The Wolfpacker 3-2-1: NC State commits stand out, plus ’25 updates
Each of NC State’s class of 2024 and 2025 commits have now played at least one high school football game. A few are off to lightning fast starts.
This week’s 3-2-1 feature discusses several prospects who are standing out early in their respective seasons and also highlights some recent news for the class of 2025 recruiting cycle.
Three things we learned about NC State football recruiting last week
1) Arrion Concepcion will be back on campus soon
Priority junior receiver Arrion Concepcion confirmed over the weekend that he will return to NC State for the Notre Dame game. He originally planned on stopping by in July for the Alpha Wolf Showcase, but travel issues kept that visit from happening.
The receiver is the younger brother of NC State freshman Kevin Concepcion, and the staff is making him a clear priority with the goal of starting another sibling pipeline. Head coach Dave Doeren is taking a personal role in Concepcion’s recruitment and spoke with the class of 2025 prospect on the phone recently.
NC State remains in a good spot here. Virginia Tech has already offered, and Coastal Carolina and East Carolina are expressing interest in the Charlotte (NC) Chambers High receiver as well.
Even though he has been on campus quite a bit with his brother, Concepcion said he has never taken a full tour of the campus. He hopes to take a closer look at the university once he is back in Raleigh.
2) NC State is gaining traction with an elite offensive lineman
Wolfpack offensive line coach Garett Tujague reached out to four-star New Rochelle (NY) Iona Preparatory School offensive lineman Rowan Byrne just a few minutes after midnight Aug. 1.
The elite junior holds a lengthy offer list that includes Ohio State, Notre Dame and many others. NC State has his interest going into the fall. Byrne told TheWolfpacker.com that the program checks a lot of boxes for him, and he is quickly building a great connection with Tujague.
Fall visits are tough for the lineman because his school plays most of its games on Saturdays, so he plans on taking a trip to Raleigh at some point in the winter or spring.
3) Tyran Evans is a top prospect to watch in the 2026 class
North Carolina already has 6 sophomores in the On100 class of 2026 watch list, and Chambers wide receiver Tyran Evans is an underrated recruit to keep an eye on. At 6-3, he has a super impressive catch radius and is already a super physical blocker.
Florida, Virginia Tech and others have already offered him, and I would not be surprised to see NC State get involved with a scholarship at some point. Evans will be a national recruit, and his emergence further cements the 2026 in-state class as one of the best in recent memory.
— Ty(@TyranEvans6) August 28, 2023
Two questions for this week
1) Will the 2023 class be one of Dave Doeren’s best?
NC State dropped its week 1 depth chart last week, and 5 true freshmen made the two deep. That included former four-star cornerback Brandon Cisse, four-star tight end Juice Vereen, three-star receiver Kevin Concepcion, three-star offensive lineman Kamen Smith and three-star linebacker Kamal Bonner.
Junior college graduates Red Hibbler, Bishop Fitzgerald and Renté Hinton will all play roles this season as well.
In total, 10 members of the Pack’s 18-player class have already carved out spots on the depth chart, 8 are in the 2-deep and 2 could start week 1— Vereen and Concepcion. If the group continues at this pace and more than half of them contribute as underclassmen, that would be extremely impressive.
2) Is there anything Jonathan Paylor can not do on the football field?
Jonathan Paylor has already amassed 516 all-purpose yards through two games this fall, but the four-star receiver has not caught a pass yet. Instead, Burlington (NC) Cummings high is asking him to play a significant role in the backfield.
In the school’s most recent contest, he played quarterback and attempted 5 passes. Paylor is an extremely versatile player who does genuinely a little bit of everything with Cummings High, and that wide variety of skills will translate well to Robert Anae’s offense.
One prediction: Cedrick Bailey will sign with NC State as a four-star prospect
NC State quarterback commit Cedrick Bailey put together an impressive performance on national television Saturday. He took the field with Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna Prep and helped engineer a dominant second half against Baltimore (MD) St. Frances Academy behind a few tough throws, including the go-ahead touchdown.
Bailey plays with elite skill position players, but his game over the weekend emphasized that he is much more than a game manager. His arm strength popped, and he regularly makes plays off-script as he moved around and improvised inside the pocket to avoid rushers.
The three-star signal-caller is putting together an impressive senior season, and I could see him climbing up the rankings quite a bit by signing day.
The post The Wolfpacker 3-2-1: NC State commits stand out, plus ’25 updates appeared first on On3.
from On3 https://ift.tt/UiWDMFJ
Post a Comment