Updates
Deion Roberson Commits!
Raynard Randolph Commits!
Frankie Davis to UCF
Conor O'Neal to Wisconsin
Julius Forte to USF

2009 Football Scholarship Offers:
Bold = Commit

QB
*** Everett Proctor (Jack Britt) Fayetteville, NC 6-2/200

RB
*** James Washington (Boone HS) Orlando, FL 6-0/180/4.40
*** Morgan Alexander (Cartersville HS) Cartersville, GA 5-10.5/160/4.47
*** Greg Pratt (Naples HS) Naples, FL 5-9/165/4.40
*** Rolandan Finch (St. Xavier HS) Louisville, KY 5-10/200/4.50
*** Travis Small (Cheraw HS) Cheraw, SC 5-10.5/184/4.50
** William Pratcher (Cedar Grove HS) Ellenwood, GA 5-10/180

FB
No offers

WR
*** Quintin Payton (T L Hanna HS) Anderson, SC 6-4/190
*** Bryan Underwood (Cleveland Heights HS) University Hts, OH 5-8.5/162/4.62
**** Justin Brown (Concord HS) Wilmington, DE 6-3.5/210/4.48
**** Larry Raper (Shelby HS) Shelby, NC 5-10/153/4.24
*** Kinsman Thomas (Marlboro County HS) Bennettsville, SC 6-3/210/4.59
*** Carvin Powell (Great Bridge HS) Chesapeake, VA 6-2.5/198/4.50

TE
** Anthony Talbert (Winton Woods HS) Cincinnati, OH 6-4/225
*** Asa Watson (Rock Hill HS) Rock Hill, SC 6-4/200

OT
*** Duran Christophe (Woodstock HS) Woodstock, GA 6-5.5/257/5.59
***** Marcus Hall (Glenville HS) Cleveland, OH 6-5/293/5.35
**** Travis Bond (Bertie HS) Windsor, NC 6-6/330
*** Andrew Tiller (Nassau) Garden City, NY 6-6/320/5.00

OG
**** Denzelle Good (Gaffney Senior HS) Gaffney, SC 6-4/295
**** Quinton Washington (Timberland HS) Saint Stephen, SC 6-4/322
* Gus Handler (Barrington HS) Barrington, IL 6-3/265 Colorado

C
*** Camden Wentz (Lassiter HS) Marietta, GA 6-3.5/280/5.35

DT
*** Brian Slay (Stone Bridge HS) Ashburn, VA 6-3/275
*** Tyson Chandler (North Plainfield HS) North Plainfield, NJ 6-6/315
*** Nathan Mageo (New Mexico Military) Roswell, NM 6-4/280/4.96 Signed LOI
*** Deion Roberson (Tucker HS) Tucker, GA 6-2/275
*** Raynard Randolph (Gwynn Park HS) Brandywine, MD 6-3/295
*** Akeem Spence (Ft. Walton Beach HS) Fort Walton Beach, FL 6-1/290
*** Frankie Davis (East Ridge HS) Clermont, FL 6-3/270 UCF
* Conor O'Neal (Newsome HS) Lithia, FL 6-3/300 Wisconsin

DE
*** Ricky Dowdy (High Point Central HS) High Point, NC 6-3/225
*** Sylvester Crawford (Victory Christian Center Sch.) Charlotte, NC 6-5/215
** Darryl Cato-Bishop (Lawrence Academy) Groton, MA 6-4/230
** A.J. Ferguson (South Brunswick HS) Southport, NC 6-3/250/4.80
*** Clinton Simpkins (Chancellor HS) Fredericksburg, VA 6-3/215/4.60
*** Bernardo Nunez (Hoboken HS) Hoboken, NJ 6-2/220/4.70
** Brian Jordan (Great Bridge HS) Chesapeake, VA 6-4/207
** Josh Jackson (Gainesville HS) Gainesville, GA 6-1/242/5.00
**** Jason Ankrah (Quince Orchard HS) Gaithersburg, MD 6-4/240/4.79 Nebraska
*** Izaan Cross (Flowery Branch HS) Flowery Branch, GA 6-4/250 Georgia Tech
*** Julius Forte (Boca Ciega HS) Gulfport, FL 6-2/221/4.66 USF
** Luke Sager (Niceville Senior HS) Niceville, FL 6-4/240 South Florida

MLB
*** Ryan Cheek (Lancaster HS) Lancaster, OH 6-0.5/232/4.51

SLB
*** Luke Kuechly (St. Xavier HS) Cincinnati, OH 6-3/205

WLB
*** Robert Nelson (Stone Mountain HS) Stone Mountain, GA 6-0/205

S
*** Hans Rice (Eufaula HS) Eufaula, AL 6-3/195/4.5
*** Brandan Bishop (Boca Raton HS) Boca Raton, FL 6-1/197/4.66 thanks bro
** Donald Coleman (The Hun School) Princeton, NJ 6-0/207/4.46
** Boogie McCray (Lake Taylor HS) Norfolk, VA 6-2/210

CB
**** Jarvis Byrd (Pahokee HS) Pahokee, FL 5-10/170/4.65
*** Dean Haynes (Northwest Whitfield County HS) Tunnel Hill, GA 6-0/200
** Rashard Smith (Dublin HS) Dublin, GA 5-10/175
*** Dale Peterman (Ursuline HS) Youngstown, OH 5-11/176/4.67
** Keith Reaser (Miami Killian HS) Miami, FL 5-10/-/4.44

K,P
** Chris Ward (Starrs Mill HS) Fayetteville, GA 6-1/170


------------------------------------------STATISTICS------------------------------------------


Scholarships Count
16 Available for 2009
-26 2009 Commits
-2 Rejoining Team (Sam Jones and John Ware if he requalifies)
+3 Class of 2008 who didn't qualify (Palmer, Everett, Mangram)
+6 Transfer or Left Team (Jaradat, Locust, Golder, Burke, T. Barnes, Linney)
-------------------------------------
-3 Scholarships Remaining

Recruiting Breakdown
OFFENSE
QB - 1
Backfield - 2
Receivers - 3
Linemen - 3
------------------
Total Offense - 9

DEFENSE
Linemen - 9
Linebackers - 1
Secondary - 6
------------------
Total Defense - 16

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers - 1

Geographical Diversity
Alabama - 1
Florida - 3
Georgia - 7
Maryland - 1
Massachusetts - 1
New Jersey - 2
New Mexico - 1
North Carolina - 4
South Carolina - 2
Ohio - 3
Virginia - 1

Star Count (highest of the two sites)
5* - 0
4* - 2
3* - 18
2* - 6
1* - 0
--------------------
Average Stars - 2.85


[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 12:12 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2009 12:04:01 PM

julius forte to usf

1/13/2009 12:07:16 PM

Quote :

"Which Pack commits from last year such as Everrett, Palmer, Mangram, Locust will be coming back and when? I thought I remember there being different circumstances with each so it wasn't just two years juco and back. Anybody else I am forgetting?"

Palmer and Mangram are at Georgia Military and should be here in 2010, I'm pretty sure. Pamer might be able to make it in January 2010 after 1.5 years of JuCo.
Locust was a JuCo recruit last year, so he's definitely not going to come here.
Can't remember the details on Everett, but I think he's still hoping to make it here around 2010.
Sam Jones was the other recruit last year who didn't make it in, and as we know, he's here now.

1/13/2009 12:44:18 PM

Quote :

"University of South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley will transfer to another school to pursue a career in baseball, it was announced today."

didnt know where else to post this

1/15/2009 1:21:57 PM

Yeah I posted that in the Days till South Carolina game thread. That bodes well for us. They'll only have one QB (Garcia) with game time experience next year.

1/15/2009 3:00:08 PM

We should knock him out like they did Wilson. You know, return the favor.

1/15/2009 3:08:16 PM

Asa Watson was just upgraded from a 3* prospect to a 4* on Scout, and went from the #14 TE to the #10 TE. MOAR STAAAASSSS!!!

1/15/2009 4:29:24 PM

Watson would be an amazing gift at a position where we need depth and playmakers. If we can hang onto jarvis byrd, I'd be more than happy with this class.

1/16/2009 9:42:40 AM

Asa Watson, Quandon Christian, and Jarvis Byrd are visiting this weekend. Hopefully everything goes well.

1/16/2009 8:17:50 PM

other than the fact that it's freezing outside. hopefully the murp is warm and full of bitches.

1/16/2009 10:08:11 PM

Luke Kuechly to BC

1/17/2009 10:12:10 PM

I don't think we had been in contact with Kuechly for awhile.

1/18/2009 12:17:51 AM

Quote :

"gunzz ©hilln 55453 Posts user info edit post Quote : "University of South Carolina quarterback Chris Smelley will transfer to another school to pursue a career in baseball, it was announced today." didnt know where else to post this"

A new thread? It isn't like there is some sacred amount of thread space and a slightly less significant news item shouldn't get a thread.


Also

Quote :

"K,P ** Chris Ward (Starrs Mill HS) Fayetteville, GA 6-1/170"

We've had some pretty solid kickers over the years, Haushka was great from the ground though not deadly from really long range and Deraney was solid on both sides of the kicking coin (though, to me it looked like his leg was worn out early in his Sr year), but I can't recall any time in the past 10 years or so where we've had a truly elite kicker at either position, and certainly not an elite punter. I'm thinking someone like Sam Swank. A 170 pound kid just isn't going to get the job done.

[Edited on January 18, 2009 at 12:24 AM. Reason : .]

1/18/2009 12:20:20 AM

saw asa watson and jarvis byrd at a party tonight with curtis underwood and tj graham. No, none of them were drinking. Seemed to be having a good time

1/18/2009 12:20:22 AM

Did you slip them some money and say come to State? If not you didn't do your job in making this program better. Also if you saw that they weren't drinking why didn't you try and get them drunk and laid? I'm disappointed in you to say the least.


Ok on a serious note does Watson look like he'll have to have a RS year and add some serious weight to play TE on this level? Someone once said that they thought he would.

1/18/2009 12:29:17 AM

george bryan, matt kushner, and mario carter say that asa should redshirt if he signs with the pack.

1/18/2009 2:59:27 AM

Quote :

"A 170 pound kid just isn't going to get the job done. "

I forgot that a punter's performance is based on his weight and not how well he kicks the ball. Thanks for the reminder.

This kid was the best punter at our camp and was kicking 50 yarders often. As long as he's consistent with punts and can handle the ball well, that's the guy I want. He's not going to gain a ton of weight, but he'll get stronger with a collegiate fitness regiment. Pierson was only ~160 lbs and he didn't seem to have a problem tackling return men.

1/18/2009 10:17:51 AM

If weight was our key decider on who to use at punter then we would probably need to take a step back and re-evaluate things.

1/18/2009 10:24:28 AM

haha

is that guy serious?

a punter's weight has very little to do with how a guy can kick the ball

1/18/2009 1:01:15 PM

Quote :

"Ok on a serious note does Watson look like he'll have to have a RS year and add some serious weight to play TE on this level? Someone once said that they thought he would."

yeah, at first i thought he was jarvis williams, but then i noticed who it was. He'll DEFINITELY need some weight.

oh, and TJ Graham is a stick. I knew he was small, but damn

1/18/2009 1:56:56 PM

tj has some of the smallest legs i have ever seen

1/18/2009 2:03:42 PM

Byrd will take no more visits.

He's solid to the Pack.

1/18/2009 3:11:32 PM

and Asa Watson told Byrd that he is down to NCSU and Duke fwiw

1/18/2009 3:13:02 PM

Travis Bond to announce tomorrow.

1/18/2009 3:19:34 PM

i'd say carolina but i havent followed him much lately

1/18/2009 3:21:23 PM

keep Byrd and give us Asa and that will be perfectly fine with me to finish up this class

1/18/2009 3:40:40 PM

That's awesome about Byrd. Hopefully he can take out some aggression on FSU next year for not offering him earlier.

1/18/2009 3:43:18 PM

ASA WATSON COMMITS



woot.

[Edited on January 18, 2009 at 5:03 PM. Reason : http://www.goupstate.com/article/20090118/PSPORTS02/901180283/-1/PSPORTS]

1/18/2009 5:02:31 PM

woot agreed. the last few weekends of OVs have gone well. let's keep it up for next year's class.

1/18/2009 5:07:28 PM

awesome ending to the class. I think we got a bunch of solid players at practically every position. I'd like to see us add Lemon for some D-line depth tho.

1/18/2009 5:09:23 PM

word is that lemon committed, its just a matter of getting him into school. red tape and all that.

1/18/2009 5:18:27 PM

yeah i read that too i just hope all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted so he can get in. I think he could make an impact like McKeen did this year.

1/18/2009 5:23:38 PM

so quandon christian is really all the "surprises" we have left. I'm totally fine with that. Watson is a very nice cherry to add onto this class. No real "SUPERSTARS" but a shit ton of gritty, damn good football players. I like it

1/18/2009 5:30:30 PM

Quote :

"No real "SUPERSTARS" but a shit ton of gritty, damn good football players."

No over-inflated egos either. They all know that if they want to see playing time as a true freshman, they're going to have to battle it out with the upperclassmen.

1/18/2009 5:35:25 PM

shit im super stoked about byrd


sounds like that dude is gonna be a stud for us

1/18/2009 5:41:08 PM

I couldnt be more happy with O Brien's first two complete recruiting classes.... have a feeling we are going to be extremely happy with the football program in the near future.

1/18/2009 5:46:53 PM

Quote :

"yeah i read that too i just hope all the t's are crossed and i's are dotted so he can get in."

"We'll just take these home, run them over with a fine tooth comb, cross the "t"s and dot the... lower case "j"s."



[Edited on January 18, 2009 at 8:11 PM. Reason : Wayne's World 2]

1/18/2009 8:11:12 PM

And to think some people early on were complaining about how our class sucks and won't be able to compete with the Holes' class. Hey they may have more stars, but stars don't mean shit once you enroll. This class is solid and it better be higher than VT's class when the final rankings are released. Their class is only higher than ours b/c of all the post graduate 4* players that they got. Our class fills our needs and if you compare offer lists our class right now is much more impressive. Unless VT gets a bunch of awesome late signings I won't be convinced that our class isn't as good or even better than the Hokies'.

1/18/2009 8:37:07 PM

So what's the deal with Bryce Brown (#1 RB and #1 player in the 2009 class)? Are we going to have to worry about him going to Miami or is he seriously looking around since they are going to be getting a new OC?

1/18/2009 8:53:21 PM

looks like ncsu is picking up a lot of georgia's scraps. It does bode well they're able to recruit so many states well.

1/18/2009 8:58:50 PM

January 18, 2009
Watson Makes His Decision
By Phil Kornblut

TE Asa Watson (6-3 216) of Rock Hill made his official visit to NC State over the weekend and he committed to the Wolfpack after returning to his home and discussing thing with his parents. "I had a good time with the players and got along with them well," Watson said. "I enjoyed meeting with all the coaches. They described their scheme for the next few years and I really bought in to what they are going to do." Watson said he would play a combination of tight end and H-back with the Wolfpack. This season he caught 20 passes for 450 yards and one touchdown. He picked State over Duke and Maryland.

1/18/2009 9:05:12 PM

DE Hakeem Vinson may prep next year. He would then enroll somewhere (possibly State) next January. The coaches really like the kid, but he probably does need to go to prep school for a semester. He was kind of in a bad situation before. When he was attending South Johnston his home was 30 minutes away so sometimes after he got done with practice it would be very late at night (close to midnight) before he would get home. This year he transferred to Mt. Zion in Durham to work on his academics and stayed at the school. This helped him out some, but probably not enough to qualify. I know he really liked State and if he preps and can qualify for a January enrollment then expect him to be a likely commit for us next year. Vinson is 6-3 235 and runs a 4.35 40. He would probably have been a highly recruited and ranked player had he been likely to qualify. I'll be pulling for him to make it to State.

1/18/2009 11:57:06 PM

So why is Byrd still listed as only a "soft verbal" according to scout.com? Is there still a good chance he ends up at FSU?

1/19/2009 12:50:10 AM

Quote :

"So why is Byrd still listed as only a "soft verbal" according to scout.com?"

for the nth time, those interest levels are rarely accurate, and never up to date.

1/19/2009 12:51:41 AM

Quote :

"I couldnt be more happy with O Brien's first two complete recruiting classes.... have a feeling we are going to be extremely happy with the football program in the near future."

+1

1/19/2009 9:59:19 AM

I'm very excited about this class. Hit every need that we had, you're not going to find us in the shape we were the past two years with playing so many walk-ons. We're going to have depth at every position and some serious talent maturing over the next couple years.

1/19/2009 10:00:40 AM

^i agree. At the beginning of the season when half of our team was dead from injuries......i would get excited about any commitment just so we could have some bodies on the field, no matter what they were rated. Looks like we should have some good depth at every position over the next few years

1/19/2009 10:08:05 AM

I just love that we have a coach whose #1 concern in recruiting is Offensive linemen and not star rankings or fast receivers

1/19/2009 10:49:20 AM

^ amen!

TOB has a thing for the fundamentals.

Quote :

"TE Asa Watson (6-3 216) ...said he would play a combination of tight end and H-back with the Wolfpack. "

that's an interesting combo. some sites have him listed at 6'4 & 200 lbs -- that seemed a bit lanky for a TE.

1/19/2009 11:45:25 AM

Travis Bond committed to UNC today. Not much of a surprise. I still kind of wonder if Bond would have came here though if we had room. At one point it started to seem like he really liked us.

1/19/2009 4:58:44 PM