CARY — NC State didn’t need to speculate on the intangibles of senior lineman commit Rylan Vann of Cary (N.C.) High.
Vann is the younger brother of NC State defensive lineman Davin Vann, who attended the same high school. Rylan Vann was the first member of the Wolfpack’s Class of 2022 after committing April 14, 2021.
Here are four observations from Vann’s video during a 42-36 home loss to crosstown rival Cary Panther Creek on Oct. 22.
Statistics
Vann unofficially had six tackles, four tackles for loss and blocked two extra points in the win.
Video
Observations
1. Versatility seems to be Vann’s hallmark. He mostly played left tackle and mostly nose tackle, but sometimes even lined up at guard, fullback and defensive end in Cary’s three-man front.
When he played guard and a few snaps at fullback, he showed his coordination in space or while pulling. That bodes well on screen passes, and maybe offensive line coach John Garrison will let him pull at NC State, which is not overly featured in the playbook.
2. Going in the perception is that Vann was just a projected center prospect, and he still might be. However, if little brother ever wants to join Davin Vann in the defensive lineman room, he’d probably find a way to be productive on that side of the ball too.
Rylan Vann played mostly nose tackle in the loss, and officially had two tackles for loss. However, we found four tackles for loss and maybe even a fifth.
3. Vann plays mean.
It isn’t in a dirty kind of way, but to the whistle and he wants to finish off his blocks and get a pancake if possible. It’s clear he plays with an edge, and does so on both sides of the ball. He’ll be a budding fan favorite the first time he takes that weight room strength and pounds someone.
4. Most colleges probably knew Vann was going to pick NC State, so his only other early offer came from West Virginia. The Wolfpack had a built-in advantage, but not just because they knew him before other schools did.
Vann is an intangibles guy. At first glance, someone might judge him for being a listed 6-foot-1 and 270 pounds, but the same could have been said about current center Grant Gibson at Charlotte (N.C.) Mallard Creek in the class of 2017. In the Wolfpack’s case, there wasn’t any guess work on how he would project physically at that size.
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