NC State coach Dave Doeren navigated through several changes to end up signing 17 players Wednesday on National Signing Day.
The biggest shift is how June has become the pre-eminent for official visits, with a good majority of players verbally committing by mid-August and the start of their senior years. That leads to then trying to hang on to your commits for 3 1/2 months until the first signing period today-through-Friday.
The Wolfpack’s class is currently ranked No. 47 nationally by Rivals.com and No. 10 in the ACC. NCSU is also No. 15 in average stars per player in the league.
Eleven of the signees will be enrolling early.
“It's a good group of guys that fit our culture that have learned a lot about us through a lot of visits and a lot of conversations,” Doeren said. “It's an ongoing process as you know. This is the first signing date of two, and then with what happens after that, in the portal world.
"Roster management is a different beast these days and you know when you get into developing players which is something I love to do. It’s one of my passions. It starts with the high school player.”
Class started with QB Will Wilson, TE Gus Ritchey
Two positions that NC State absolutely needed to fill were quarterback and tight end, and the first two commits of the class were those positions.
NC State landed quarterback Will Wilson of Columbia (S.C.) Richland Northeast on June 24, 2023. The Wolfpack followed with landing tight end Gus Ritchey of Cary (N.C.) High, shortly after a 12-day commitment to North Carolina, on Aug. 12, 2023. NCSU eventually also got tight end Preston Douglas of Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Benjamin High, who is expected to sign Friday.
Wilson proved to be the total package his senior year between his arm, running ability and protecting the football, while playing for his father, coach Walt Wilson.
“So excited about Will and have known him a long time and his family a long time and have developed a great relationship with them,” Doeren said. “He's a young guy that can throw, can run, can lead.”
Doeren has tried to lock in a quarterback early in the process because he believes it makes it easier in building a class.
“A lot of guys want to know who their quarterback's going to be in their class,” Doeren said. “That's a key component.
“He was very solid throughout he had a lot of people trying to get him to change his mind and his loyalty was very impressive.”
Ritchey transferred from Pittsboro (N.C.) Northwood High to Cary and it was a struggle on the field in terms of wins and losses, going 1-9. Ritchey also battled a knee injury, but became a better blocker this season. He originally was recruited by other colleges on the defensive line, but has found a home at tight end.
“[Richey] tough, blue collar, can play in the box, out of the box, and then Preston Douglas really athletic player,” Doeren said. “Love the fact we got two good tight ends in this class.
“I always felt when I first got to know Gus that this was the right school for him. You could tell he's a tough, blue-collar guy. He loves contact, he's physical.”
Both Wilson and Ritchey will be enrolling early at NC State, and both were selected to the Carolina Shrine Bowl on Dec. 21 in Spartanburg, S.C.
Home state fences need mending
Where NC State struggled in recruiting for the class was its own state. The Wolfpack’s big prize was wide receiver Je’rel Bolder of Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills, who was ranked No. 8 overall in the state of North Carolina and the lone four-star prospect in the class by Rivals.com.
“[Bolder], a guy that we think can do a lot of things,” Doeren said. “I was really impressed with him in person. I was able to go to his game this year and see him play — played safety and receiver, and handed him the ball on sweeps. Very well developed already physically.”
NC State also landed Ritchey, who is ranked No. 19 overall in North Carolina. Tackle Michael Gibbs of Wilmington (N.C.) Hoggard High is the third signee from the state, and he’s No. 28 overall.
“Hoggard High School and their head coach [Craig Underwood] does a tremendous job building young men,” Doeren said. “Known Michael a long time. Been recruiting him a long time. Excited to get him in the program. One of the better in-state offensive linemen.”
NC State had offered only 17 in-state prospects this cycle. The number of commits shrunk when Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers High senior wide receiver Arrion Concepcion decommitted and subsequently picked Kansas State. HIs older brother, former NC State sophomore wide receiver Kevin Concepcion eventually entered the transfer portal.
The closest misses were finished second to wide receiver Shamarius Peterkin of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor, who picked Virginia Tech, and NCSU ended up third for Monroe (N.C.) High athlete Jordan Young, who picked Clemson and then flipped recently to Michigan.
The class of 2026 is loaded in the state of North Carolina and the Wolfpack will need a bounce-back year. NC State has already offered 26 players from North Carolina in the 2026 class, though six have already picked other colleges.
Doeren said he’s seen a lot of good players leave the state, but end up getting lost in the shuffle at an out of state college.
“We love keeping kids home,” Doeren said. “It’s easier for them and it’s easier for their families. We have the highest success rate with in-state players. We’ve put more players from North Carolina in the NFL than any team in college football. It’s not even close.”
The Wolfpack already have a verbal commit from Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan junior quarterback Jacob Smith, who is recovering from a torn ACL, and Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal junior tackle Brady Sakowitz verbally committed Oct. 14, 2024.
Gained some, lost some
NC State managed to land eight players — though some haven’t officially signed yet — who were committed to other colleges.
The flip season began early when Ritchey picked North Carolina on Aug. 1, 2023, and then switched to NC State a little over a week later Aug. 12. He’s the outlier of the eight.
Long-time cornerback target Gerritt Kemp of Dacula (Ga.) Hebron Christian Academy flipped from Duke on Aug. 19, 2024.
The NCSU offensive line recruiting needed to regroup and landed former Troy commit Kage Payne, a center/guard from Kings Mill (Ohio) Kings High, on Aug. 13, 2024. He was joined by former Purdue commit Ta’Khyian Whitset of Antioch (Tenn.) High on Oct. 12.
Joining Ritchey in the tight end room, Douglas of Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.) Benjamin High, flipped from South Carolina on Oct. 31.
The final weeks leading up to National Signing Day led to NC State landing Columbus (Texas) High running back Grayson Rigdon, a former Air Force commit, former Toledo outside linebacker commit Terris Dudley of Hilliard (Ohio) Bradley High and former Boston College nose tackle commit Josiah Victor. Rigdon hasn’t yet signed with NC State, with new offers coming from California and Houston.
Doeren would like for players to go through June, pick their college and then sign around the start of their senior years. He also isn’t a fan of not having in-home December visits.
“The way it is currently set up, it doesn’t make a lot of sense,” Doeren said.
NC State ended up losing five players, with wide receiver and the defensive line getting affected the most.
The aforementioned Concepcion was lost to Kansas State, but NC State also lost 6-4 wide receiver Jamar Browder. He committed with Lantana (Fla.) Santaluces High teammate Caden Gordon to NC State last June. However, Michigan offered and he eventually flipped to the Wolverines.
The defensive line was hit with Gainesville (Fla.) Newberry defensive end Mykah Newton committing to NC State on July 18, 2024, and then almost a month later flipping to Miami (Fla.). That was combined with nose tackle Makhi Williams-Lee of Atlanta (Ga.) Lakeside going from NC State to Clemson, verbally committing to the Tigers on Oct. 2.
The fifth player was quite popular among NC State, Central Florida, South Florida and Illinois, and that was cornerback Robert Jones of Vero Beach (Fla.) High. He flipped from NC State to Illinois, decommitting from the Wolfpack after 11 days last June.
Loading up in secondary, offensive line
NC State also landed four defensive backs and four offensive lineman Wednesday.
Cornerbacks Kemp, Gordon and Cam Strong of Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna High, were joined by safety Tristan Teasdell of Leesburg (Va.) Tuscarora. Doeren emphasized many of the secondary signees could play cornerback, nickel or safety.
Whitset, Payne and Gibbs joined Louisville (Ky.) Male center Isaac Sowells, who is touted center and the son of a former NFL player.
“I don't really care how many stars they have,” Doeren said. “I know the recruits do. To me it's more about what fits our needs and if we see him play live. [NCSU offensive line coach] Garett Tujague is a really good recruiter. He works his butt off at it. He's a good relationship builder.”
NC State returns cornerbacks Brandon Cisse, Devon Marshall and Jackson Vick, but a newcomer could fight for a backup spot.
“Coach [Brian] Mitchell did a great job recruiting at the cornerback position,” Doeren said. “Guys that can play corner and nickel — they have some versatility to them.”
Sowells has a chance to compete for the two-deep at NC State next year, and Doeren called him future “captain material.”
“There's four offensive linemen that we're excited to start working with,” Doeren said. “Some of them will be here mid-year, some of them won’t. Probably one of the best centers that we've been able to sign since I've been here.
“A lot of the centers we've recruited over the years we've had to train how to play that position.”
Playing matchmaker
Cornerbacks Cisse and Michael Tate, and freshman outside linebacker Joshua Ofor were player hosts to several recruits the last two years.
Pairing the right NC State player with a visiting recruit is an underrated part of the recruiting process.
Sometimes it can be players who play the same position or who are from the same area as the recruit. During the season, Doeren prefers not to have players he knows will be key parts of the game.
“You try and match guys that you think they’ll get along with,” Doeren said. “Sometimes it's intimidating for a high school player. They come in, they're hosted by a college guy and you want them to get along. You want them to feel like he can ask them questions.”
Doeren also uses the official visits to find out what the players think of the recruits and their personalities. The end result is could the recruits be good future teammates?
“Our kids do a great job hosting,” Doeren said. “They're really good at it. They understand the value of it.
“They do a great job of reporting back to us.”
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