Updates
Morgan Alexander Commits!
Boogie McCray listed as uncommited until official word
Nathan Mageo Commits!
Rashard Smith Commits!

2009 Football Scholarship Offers:
Bold = Commit

QB
*** Everett Proctor (Jack Britt) Fayetteville, NC 6-2/200

RB
*** James Washington (Boone HS) Orlando, FL 6-0/180/4.40
*** Morgan Alexander (Cartersville HS) Cartersville, GA 5-10.5/160/4.47
*** Greg Pratt (Naples HS) Naples, FL 5-9/165/4.40
*** Rolandan Finch (St. Xavier HS) Louisville, KY 5-10/200/4.50
*** Travis Small (Cheraw HS) Cheraw, SC 5-10.5/184/4.50
** William Pratcher (Cedar Grove HS) Ellenwood, GA 5-10/180

FB
No offers

WR
*** Quintin Payton (T L Hanna HS) Anderson, SC 6-4/190
*** Bryan Underwood (Cleveland Heights HS) University Hts, OH 5-8.5/162/4.62
**** Justin Brown (Concord HS) Wilmington, DE 6-3.5/210/4.48
*** Kinsman Thomas (Marlboro County HS) Bennettsville, SC 6-3/210/4.59
*** Carvin Powell (Great Bridge HS) Chesapeake, VA 6-2.5/198/4.50
**** Jheranie Boyd (Ashbrook HS) Gastonia, NC 6-3/185/4.45 UNC

TE
** Anthony Talbert (Winton Woods HS) Cincinnati, OH 6-4/225
*** Asa Watson (Rock Hill HS) Rock Hill, SC 6-4/200

OT
***** Xavier Nixon (Jack Britt) Fayetteville, NC 6-6/285
***** Marcus Hall (Glenville HS) Cleveland, OH 6-5/293/5.35
**** Travis Bond (Bertie HS) Windsor, NC 6-6/330
*** Kadeem Custis (St. John Neumann HS) Philadelphia, PA 6-5/270/5.00
*** Andrew Tiller (Nassau) Garden City, NY 6-6/320/5.00
*** Duran Christophe (Woodstock HS) Woodstock, GA 6-5.5/257/5.59

OG
*** Denzelle Good (Gaffney Senior HS) Gaffney, SC 6-4/295
**** Quinton Washington (Timberland HS) Saint Stephen, SC 6-4/322
* Gus Handler (Barrington HS) Barrington, IL 6-3/265

C
No Offers

DT
*** Brian Slay (Stone Bridge HS) Ashburn, VA 6-3/275
*** Tyson Chandler (North Plainfield HS) North Plainfield, NJ 6-6/315
*** Nathan Mageo (New Mexico Military) Roswell, NM 6-4/280/4.96
**** Edwin Herbert (CC of San Francisco) San Francisco, CA 6-3.5/295
*** Frankie Davis (East Ridge HS) Clermont, FL 6-3/270
*** Deion Roberson (Tucker HS) Tucker, GA 6-2/275
*** Raynard Randolph (Gwynn Park HS) Brandywine, MD 6-3/295
*** Akeem Spence (Ft. Walton Beach HS) Fort Walton Beach, FL 6-1/290
* Conor O'Neal (Newsome HS) Lithia, FL 6-3/300

DE
*** Ricky Dowdy (High Point Central HS) High Point, NC 6-3/225
*** Sylvester Crawford (Victory Christian Center Sch.) Charlotte, NC 6-5/215
** Darryl Cato-Bishop (Lawrence Academy) Groton, MA 6-4/230
**** Duane Chisolm (Beaufort HS) Beaufort, SC 6-2/250
**** Jason Ankrah (Quince Orchard HS) Gaithersburg, MD 6-4/240/4.79
**** Leon Mackey (Hargrave Military Academy) Chatham, VA 6-5/260
*** Julius Forte (Boca Ciega HS) Gulfport, FL 6-2/221/4.66
*** Izaan Cross (Flowery Branch HS) Flowery Branch, GA 6-4/250
*** Clinton Simpkins (Chancellor HS) Fredericksburg, VA 6-3/215/4.60
*** Bernardo Nunez (Hoboken HS) Hoboken, NJ 6-2/220/4.70
** Brian Jordan (Great Bridge HS) Chesapeake, VA 6-4/207
** Luke Sager (Niceville Senior HS) Niceville, FL 6-4/240
* Josh Jackson (Gainesville HS) Gainesville, GA 6-1/242/5.00

MLB
*** Ryan Cheek (Lancaster HS) Lancaster, OH 6-0.5/232/4.51
** Julian Burnett (Westside HS) Macon, GA 5-9.5/222/4.66
**** Hawatha Bell (David W Butler HS) Matthews, NC 6-0/225 UNC

SLB
*** Luke Kuechly (St. Xavier HS) Cincinnati, OH 6-3/205
*** LeRon Furr (Carver HS) Columbus, GA 6-3/213
*** Antwon Higgs (Pompano Beach HS Institute) Pompano Beach, FL 6-2/243/4.94

WLB
**** Jamil Merrell (Paul M. Hodgson Vocational Tec) Newark, DE 6-4/210/4.60
*** Robert Nelson (Stone Mountain HS) Stone Mountain, GA 6-0/205

S
*** Hans Rice (Eufaula HS) Eufaula, AL 6-3/195/4.5
**** Jonathan Meeks (Hargrave Military Academy) Chatham, VA 6-2/185
** Boogie McCray (Lake Taylor HS) Norfolk, VA 6-2/210
* Jarrell Harrison (CC of San Francisco) San Francisco, CA 6-2/210/4.55
* Brandan Bishop (Boca Raton HS) Boca Raton, FL 6-1/197/4.66
* Donald Coleman (The Hun School) Princeton, NJ 6-0/207/4.46
**** David Batts (El Camino) Torrance, CA 6-2/200/4.50 Nevada

CB
*** Dean Haynes (Northwest Whitfield County HS) Tunnel Hill, GA 6-0/200
*** Jarvis Byrd (Pahokee HS) Pahokee, FL 5-10/170/4.65
** Rashard Smith (Dublin HS) Dublin, GA 5-10/175
*** Josh Evans (Irvington HS) Irvington, NJ 6-2/185/4.43
*** Dale Peterman (Ursuline HS) Youngstown, OH 5-11/176/4.67
*** Jairus Jones (Wharton HS) Tampa, FL 6-1/205/4.60
** Keith Reaser (Miami Killian HS) Miami, FL 5-10/-/4.44
**** Terry Shankle (South Stanly HS) Norwood, NC 6-0/180 UNC
**** Travis Hawkins (Quince Orchard HS) Gaithersburg, MD 5-11/185/4.42 Maryland

K,P
** Chris Ward (Starrs Mill HS) Fayetteville, GA 6-1/170


------------------------------------------STATISTICS------------------------------------------


Scholarships Count
16 Available for 2009
-19 2009 Commits
+3 Class of 2008 who didn't qualify (Palmer, Everett, Mangram)
+6 Transfer or Left Team (Jaradat, Locust, Golder, Burke, T. Barnes, Linney)
-------------------------------------
6 Scholarships Remaining

Recruiting Breakdown
OFFENSE
QB - 1
Backfield - 2
Receivers - 3
Linemen - 1
------------------
Total Offense - 7

DEFENSE
Linemen - 6
Linebackers - 1
Secondary - 4
------------------
Total Defense - 11

SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers - 1

Geographical Diversity
Alabama - 1
Florida - 2
Georgia - 4
Massachusetts - 1
New Jersey - 1
New Mexico - 1
North Carolina - 3
South Carolina - 2
Ohio - 3
Virginia - 1

Star Count (highest of the two sites)
5* - 0
4* - 0
3* - 15
2* - 4
1* - 0
--------------------
Average Stars - 2.79

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 4:43 PM. Reason : .]

12/3/2008 4:43:09 PM

good picture of Xavier Nixon

12/3/2008 4:47:16 PM

^lol

12/3/2008 4:49:36 PM

^^so is that orge going to Florida or what?

12/3/2008 4:53:22 PM

Awesome. I really wanted Smith b/c he seemed like a great athlete. I wonder if he'll want to walk-on to the basketball team. He's a pretty good b-ball player for his high school. His offer list is legit, so you people that like to downplay a recruit just b/c he doesn't have 4 or 5 stars beside his name can save it. McCollum was the lead recruiter on Smith.

Schools Interested (known offers in italics)
UAB
Auburn
North Carolina
N.C. State
Vanderbilt
Wake Forest
East Carolina
Georgia Southern
Western Michigan
Florida State
Alabama

It appears we were the first school to talk to him. I guess that hard work paid off. His brother plays at Shaw.

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfbrecruit/entries/2008/10/09/qa_dublins_rash.html

12/3/2008 4:54:13 PM

Quote :

"North Carolina "

12/3/2008 4:56:47 PM

Scholarships are running out. I can't imagine taking anymore offensive players other than on the oline. Where should the rest go?

[Edited on December 3, 2008 at 4:59 PM. Reason : Maybe a TE if a good one comes along]

12/3/2008 4:58:31 PM

i really like the geographical diversity thing. we're looking for players everywhere.

12/3/2008 5:01:09 PM

it starts and ends with o line, i say go for o line with the schollys

although having a really deep defense NEVER hurts


how bout we get a decent kicker/PUNTER

12/3/2008 5:13:11 PM

^there's one in this class

12/3/2008 5:17:04 PM

thank God, i havent followed football recruiting this year, need to renew my membership i guess since it looks like its picking up

12/3/2008 5:26:52 PM

We only have two o-linemen coming in so far (Sam Jones and Denzelle Good). I would like to get two more o-linemen. I'd also like to get Asa Watson.

12/3/2008 5:34:03 PM

Yeah, really wish we could get 1-2 more. But our current redshirt linemen look very good as well.. mattes, wallace and allen. need a few this year, but will definitely need several next year.

12/3/2008 6:54:50 PM

We had a good haul last year and we aren't losing too many this year, so I think we're fine just taking 1 this year to go along with Sam Jones coming in. Good is rated a 3-star but Miller personally said he requested he be bumped up to a 4-star, and he was originally rated lower when TOB found him.

So that's basically 2 4-star OL in this class to go with our 3 OL that came in last year that the coaches have raved about on the practice field. I expect you'll see some on the 2-deep next year and then taking the reigns the next year. Only thing I can see us needing is a solid center but maybe the coaches have someone in mind.

But yeah next year I think you can expect to see another group like this past year. Hopefully starting with Crisp as our anchor recruit on the OL. We seem to be closer with him than we ever were with Nixon.

12/3/2008 8:15:35 PM

^any news on crisp?

12/3/2008 8:19:51 PM

I think Desmond Roberts would make a good center, and I've heard that the coaches have considered putting him at center. I know he played center in high school so he's already got experience there.

12/3/2008 8:46:04 PM

we're good on centers next year with 2 seniors coming back, barring any injuries of course *knock on wood*

12/3/2008 8:57:03 PM

http://www.rafterprotraining.com/recent_articles_29.html

Articles on our punter Chris Ward. Good info in there.

12/3/2008 9:42:42 PM

^dude sounds like a stud

what is the highest amount of stars a kicker can get? Cause he sounds like a 4-5 star kicker

12/3/2008 9:50:50 PM

^that's real encouraging. Apparently Rivals nor Scout has evaluated him, Rivals has him as the 30th punter. Can he tackle like Pierson?

12/3/2008 9:51:42 PM

Video of R. Smith playing basketball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKDZZn9iGys&feature=related

12/3/2008 10:10:58 PM

So Travis Bond says we told him he would be a first-year starter for us. I didn't think TOB or the O-line coach would let a freshman play let alone start.

Also, props to Coach McCollum for tearing up Georgia and the rest of the south. He's a good recruiter but I still wish we had more NC kids.

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 8:33 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2008 8:30:18 AM

Well they probably told him that with his body already college ready that if he worked hard enough he would be a first year starter for us. The kid is what 6-7 330? It's not like he's the kind of kid that would need a redshirt year to add weight. He could definitely start for us if he picked up the schemes quickly.

TOB and Co. will play whoever is the best at that position. If that means playing a true freshman than so be it. One example just this year is T.J. Graham.

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 9:05 AM. Reason : ]

12/4/2008 9:03:53 AM

I've actually read where various coaches in NC that have seen Bond on the regular didn't think he was good enough to make the Shrine Bowl and they considered him vastly overrated.

If those are indeed true then I doubt he'd be ready for a starting job next year.

I think the coaches probably did tell him he could come in and compete for a starting job next year, I doubt they said he'd get it or have it handed to him. We're returning most of the OL and the way they were playing I doubt any of the remaining ones forfeit a spot and I doubt he's as good as Mattes or even Wallace(been hearing GREAT things about him).

That being said, don't get your hopes up. UNC gets the last visit with Bond, he's now said what he wants to see in a college, look for BD to add his 127th player very soon.

12/4/2008 9:27:47 AM

Quote :

"TOB and Co. will play whoever is the best at that position. If that means playing a true freshman than so be it. One example just this year is T.J. Graham. "

like TOB has said all along...we are a performance based organization

12/4/2008 9:47:49 AM

^^Read the article on Bond. Seems like a smart kid who's just looking for a place he fits in. I have no doubt that within a few years, the guy could be a high-caliber OL at State.

My favorite part of the whole thing was when he said something along the lines of "NC State is getting better. They played great against UNC and beat them pretty easily."

Glad he noticed

12/4/2008 10:27:42 AM

The problem with Bond is going to be his high school coach, big UNC fan and he always forgets to mention us when talking about Bond's college choices. It's a little ridiculous.

I'd like to have Bond, he has a good build, seems to be a good kid and if TOB likes you as an OL, then you have potential.

I'd love to have him but I'm not getting my hopes up. I guess it's comparable to my expectations for Mattes last year but TOB had a trick up his sleeve then, maybe he'll do it again. But if it's closeness and a brotherhood he's looking for, I'd find it hard to believe he'd find a better one than State right now. Our players seem really close and just reading what each player is saying about the team as a unit is really amazing and they seem to really care about each other.

I really enjoyed reading the freshman say they wanted to do it for the seniors, that really shows some unity.

[Edited on December 4, 2008 at 10:34 AM. Reason : .]

12/4/2008 10:33:00 AM

Any chance we feed off of Clemson, Tennessee, or Auburn's lost commits next year?

I dont have access to any of the recruiting boards...

12/4/2008 9:19:17 PM

I don't know how I feel about the fact that Duke has a higher ranked recruiting class than us.

UNC is currently at number 7 in the damn country.

12/5/2008 11:10:15 AM

they can have their top 10 class every year just as long as we whip their ass

12/5/2008 11:15:32 AM

bond's coach isnt just a fan, he graduated in '91 and played football for the heels.

12/5/2008 11:34:45 AM

^^Bunting had a top-10 class too. It takes more than stars to win football games.

12/5/2008 11:38:18 AM

we still have quite a few 4* and 5* offers up there. Maybe its too early to talk like this?

12/5/2008 11:55:46 AM

We'll get some bigtime talent here eventually but only after we have solid character players who can take the high profile freshmen and slam them into the discipline mold that is NC State football.

12/5/2008 11:56:12 AM

We don't have much chance with some of those 4 and 5 star recruits that I know of for football.

This is basically how it works when you have a hard-nosed performance-driven coach. He's going to come in here, and we're going to get the 2 and 3 star recruits that become all-acc players. We have a couple of winning seasons and bam recruiting goes up. The reason we've struggled getting the big fish this year was the way we started the season. Had we won some big games early it would have helped a little. PP had a thread and one of the mods said that a lot of the recruits kept mentioning their reluctance to come here because they weren't sure we could win enough games. And then they had committed to UNC(who started out red-hot) and I think now some of them might regret it but not enough to switch commitments.

If we can get a bowl, win it, and carry the momentum into the off-season, we'll have a solid recruiting class for next year. Heck it sounds like we already are in great shape with 2 high-profile OL for the 2010 class as it is as well as a high-profile WR. It'll all come together, just have to be patient and enjoy it.

12/5/2008 12:26:00 PM

Watch the Rivals video on Morgan Alexander: http://www.ncstate.rivals.com/video.asp?section=fbrecruit&pkey=72895

It kinda plays into what was being said about the 3*'s TOB will transform.

I really like this kid. He catches the ball out of the backfield Great, has good vision, cuts well, and isnt afraid to hit. Im ready for some more TA knock-out type runs

12/5/2008 1:59:40 PM

^^ I know Crisp is one of the big time 2010 o-linemen that we look to be in great shape with, but who is the other?

12/5/2008 2:09:04 PM

Logan Stewart is being recruited by some major programs. He's a 1-star right now but of course all of the 2010 class is, so it's hard to say what he'll end up, but likely 4-star. We're in really good shape with him according to his latest interview. The way I read it, I wouldn't be surprised if he was committed to us shortly after the 09 signing day and we could officially offer. But maybe I just read it wrong and he's just really high on us. Either way we're in good shape with him and Crisp.

12/5/2008 2:28:42 PM

Quote :

"I really like this kid. He catches the ball out of the backfield Great, has good vision, cuts well, and isnt afraid to hit. Im ready for some more TA knock-out type runs"

hopefully without the TA type fumbles

12/5/2008 2:40:38 PM

Quote :

"Bunting had a top-10 class too. It takes more than stars to win football games."

Bunting's highest-rated class was his 2003 haul which ranked 13th nationally. He had a major problem with attrition among his best recruits though. Of the six 4* players in that class, only Jesse Holley was a member of the football team for 4 years. Mike Mason played only 3 years before being dismissed from the team and the other four weren't on the team for more than one season. Bunting was a pretty solid recruiter but he couldn't keep his kids out of trouble and just wasn't fit to be a head coach. Dude was in way over his head.

Also, I saw TOB in downtown Raleigh today. He was walking with a lady who I assume to be his wife and was pimped out in a State jacket and hat.

12/5/2008 2:40:50 PM

As long as we're landing guys that sound like good football players, I'm ok with not having big stars. I do question going after a bunch of no-names instead of highly rated recruits, but then again, if we're willing to alternate years of ok recruiting with great recruiting (which is what it sounds like since ppl seem to think we have a HUGE jump on 2010) then i'll take it.

I still think this years class (as is) is better than most of the classes O'Brien landed at BC. VT seems to win with a bunch of 3* guys and a few scattered 4-5*'s and great coaching. I think we can be better than that with our staff though....because our offense WILL be better than VT.

12/5/2008 2:56:30 PM

Yeah I wouldn't be surprised if VT doesn't get rid of Stinespring after this year. One more year at most is what I see them giving him.

12/5/2008 3:31:16 PM

The thing is, it's not going to be a pattern of good classes then average classes for TOB. He got a good class based on BC rep and people kind of over-looked the record. Then before the season started we were in good position after last year's class and finish and then we struggled out of the gate and some of the bigger fish lost faith.

So we can be sitting pretty going into next year too but if we go in and struggle the entire first half of the season, we'll probably lose a lot of the big fish as well. It's crucial to start with some wins and get the people signing early who are wrapped up in the win-loss records.

We're primed to come out of the gate hot next year and we have a lot of recruiting momentum right now with depth needs and young stars. To be honest I think we could really add some quality OL and WR in this next class with what RW has shown and the way TOB took 2 DL and a walk-on and turned them into 3 quality OL.

He is building the foundation people, we'll have the mansion before you know it.

12/5/2008 3:41:11 PM

DE Duane Chisolm is off the board. He's committed to South Carolina.

12/7/2008 7:34:08 PM

brandon bishop (florida safety) has us in his final 2 with WVU, just got back from an OV in morgantown.

luke sager (florida DE) is apparently wants to commit but the staff has him on hold right now. not sure if they're waiting on a juco DE or what.

travis bond still has us in his top 5, with south carolina, unc, ecu and michigan. says he'll make a decision late january. rumors are that he was a unc lean but butch is slow playing him or he has noticed unc is about 15 scholarships over their limit.

asa watson OV'd to duke this weekend. sounds like official to us and maryland in january and he'll be a signing day decision.

jason ankrah is still considering an official. 4* DE would be a nice addition to the class but it'll be an uphill fight

12/7/2008 10:20:58 PM

^Nice wrap up. Much appreciated.

12/7/2008 10:33:16 PM

bump

12/7/2008 11:04:58 PM

bump

12/7/2008 11:05:25 PM

bump

12/7/2008 11:06:04 PM

bump

12/7/2008 11:06:59 PM