The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/896287
12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK NC State moved to strengthen its front seven on defense by land- ing a pair of commitments, includ- ing one who should be able to help quickly in junior college defensive end Joe Babros from Saddlebrook College in Mission Viejo, Calif. The 6-5, 250-pound Babros had 18 total stops, three tackles for loss, two sacks, five quarter- back hurries, a fumble return for a touchdown (46 yards) and one pass broken up in six games this season. He had also been offered by Iowa State, Colorado State and Nevada, among others, all of them coming since the summer. He made an official visit to NC State for the Thursday night win over Louisville Oct. 5. Babros is a native of Mission Viejo, Calif. During his freshman year at Saddlebrook, he had 14 tackles, 4.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage and four sacks in eight games. Rivals.com rates Babros as a three-star prospect. On Oct. 1, linebacker Calvin Hart Jr. from Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage High an- nounced his verbal commitment to NC State at the conclusion of an official visit during which he watched the Wolfpack defeat Syr- acuse in Raleigh. Going into his visit he was es- sentially down to offers from NC State and Texas A&M, both of whom he visited unofficially over the summer. He had also picked up offers from Iowa, Iowa State, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Pitts- burgh, Rutgers, Syracuse and Wis- consin from the Power Five con- ferences throughout the recruiting process. Rivals.com ranks Hart a two-star recruit. As a junior, Hart (6-0, 205) compiled 70 tackles, seven stops for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble in 14 games for American Heritage, a traditional powerhouse in the South Florida region. The team went 14-0 last season, won the class 5A state title and finished ranked No. 27 in MaxPreps.com's national poll. Through Oct. 31, Hart had played five games as a senior and piled up 33 tackles, seven hits for loss and a pair of sacks. American Heritage was 7-0 and ranked No. 4 nationally by USA Today. Hart was named third-team All- Broward County by The Miami Herald after his junior year. He also competed in track last season in the jumps, registering personal bests of 20-foot-3 in the long jump and 40-foot-11 in the triple jump. The two give NC State 19 verbal commitments in the 2018 class. The Pack is expected to sign 25 newcomers between the December and February signing periods. ■ Class Of 2018 Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) Joe Babros DE 6-5 250 Mission Viejo, Calif. (Saddlebrook College) Tyler Baker-Williams S 6-1 200 Raleigh (Southeast Raleigh) Devin Carter WR 6-4 205 Clayton, N.C. (Clayton) Malik Dunlap S 6-4 190 Charlotte (Harding) Chris Dunn K 5-9 170 Lexington, N.C. (North Davidson) Derrick Eason DL 6-4 255 Norfolk, Va. (Norview) Gabriel Gonzalez OT 6-5 275 Mebane, N.C. (Eastern Alamance) De'Von Graves CB 6-1 180 Appomattox, Va. (Appomattox County) Calvin Hart Jr. LB 6-0 205 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (American Heritage) Devin Hayes OT 6-5 250 Orlando, Fla. (Jones) Devin Leary QB 6-2 195 Sicklerville, N.J. (Timber Creek) Davontae McCrae DT 6-4 260 Miami (Northwestern) Kishawn Miller CB 5-9 170 Gainesville, Ga. (Georgia Military College) Trent Pennix RB 6-2 205 Raleigh (Sanderson) Ricky Person RB 6-2 205 Wake Forest, N.C. (Heritage) Jasiah Provillon WR 6-3 190 Irvington, N.J. (Irvington) Daevon Robinson TE 6-4 210 Medford, N.J. (Shawnee) Teshaun Smith CB 6-3 170 Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Western) Jalynn Strickland OT 6-6 310 Waycross, Ga. (Ware County) Five NC State verbal commitments have been selected to play in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas All-Star Game Dec. 16 in Spartanburg, S.C. The traditional clash features the top players from the states of North Carolina and South Carolina against each other to raise money for the Shriners Hospital in Greenville, S.C. Four-star running back Ricky Person headlines the list of future Wolfpackers on the invite list. Person had rushed 177 times for 1,873 yards and 30 touchdowns plus caught 13 passes for 194 yards and three scores in nine games (he missed one due to injury) to help lead Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High to a 10-0 start. Three-star offensive tackle Gabriel Gonzalez from Mebane (N.C.) Eastern Alamance High will help block for Person in the game. Gonzalez has also been selected to participate in the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl Jan. 6 in Tampa, Fla. Wide receiver Devin Carter, a three-star prospect from Clay - ton (N.C.) High, also was picked for the Shrine Bowl. Carter had led the Comets to a 10-0 start in 2017, catching 37 passes for 675 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also had rushed for a pair of scores. Like Gonzalez, Carter has additionally been selected for the Blue-Grey All-American Bowl in Tampa. The other two future NC State players picked for the Shrine Bowl were three-star safety Malik Dunlap from Charlotte Hard- ing High and kicker Christopher Dunn from North Davidson High in Lexington, N.C. Dunn is rated by kicking guru Chris Sailer as the No. 5 placekicker nationally in the 2018 class and is expected to immediately compete for the Pack's starting duties next season. Dunn has also been picked for the Offense-Defense All-Amer- ican Bowl Dec. 30 in New Orleans. Elsewhere, four-star quarterback Devin Leary from Timber Creek High in Sicklerville, N.J., was selected for the Polynesian Bowl Jan. 20 in Hawai'i. This year's head coaches include former NFL Super Bowl winning coach Dick Vermeil. Leary, through seven games, had thrown for 1,974 yards and 22 touchdowns with just four interceptions plus rushed 30 times for 310 yards and three scores for Timber Creek this season. He became New Jersey's all-time leader in passing yards with 8,783 and tied for the state record in touchdown passes thrown (96). Three-star defensive tackle commit Davontae McCrae from Miami's Northwestern High will join Dunn in the Offense-De - fense All-American Bowl. Four-star quarterback Devin Leary from Timber Creek High in Sicklerville, N.J., recently became New Jersey's all-time leader in passing yards (8,783) and tied the state record for touchdown passes (96). PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM NC State Football Adds Two Verbal Commitments Defensive end Joe Babros of Sad- dlebrook College in Mission Viejo, Calif., picked NC State over offers from Iowa State, Colorado State and Nevada. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Linebacker Calvin Hart Jr. com- piled up 70 tackles, seven stops for loss, four sacks and a forced fumble as a junior while helping Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) American Heritage to a state title. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Wolfpack Football Commits Earn All-Star Invites