Defensive lineman Marquise Brunson from Princess Anne High in Virginia Beach, Va., is hoping to enter an important phase of his recruitment, and to that end he began by making a self-guided trip to NC State on Thursday afternoon.

The Wolfpack football program is in Brunson’s top 11 along with Georgia Tech, Maryland, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Florida International, James Madison and Old Dominion. Thursday’s trip to Raleigh was the first in Brunson’s desires to see most of the programs on his favorites list.

“This is the deciding factor right here,” Brunson noted. “I’ve already seen everything else, so once I take all these, the one that I like the most that’s the school I’ll be attending.”

Being one of the initial visits, NC State may have set the bar high. It was the first time Brunson had seen the campus and surrounding communities.