The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK BY MATT CARTER NC State's football recruiting class added 13 pros- pects to stand at 16 through July 2. The influx of talent elevated the class to No. 23 in Rivals.com's national rankings. Here are capsules, in alphabetical order, on the newest NC State pledges. DEFENSIVE TACKLE C.J. CLARK New London (N.C.) North Stanly High The 6-3, 300-pound Clark is one of a pair of Rivals250, four-star prospects that committed to NC State in June, joining Clayton (N.C.) High defensive end Savion Jackson. Rivals.com ranks Clark as the No. 7 prospect in North Carolina, and the No. 10 defensive tackle and No. 204 overall player in the country. As a junior, Clark notched 79 tackles and nine sacks. He picked NC State over Georgia and UNC after also landing offers from Alabama, Penn State, South Carolina and Ten - nessee, among others. "He is just a freak when it comes to size and speed," North Stanly head coach Scott Crisco said. "There is a reason why everybody was after him. They got a good one." OFFENSIVE LINEMAN IKEM EKWONU Charlotte Providence Day Ekwonu is rated by Rivals.com as a three-star prospect and the No. 36 player in North Caro - lina. He had a healthy offer list that also included Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Virginia and West Virginia. The 6-4, 290-pounder, who projects as a guard at NC State, is the fraternal twin brother of linebacker and Notre Dame commit Osita Ekwonu. "Ekwonu should fit in very nicely with NC State's offense," Rivals.com's Adam Friedman noted. "He is a tough inside presence that does a good job creating running lanes inside and is quick enough to be an asset as a pulling guard or making blocks down the field." RUNNING BACK JAMIOUS GRIFFIN Rome (Ga.) High Griffin rushed 178 times for 1,276 yards and 28 touch - downs while helping Rome go 15-0 and win a Class AAAAA state title for a second consecutive year. Rivals.com rates him as a three-star recruit, the No. 66 player in Georgia and the No. 39 running back nationally. Griffin had offers from Georgia Tech, Indiana, Ole Miss, Purdue, South Carolina, Wake Forest and West Virginia, among others. Since his commitment, he picked up an offer from Virginia Tech. He has older brothers that are on the football teams at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. DEFENSIVE BACK JAKEEN HARRIS Savannah (Ga.) Benedictine Military School The 5-11, 180-pound Harris had 103 tackles, five intercep - tions (two of which he returned for scores), a forced fumble and a fumble recovery as a junior, leading to offers from Boston College, Central Florida, Kansas State, Indiana, Min- nesota and UNC, among others. Harris visited both NC State and UNC before committing to the Wolfpack. NC State recruited Harris to play nickel in its defense. "When I went up there, it just felt like home — great coaches, great staff," Harris explained. "The school fit me." Rivals.com rates Harris as a three- star prospect and the No. 110 player in Georgia. DEFENSIVE END SAVION JACKSON Clayton (N.C.) High Jackson is considered one of the premier prospects from the state of North Carolina. Rivals.com ranks him as a four-star talent, the No. 3 player in North Carolina, the No. 10 strongside defensive end and No. 123 overall recruit in the nation. He narrowed down his choices to NC State and South Carolina before picking NCSU. As a junior, Jackson recorded 56 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and eight sacks in 14 games. "He's an explosive athlete," Clayton head coach Hunter Jenks said. "He's flexible, and he can redirect. Weight room- wise he cleans over 300 pounds. He's up to 6-3, 260 pounds, and he's actually gotten faster. "I think that the sky is the limit for him." WIDE RECEIVER KEYON LESANE Matthews (N.C.) Butler High Lesane is a likely slot receiver for NC State. His recruiting was an old-fashioned NC State-UNC showdown, with the Pack winning out after he made an unofficial visit in late May. "It just felt like home at NC State," Lesane said. "Chapel Hill is a good school and I liked Chapel Hill, but it just didn't feel like home." The three-star prospect, according to Rivals.com, also had offers from Indiana, Syracuse, West Virginia and East Carolina, among others. He is originally from Lumberton, N.C., before moving to the Charlotte area when he was 13. OFFENSIVE LINEMAN ZOVON LINDSAY Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian Lindsay piled up 55 tackles, 14 stops for loss and seven sacks as a junior, but his future at NC State is not on the defensive line. The Wolfpack re- cruited the 6-4, 270-pounder to play offensive tackle. Lindsay, who is rated as a three- star recruit and the No. 47 player in North Carolina by Rivals.com, also had offers from South Carolina, Vir - ginia, Wake Forest and West Virginia when he picked the Wolfpack. He is a cousin of former NC State linebacker Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay. "NC State made me feel like family every time I have gone up there, my parents and I," Lindsay noted. "They check on me all the time. They said I was a priority for them." OFFENSIVE LINEMAN DYLAN MCMAHON Savannah (Ga.) Christian School The Rivals.com three-star prospect is considered one of the elite centers in the country. He is rated No. 4 nation - ally at his position and is the No. 76 recruit in Georgia. McMahon verbally committed to NC State over Georgia Tech after also collecting offers from Boston College, Indiana, Northwestern and Virginia, among others. The 6-3, 270-pounder is the younger brother of former Florida State center Ryan McMahon, who started 53 straight games at Florida State and earned All-ACC honors. OFFENSIVE TACKLE TRISTON MILLER Charlotte Country Day NC State ended the month by beating UNC for the 6-6, 275-pound Miller. He had commit - ted to Wake Forest last December before opening up his recruitment in February. Miller made official visits to Arkansas, Kentucky, UNC and NC State before announcing for the Pack on June 29. He also had offers from, among others, Boston College, Duke, Georgia Tech, Mary - land, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. Rivals.com rates Miller as a three-star recruit, the No. 65 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 25 prospect in North Carolina. He is also listed as the top offensive lineman in the state. ■ Class Of 2019 Commitments Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Hometown (High School) C.J. Clark DT 6-3 300 New London, N.C. (North Stanly) Ikem Ekwonu OL 6-4 290 Charlotte (Providence Day) Jalen Frazier DB 5-10 180 Cornelius, N.C. (Hough) Jamious Griffin RB 5-10 205 Rome, Ga. (Rome) Jakeen Harris DB 5-11 180 Savannah, Ga. (Benedictine Military School) Savion Jackson DE 6-3 260 Clayton, N.C. (Clayton) Keyon Lesane WR 6-0 185 Matthew, N.C. (Butler) Zovon Lindsay OL 6-4 270 Fayetteville, N.C. (Trinity Christian) Timothy McKay OL 6-4 290 Raleigh (Wakefield) Dylan McMahon OL 6-3 270 Savannah, Ga. (Savannah Christian) Triston Miller OT 6-6 275 Charlotte (Country Day) Jaylon Scott LB 6-1 230 Shelby, N.C. (Shelby) Joe Shimko LS 6-0 210 Wall, N.J. (Wall) Drake Thomas LB 6-1 235 Wake Forest, N.C. (Heritage) Chris Toudle WR 6-3 215 Wilmington, N.C. (Hoggard) Kam Walker TE 6-5 235 Canton, N.C. (Pisgah) NC State Football Recruiting Rolls In June