospect, the No. 10 recruit in North Carolina, and the No. 16 defensive tackle and No. 223 overall player nationally. LINEBACKER FA'NAJAE GOTAY North Fort Myers (Fla.) High The 6-0, 205-pound Gotay is a versatile athlete for North Fort Myers. On offense, he had more than 2,000 ca- reer rushing yards and 25 running touchdowns seven games into his senior sea- son, but his calling card ap- pears to be on defense. In seven games this fall, Gotay had three interceptions that he had returned a total of 134 yards, one of which resulted in a touchdown. As a junior, Gotay recorded 160 tackles, 39 stops for loss and five sacks, and was named to the Associated Press Class 6A All-State second team. In August, Gotay revealed a top 12 of Arkansas, Illinois, Louisville, Marshall, Maryland, NC State, Ole Miss, South Flor- ida, Southern Miss, Tennessee and Wash- ington State. He is expected to officially visit NC State in December. Rivals.com rates Gotay as a three-star prospect. OFFENSIVE GUARD JOVAUGHN GWYN Charlotte Harding High The 6-3, 290-pound Gwyn has gone from deliberating making a summer decision to rumors that he may now wait un- til National Signing Day in February. Despite taking his time, Gwyn seems to have held steady on his familiar top three of Duke, NC State and South Carolina. The only known game that Gwyn has attended this fall was the NCSU-South Carolina opener in Charlotte. Rivals.com rates Gwyn as a four-star talent, the No. 14 player in the state and the No. 18 offensive guard in the country. DEFENSIVE LINEMAN ALIM MCNEILL Raleigh Sanderson High McNeill is considered a four-star pros- pect by most recruiting services. Rivals.com is the outlier, regarding him as three-star player, the No. 16 prospect from the state and the No. 26 defensive tackle in the country. The 6-3, 280-pounder plays fullback and linebacker for Sanderson. He rushed for six touchdowns in the first nine games on of- fense and had 38 stops, 15 tackles for loss and five sacks on defense. Additionally, he forced two fumbles and broke up a pass. His future is on the defensive line, and NC State is considered his leader. He had planned to officially visit Michigan when the Wolverines host archrival Ohio State Nov. 25, and then travel to NC State and Virginia Tech in December. McNeill though announced Nov. 1 that he would make his decision on Saturday, Nov. 4. McNeill's teammate, three-star running back Trent Pennix, has verbally committed to NC State. DEFENSIVE END JASON MERCIER Delray Beach (Fla.) Atlantic High Mercier made an official visit to To- ledo in September, but his top five schools are Cincinnati, Iowa State, Maryland, NC State and Rutgers, and there is a peck- ing order that has emerged according to an ■ FOOTBALL RECRUITING Ten Most Wanted