2/7/2018 football Edit

Letter of intent No. 24: Defensive lineman Derrick Eason

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

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Measurables:

• At a Nike Camp in Washington, D.C., checked in at 6-foot-4 and 242 pounds and was laser-timed in the 40-yard dash at 5.04 seconds … Had a 4.46-second shuttle time, a 33.0-foot power ball throw and 24.6-inch vertical leap for an overall Nike rating of 71.07.

Stats:

• Junior: 52 tackles, including nine for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries.

Ratings:

• Rivals.com: Three stars and No. 25 player in the state.

• 247Sports: Three stars, No. 59 strongside defensive end in the country and No. 23 player in the state.

• ESPN: Three stars, No. 94 defensive tackle in the country and No. 22 player in the state.

• The Virginia-Pilot: No. 7 player in the South Hampton Roads Region.

• Recruit757.com: No. 7 player in Tidewater region.

Honors/accomplishments:

• Selected Region 5A co-Defensive Player of the Year by the coaches as a senior.

• Picked to the USA Today All-USA Virginia first-team.

• Also made first-team all-state on offensive line and second-team on defensive line for Class 5 by the coaches.

• Named All-Region 5A for both offensive and defensive lines.

• Also was first-team all-region as a junior.

• Was second-team 5A all-state and second-team All-Tidewater as a junior.

Recruitment:

• Enjoyed a big spring evaluation period, picking up offers from Maryland, NC State, North Carolina, Rutgers, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest, among others.

• Narrowed his choices to NC State, North Carolina, Maryland and Temple during the summer and verbally committed to the Wolfpack on July 28.

• Officially visited Notre Dame on Jan. 26 after surprisingly not signing in December and appeared poised to switch to the Irish, but ended up signing with NCSU.

Recruiter of record:

Cornerbacks coach George Barlow.

Quotable:

“A college coach said he likes Eason because ‘he’s really long, has great reach, really quick and is a prototypical defensive end that can player either side (weak side or strong side).’” — Larry Rubama of The Virginian-Pilot.

Scouting report:

• Big frame with good reach.

• Could grow into a defensive tackle down the road that should supply some versatility on the Pack’s front.

• Spent a good portion of his senior season playing offensive tackle for Norview.

2017 projection:

The defensive line is wide open, but Eason is still growing and it may take a redshirt year for the Pack to figure out where best to utilize him along the defensive line.