It was another busy month for Dave Doeren and the NC State Wolfpack football coaching staff. TheWolfpacker.com gives you five things we learned from September.

Three-star defensive end Zyun Reeves from East Forsyth High in Kernersville, N.C., has his best football still ahead of him, and the plan is for those days to be with the Wolfpack. Reeves announced a verbal commitment to NC State on Sept. 4, choosing it over other finalists Florida State, Michigan State, South Carolina and Virginia, all of whom offered.

The 6-foot-7, 260-pounder is rated the No. 28 prospect in a considerably deep in-state class and the No. 52 strongside defensive end nationally. Last year was Reeves’ first playing varsity football, and he helped East Forsyth win a state title by accumulating 13.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Six of those sacks and 7.5 TFLs came in the final five weeks of the season.

With Reeves, NC State now has three defensive linemen committed, joining heralded three-star Travali Price from North Lincoln High in Lincolnton, N.C., and Price’s brother and teammate Jayden Tate.

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NC State junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill is off to a great start this season for the Wolfpack. Assuming he returns for 2020 rather than turn pro, McNeill, for now, will not have the opportunity to play with his younger brother in college.

Jabril McNeill, a 6-foot-4, 235-pounder from Sanderson High in Raleigh, bypassed the chance to join his brother in college and instead announced a verbal commitment to Oregon.

The younger McNeill currently projects as a linebacker in college. NC State had offered McNeill in the winter, right when his stock began to take off. Conventional wisdom had suggested that the brothers would play together in college, but alas it was not meant to be.

McNeill is not the only late-bloomer in Wake County to be headed elsewhere. Offensive tackle Diego Pounds, a three-star from Millbrook High in Raleigh, saw his stock explode in the spring. While NC State made the initial finalist cut for Pounds, he ultimately focused his options on Penn State and late-entrant UNC, with the Heels surprising the Nittany Lions for his pledge.

Some prospects have further cut their list down, including yet another late-rising Wake County product who NC State is targeting. Three-star safety Chase Hattley from Panther Creek High in Cary will choose at some point from a top three that includes offers from NC State, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Hattley is a good athlete that, at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, has cleared 6-foot-4 in the high jump in track. He had 29 tackles, nine interceptions and five pass breakups on defense as a junior, and added seven receptions for 161 yards and three scores offensively.

Three-star defensive lineman Javon Nelson from Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Riverdale High has led a low-key recruitment, but in September he announced a final five that included NC State, Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Virginia and Virginia Tech. The 6-foot-3, 260-pounder is rated the No. 8 senior in Tennessee and the No. 30 strongside defensive end in the country.

A decision will come Sunday from junior college safety Chad Brown, a native of Baltimore who played last fall at Fresno (Calif.) City Community College. The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder had 24 tackles and six interceptions (one pick six) as a freshman, and besides NC State he has offers from Arizona, Boise State, Central Florida and TCU, among others.

Finally, in what may be a cryptic signal of a potential commitment announcement on the horizon, three-star defensive lineman Devin Lee from McDonough (Ga.) OLA tweeted, “Who is good at graphic design and can make a edit for me.” Lee has a final six of NC State, Duke, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Virginia.

The 6-foot-3, 270-pounder had 53 total tackles a junior, including 26 for loss and 17 sacks. He also had 11 quarterback hurries, a forced fumble and a blocked field goal.

All four prospects are currently listed in TheWolfpacker.com's weekly top 10 list that ranks players in the order we see them picking NC State.

Prospects will have to continue to make visits on their own time and expense for the foreseeable future. The NCAA announced that the dead period has been extended through the remainder of the calendar year for 2020. It has been in effect since March when the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread rapidly.

There has been no talk, however, about delaying the December signing period.

Sept. 1 was a big day for the 2022 prospects, because that is when colleges could start contacting them. With limited space remaining in the 2021 class, NC State is one of the programs that could go ahead and start examining the underclassmen board in earnest.

Here are some of the names that were offered in the junior class over the past month:

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