NC State was able to land a pair of impact transfers, one of which for sure will help on the field this fall.
NCSU landed slot receiver Tabari Hines, a graduate transfer from Oregon, who played his first three years at Wake Forest. NCSU also signed junior linebacker Vi Jones from USC, who is practicing with the team this spring.
The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Hines caught three passes for 32 yards and a touchdown against Presbyterian for Oregon on Sept. 8, and then shut it down the next week. He had 53 receptions for 683 yards and seven touchdowns for Wake Forest in 2017.
Landing a player with 126 career receptions for 1,528 yards and 14 touchdowns was a terrific addition this offseason.
“We’ve had really great success bringing in graduate transfers,” Doeren said. “You don’t bring one in unless you had a serious need at that spot. Losing Kelvin [Harmon] and Jakobi [Meyers] early [to the NFL], to add an older player to that room, I think is very, very important.”
Hines caught eight passes for 139 yards and three scores in a win over NC State on Nov. 18, 2017, and he had nine catches for 125 yards and a score in a loss against the Wolfpack on Oct. 1, 2016. He had four different games where he reached at least 124 receiving yards since 2016.
NCSU co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach George McDonald is glad Hines will be on their side this year.
"He is a veteran player that has made a lot of plays in the ACC," McDonald said. "He'll be a great addition to the guys we have. The biggest thing are doing on this side of the Division is to have as many playmakers as possible to score points. I'm really excited when he is able to get here and get going."
Evaluating Hines wasn’t a complicated process due to playing against him in the past. He also was a punt returner for WFU in 2015.
“He’s a guy that we’ve known a lot about having seen him on film, and not just against us, but the league,” Doeren said. “He’s hungry to play and had a tough year last year, so he’ll have a chip on his shoulder, which fits our program. I’m looking forward to getting him in May.”
Doeren knew the player who finished with 22 receptions for 306 yards and four touchdowns against NC State, but he didn’t know the person.
“I didn’t know him at all, so you get to know him as a person and the type of worker he is,” Doeren said. “Any time you are talking to a senior, it’s a different conversation then when you talk to a younger player. The sand is running out on the hour glass for him. He knows it is an important year for him.”
The 6-3, 197-pound Jones was a decorated prep recruit coming out of Austin (Texas) Westlake High in the class of 2017. His older brothers, Cayleb Jones (Texas/Arizona) and Zay Jones (East Carolina), both played in the NFL, as did his father, Robert Jones Jr., who was a standout linebacker at East Carolina.
Jones had 15 tackles his freshman year and then added 13 tackles, three tackles for loss and three passes broken up in eight contests last year.
“He has really adjusted but the first week was hard,” Doeren said. “Since then, he has gained some weight, can really run and he is a special athlete.”
NC State defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable coached linebackers and special teams at ECU from 1990-91.
“I like how coachable he is right now and he really wants to learn,” Doeren said. “Coach Huxtable and him have a real good relationship. He coached his father, so it’s a long ways back. There is a lot of respect in that family for each other.”
Doeren said NC State will work the various NCAA options to see if he can play next fall instead of sitting out a season.
“We don’t know yet,” Doeren said.
Jones should fit in well with the changes NCSU has made the last few years at linebacker. Redshirt sophomore Isaiah Moore, junior Louis Acceus and redshirt junior Brock Miller all return from last year.
“I think Coach Huxtable has done a good job of identifying guys and we’ve been able to sign really good players we wanted, who are tough kids,” Doeren said. “They love ball, and that is the one thing, if you are going to play for him, you have to love studying the game and be a true student of the game.”
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