The recruiting battles between North Carolina and NC State usually happens prior to their junior years of high school.
Does that make sense? Not at first. Usually when talking to recruits, they’ll consider both North Carolina and NC State until about the middle of their junior year of high schools. Maybe some favor one school over the other, and often the case, there are a lot of North Carolina basketball fans among the football recruits. However, there aren’t many cases where NC State and North Carolina battle it out over a recruit until the bitter end or one school flips a recruit over the other.
When it comes to flipping recruits, NC State outside linebacker Payton Wilson is the most famous one in recent years. Sophomore tackle Jonathan Adorno, wide receiver Stephen Gosnell and long snapper Drew Little both went from verbal commits to NC State to eventual signees with UNC.
Here are three battles that help sum up the rivalry on both sides.
UNC players NC State wanted at one stage in the recruitment:
1. Josh Downs, sophomore wide receiver, Suwanee (Ga.) North Gwinnett High:
Out of all the recruitments over the last decade, this one will always sting because Downs is Pack family. His father is Gary Downs, who was a running back for NC State from 1990-93, and he rushed for 1,642 yards and 23 touchdowns in his Wolfpack career. Family was also represented on UNC’s side. Downs’ mother is the sister of UNC cornerbacks coach Dre Bly. UNC topped NC State, Georgia Tech and Michigan to land Downs on Feb. 13, 2019. Penn State and Georgia Tech continued to recruit him. Rivals.com eventually ranked him the No. 53 overall player in the class of 2020. The 5-10, 180-pound Downs has quickly emerged as one of the top wide receivers in the ACC this season. He has 90 catches for 1,198 yards and eight touchdowns, plus 15 punt returns for a 9.9 average.
2. Myles Murphy, sophomore defensive end, Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High:
This selection might cause some debate. Murphy is a perfect example of how lines can get drawn when NC State and UNC go after a player. NC State loved Murphy when he was a 6-4, 240-pound junior defensive end prospect at High Point (N.C.) Southwest Guilford in the class of 2020. UNC was his first high major offer, and NC State was his third. Several pounds later and a transfer to Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High, it was clear that UNC was going to be his top in-state choice, and the Tar Heels ended up landing Murphy, Kedrick Bingley-Jones and Desmond Evans, other players NCSU had pursued. Murphy was the No. 11 overall player in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2020 by Rivals.com. Murphy is now a 6-3 1/2, 305-pound defensive end who has 28 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, and likely has an NFL future.
3. Raneiria Dillworth, outside linebacker, Kernersville (N.C.) Glenn High:
You could flip a coin between Dillworth or his prep teammate Jahvaree Ritzie, a freshman defensive end for the Tar Heels. Dillworth is a good “what if” in NC State recruiting lore. He was 6-2 and 190 pounds at Glenn High his junior year with legit blazing speed, and had attended camp at NCSU. He didn’t get an offer from the Wolfpack. NC State went to see him play Mocksville (N.C.) Davie County, and still no offer after a monster performance. The problem was “What was he?” At the time, the Wolfpack ran a 4-2-5 defensive scheme and essentially played two inside linebackers. Dillworth eventually blew up, NC State then offered, but it became a UNC and Alabama battle in the end. Rivals.com ranked Dillworth the No. 99 overall player in the class of 2021, and the No. 6 overall player in the state of North Carolina. Dillworth has six tackles in 11 games as a true freshman.
NC State players that UNC wanted:
1. Payton Wilson, outside linebacker, Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange High:
Wilson had numerous regional offers early, and his older brother was at one point a UNC baseball commit, but elected to sign with the Atlanta Braves. NC State and Wake Forest were his first two high major offers going into his junior year. His family had Duke football tickets growing up. Like many players in the state, he looked at both UNC and NC State, but during his first recruitment, the Wolfpack faded down the stretch and he picked the Tar Heels over Clemson, Ohio State, Virginia Tech on May 1, 2017. Then NC State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable never gave up on the recruitment. Wilson quietly took official visits to Notre Dame and NC State, and decommitted from the Tar Heels the day before Thanksgiving. He then verbally committed to NC State on Dec. 1 and signed in the class of 2018. Rivals.com ranked Wilson the No. 166 overall player in the country, and the No. 8 overall player in the state of North Carolina. Wilson has been a star for NC State when healthy. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury against Mississippi State in the second game of the season. The 6-4, 235-pounder has 182 career tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 23 career games (13 starts).
2. C.J. Clark, nose tackle, New London (N.C.) North Stanly:
Clark was fascinating in many ways because he is cousins with B.J. Hill, who played defensive tackle at NC State, and Antonio Williams, who played running back at Ohio State and North Carolina. Clark was also friends and teammates with the aforementioned Little, who was committed to NC State and flipped to UNC. Clark committed to NC State on June 18, 2018, and the Wolfpack were his first scholarship offer. That didn’t slow down North Carolina and Georgia, especially after the Tar Heels hired Mack Brown in December. Rivals.com ranked Clark the No. 186 overall player in the class of 2019, and the No. 5 player in the state of North Carolina. Clark started the first three games but suffered a season-ending injury during practice. The 6-3, 300-pounder has 32 career tackles in 17 games (five starts).
3. Anthony Carter, tackle, Matthews (N.C.) Butler High:
Carter makes the list because he led a quiet recruitment, but had both NC State and North Carolina waiting and waiting. The December signing period came and went. He finally picked the Wolfpack on Jan. 8, which was a key pickup at the time in the Class of 2020. His only unofficial visit that fall was to see Clemson at NC State. Neither NC State or North Carolina truly knew where they stood, but the mystery was refreshing. Rivals.com ranked Carter a three-star prospect and the No. 26 overall player in the state of North Carolina. The 6-3, 310-pound Carter is listed as the second-string right guard for NC State.
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