How we feeling?

7/9/2018 10:36:59 AM

Pretty good, just kinda tired, thanks! How about you?

7/9/2018 11:11:14 AM

Pretty good, had a sinus infection last week so thats sucks.

7/9/2018 11:29:07 AM

i think we're optimistic we'll land all 3...Martin (tomorrow), Harris, and Knight (today).

7/9/2018 12:11:25 PM

Knight committed. #20 player in NC, #1 RB in NC, #506 nationally (by 247)

7/9/2018 4:34:14 PM

Redlight.gif

7/9/2018 4:58:04 PM

7/9/2018 5:09:01 PM

So the visits are going well.

7/9/2018 5:24:52 PM

did Amato have a higher ranked class than this? we were 17 in 2003 but with this commit, and especially with any others, we'd likely be in the top 15.

7/9/2018 5:28:57 PM

Harris also committed

Edit: 4*, #1 DT in NC

[Edited on July 9, 2018 at 6:20 PM. Reason : ~]

7/9/2018 6:18:48 PM

Nice!

7/9/2018 6:19:08 PM

Quote :

"but with this commit, and especially with any others, we'd likely be in the top 15."

We won’t finish in the top 15. There’s gonna be lots more 4 and 5* guys committing to other schools that boosts their rankings before this is all said and done. Also, if I’m not mistaken our highest rated targets have mostly already committed...we don’t have as many chances to continue to move up. We’ve got 17 commits, I believe, and a lotta the schools in front of us have fewer. It’s gonna be hard for us to jump Auburn, Miami, UGa and teams like that. Regardless, this is shaping up to be the best class at State in a long time.

I also think recruiting rankings have improved and expanded so much that it’s hard to compare a ranking from 2003 to a ranking from 2018.

7/9/2018 7:43:17 PM

^this is a great class...but it wont be much better than last years which was the best class weve had since recruiting websites became a thing. This class will prolly match it around the 25 range.

7/9/2018 9:02:53 PM

Hell fucking yea Coach!

7/9/2018 9:12:48 PM

Another thing to keep in mind is these rankings appear to be super fluid. At one point Knight and Harris were composite 4* guys and ranking adjustments in the last month or so have bumped them down to 3*s.

I'm not as worried about the "rankings" in regard to this class. I'm focused on how strong we are in NC(13 of our 17 commits so far), the really impressive offer lists these guys we're landing have, and the fact that we're getting our top targets at positions of need.

To lose 4 starting DL and to already have, arguably, the top 3 DL prospects in the state locked up with legit big-time offers is really impressive.

Now to just close it out with Martin, Walker, Burrell/Battle, Jones/Dawkins, and a QB.

7/9/2018 10:20:59 PM

Awesome news, way to keep reeling in the recruits Coach Doeren! Who is the other guy announcing this week that we have a shot at?

7/9/2018 10:23:43 PM

Khalid Martin, S. Should be tomorrow.

7/9/2018 10:48:52 PM

^^ harris has been and still is a 4* in the composite rankings. 247 has and still does list him as a 3*. They will be updating their rankings this month. Knight is our only recruit who used to be a 4* and has dropped to a 3.

Also, tyus fields is a credible option and much more likely than burrell for that CB spot.

7/10/2018 12:57:24 AM

^Last I heard we had cooled on Fields(size) and there were some grade concerns. Honestly feels like it's going to be Burrell(we are in the top 2 with UT) or we're likely to just wait on Battle(December).

[Edited on July 10, 2018 at 9:20 AM. Reason : .]

7/10/2018 9:19:53 AM

Why would UNC and IC be butt-hurt about us landing Harris or Knight? I think they knew they didn't have a shot with Harris and it was pretty obvious where Knight was leaning.

Plus IC keeps telling their readers that McKenzie(3* DT) is a better prospect than Harris(despite what rankings or offers suggest), so they think they have a chance at landing a "better" prospect. I'm sure they also said they pulled Harris and Knight's offer, haha.

7/10/2018 10:23:26 AM

Martin’s announcing at 5:30 today.

7/10/2018 12:22:50 PM

Got him, too

7/10/2018 5:43:28 PM

7/10/2018 7:33:00 PM

Abided by my rule of only watching highlight videos for players who commit.

Zonovan Knight. Damn. That guy looks like a star to me. He's got it all -- great anticipation and patience, smooth and shifty, explosive when he sees an opening. He's got a top gear few can match.

I love Ricky Person and can't wait to see how we use him this year, but Knight's video looks much more impressive to me (and Ricky's was fantastic).

7/11/2018 1:40:34 AM

i think knight plays 1-a HS football...competition not as stout as what ricky person faced. Ricky rushed for almost 200 yds in the shrine bowl game and broke one of the only big running plays in the Army AA bowl. Hes gonna be a really, really good one. Knight gonna be a great change of pace/KR/PR though with hopefully some ability to catch the ball. He said they plan to use him like they used Nyheim

7/11/2018 2:03:08 AM

TA McLendon played for a 1A school and he's the best RB I've ever seen with my own eyes.

7/11/2018 4:59:04 AM

Well sure. And zonovan could end up being the next coming. But his highlights are gonna look much more dominating than ricky persons because hes playing 1-a competition and ricky is facing 4-a. Has nothing to do with future success, i was just commenting on why knights videos might look more dominant

7/11/2018 6:55:01 AM

Southern Nash is 3-A

7/11/2018 8:55:23 AM

No doubt Person faced tougher competition, but the things Knight does on his video would be impressive if no one was on the field; just the way he changes directions so quickly in the hole and gets up field. Plus, two things:

1. Im pretty sure Knight's high school (Southern Nash) is 3A, not 1A

2. Julius Peppers played there

7/11/2018 8:56:06 AM

Also, Khalid Martin's video looks great too. He' all over the place, smashing people and breaking up passes. I know East Forsyth is 4A, so ... there's that

7/11/2018 9:01:18 AM

I liked Knight's video, but I wouldn't get too carried away. I liked some of his cutback moves and vision, but I disregarded all of his edge runs where be just out-ran the entire defense to the sideline and then turned it up for long gains. That shit won't work at the next level as often.

Knight reminds me of a slower, but bigger, version of Hines. I could see him being a 3rd down back or a slot WR for a bit just to get him on the field. I'm stoked we landed him and think he compliments Griffin well. Our backfield is looking to be fairly loaded with Person, Pennix(maybe), Griffin, and Knight. Though I could certainly see Pennix ending up on D if he wants to.

7/11/2018 9:11:57 AM

So basically three 4-stars in two days?

7/11/2018 10:14:34 AM

WE DOING THIS SHIT!

7/11/2018 11:29:02 AM

Zonovan Knight is a 3* across all recruiting sites, as far as i can tell (ESPN, 247, Rivals), although i think at one time he was a 4* on Rivals but dropped

Joshua Harris is a 4* on Rivals, a 3* on 247, but a 4* on 247's composite scale (which takes into account all other services)

Khalid Martin is a 3* on Rivals, 4* on 247, but a 3* on 247 composite...

[Edited on July 11, 2018 at 11:32 AM. Reason : v]

7/11/2018 11:31:54 AM

knight hat at least 17 offers from almost every NC, Va, Tenn school plus some others

harris had offers from everyone, including Bama, TAM, tOSU, ND, PSU, UGA

martin had at least 17 offers, including some impressive schools

while not necessarily 100% accurate either, thats where the real evaluation stands, IMO

7/11/2018 11:39:17 AM

Yeah but were they committable offers???

7/11/2018 11:56:27 AM

I mean it's an age old question. Not to get in on "our coaches have the best eyes" thing, but an important thing is we're getting most of the guys our coaches are pushing hard for, and early. I don't think there have been many big battles that we've lost this cycle, outside of qb.

You could argue if Rorie fits that bill. And we'll see how Burreol/Battle plays out. I think we lost a TE to Auburn and a DE to FSU. other than that, there haven't been nearly as many where we weer battling hard and lost out.

Obviously there are better prospects that we were on the fringes or never even got in the conversation. But recruiting at an nc state level, the important thing is targeting your key guys, getting the ones you should get and pulling a few others, which they've done pretty well so far. Obviously getting them committed early helps with freeing up the coaches to focus on hard cases during the season.

7/11/2018 1:31:24 PM

Quote :

"while not necessarily 100% accurate either, thats where the real evaluation stands, IMO"

yeah i agree with you...that's generally more revealing than a simple star rating. but to answer the original...no we didn't land 3 4 stars this week.

7/11/2018 3:03:23 PM

Well, I said basically All have at least been a 4* on some site at some point... and Knight appears to be the lowest, and he's still the #1 RB in NC.

[Edited on July 11, 2018 at 3:14 PM. Reason : i appreciate you breaking down the rankings]

7/11/2018 3:14:16 PM

anyway you slice it, it's 3 very solid commits.

7/11/2018 4:25:01 PM

Harris had committable offers from Bama, UGA, etc. He could have picked his school.

Knight had committable offers from all of his schools...save for maybe Duke as he might have burned that bridge.

Martin had committable offers from everyone except VT. He DID have a committable offer but they filled up at safety a couple of weeks ago.

7/11/2018 7:46:40 PM

(stolen from Backing The Pack)

7/13/2018 1:14:46 PM

4* on Rivals/3* on 247 DB Warren Burrell is announcing 7/27. His final 3 are State, Tennessee, Florida...seems like most people think it's down to us and Tennessee. Don't think we're as confident in landing him as we were with some of the more recent commits (Knight, Harris, etc). That doesn't mean we aren't getting him or don't have a chance...just that he's probably played things closer to the vest

7/16/2018 6:31:55 AM

^Do find it interesting his announcement date is the same as our Alpha Wolf event. Would be a great move to have Burrell show up and commit.

7/16/2018 9:12:37 AM

I think Tenn has something similar that weekend

7/16/2018 9:17:09 AM

UT event is on the 28th and he's currently not scheduled to attend. Though I don't think he's scheduled to attend the our event on the 27th either.

7/16/2018 10:52:13 AM

Conventional wisdom is that its gonna be tennessee.

7/16/2018 3:48:41 PM

^ ya, 90% of crystal ball is UTenn. the other 10% being unknown although we know those things arent super accurate until the last min.

7/16/2018 4:24:23 PM

I enjoy that gif

7/16/2018 7:12:04 PM

Former 4* QB Cord Sandberg narrows list down to State, Auburn, LSU

23 years old. Played 6 years in Phillies minor league system. Would have 4 years of eligibility. Visits us first - July 25-26

Best link I could find
https://auburn.rivals.com/news/former-pro-baseball-player-4-star-qb-sets-visits

7/17/2018 1:54:28 PM