In what proved to be a big day for N.C. State football, 23 recruits signed national letters of intent with the Pack to headline one of the more decent recruiting classes signed by coach Tom O’Brien at N.C. State.
What makes the class unique is that it includes players for almost every position on both sides of the ball. The class consists of six defensive linemen, three linebackers, four defensive backs, four offensive linemen, two wide receivers, one tight end, one running back and two quarterbacks.
O’Brien said one thing that stood out about the class was its physical ability.
“It’s a long, athletic and talented group of kids,” O’Brien said. “The thing that stands out the most is the size of them and the length they have and the fact that they can run.”
The class included six players from the state of Georgia, which O’Brien felt was crucial part of their recruiting philosophy.
“Georgia has always been a great state for football players,” O’Brien said. “It’s a good academics situation too. The kids know how to play the game. They are well-coached. We have made it our priority to go to Georgia because you can drive. I think our coaches again did a great job in the state Georgia.
“Sixteen or 18 of the kids from the state are on our roster and [they] do a great job contributing to our program.”
O’Brien’s team is set to have eight recruits from North Carolina high schools. According to O’Brien, it was important to ensure the local players didn’t leave their home state.
“The last two years we’ve won the third most games of anybody in this conference, only behind Florida State and Virginia Tech,” O’Brien said. “If we continue to do that and continue to win and put ourselves in a position to challenge and go to Charlotte, it will increase our chances to keep kids home.
“We won’t be satisfied until we sign everybody in the state. That’s the goal.”
O’Brien emphasized he and his coaches were looking for players with more than just ratings and stars.
“All of the recruiting rankings, those are people that deal in perception,” O’Brien said. “Those of us that have to deal in reality, [character, leadership] comes into play.
“Winning the way we did at the end of the year says a lot about the character of this football team and that’s something we want to continue.”
State also got two quarterbacks in the form of Colorado State transfer Pete Thomas, who will be sitting out the 2012 season, and Manny Stocker from Coatesville, Pa. Stocker has already enrolled in classes at State for the spring semester.
O’Brien said it would be provide some healthy competition for the starting quarterback job once current starter Mike Glennon left the at end of the upcoming season.
“The thing we go on a lot in camp is arm strength, the ability to make throws that have to be made if you’re going to succeed on this level,” O’Brien said. “[Manny Stocker] being an athlete helped a lot. This is on two days, three days watching him in the program; he might be a better athlete than we even thought he was coming in here.
“It’s a huge advantage to him to be here and go through this right now. Hopefully Glennon stays healthy, and we’ll have a battle royale next spring for the starting quarterback job.”
In news that would make every Pack fan happy, State managed to land four-star defensive prospect Kenderius Whitehead of Georgia. Whitehead had offers from Arkansas, Georgia, Clemson, Virginia Tech and Penn State to name a few.
According to O’Brien, it was a big accomplishment for the Pack to get a player of that caliber.
“I think Mike Reed did a fabulous job [on Kenderius Whitehead],” O’Brien said. “I was talking to a Southeastern Conference coach last night and he kept raving about him, wondering how we did it, how we got that kid away from Georgia.”
The Pack will open spring practice March 23 and will hold the annual Kay Yow Spring Game April 23 at 1 p.m.
