State finds signing day solace

Despite a disappointing 3-9 record last season, N.C. State scored big on 2014 National Signing Day, as the Wolfpack football team had 33 student-athletes from across the nation officially committed to the Pack Wednesday.

A busy day for every college program, National Signing Day is the first day that a high school senior can sign a binding letter of intent to an NCAA football program.

This season, scout.com ranked N.C. State’s recruiting class No. 22 in the nation, its highest standing on the site since 2004. Scout’s ranking was a huge improvement from last season’s recruiting class, which ranked 53rd in the country.

Of the 33 players who signed with State, 18 were recruited from within the state of North Carolina, and 11 of those 18 were ranked among the top 35 in the state. Head coach Dave Doeren said the staff’s goal was to “get everyone to stay home that we could.”

“Staying home and playing for your state university does a lot for you in life,” Doeren said. “I think it’s important that when they finish playing football, they have a network to reach back to, and the network of N.C. State people are going to take so much pride from these 18 in-state players staying home to help us win.”

Last season, the Pack’s main issue stemmed from mediocre play at the quarterback position. It took the team until its second-to-last game to determine that graduate student quarterback Brandon Mitchell would ultimately own the starting position over then-junior quarterback Pete Thomas.

Redshirt junior quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who transferred from Florida following the 2012 season, will be eligible to play in 2014. Brissett, a dual-threat quarterback, will likely start for the Wolfpack this coming season, but the Pack nabbed a potential quarterback of the future in quarterback Jalan McClendon, the No. 15 quarterback in the nation according to Scout.com. 

Doeren said McClendon is a great pickup since his dual-threat capabilities are similar to those of Brissett.

“It’s important that we have someone like Jacoby [Brissett],” Doeren said. “But if we have something where he can’t play a game or a series, we’re not having to change schematically [to put Jalan in].”

Another big area of concern last season for the Pack was its secondary. To remedy the issue, State signed seven defensive backs in its 2014 class, including Troy Vincent Jr., son of five-time NFL Pro Bowl cornerback Troy Vincent.

The Pack also had to address the loss of its starting kicker and punter. While the team picked up a kicker and a punter in its recruiting class, Doeren said he was grateful the team has its current backups, so the new recruits will not have to face the pressures of playing right away.

Out of the 33 total N.C. State commitments, three were ranked inside the top 10 of their respective positions by either ESPN or Scout.com: center Tony Adams (ranked No. 7 by scout.com), fullback Jaylen Samuels (ranked No. 7 by Scout.com) and defensive end Kentavius Street (ranked No. 7 by ESPN), whom Doeren said was the “best defensive player in North Carolina.”

Samuels had the most impressive senior career of the three, with his high school finishing the 2013 season with an undefeated record and as North Carolina 4AA state champions. Samuels racked up 59 touchdowns in only 109 carriers—an average of one touchdown per 2.8 carries.

Doeren said the coaching staff let the athletes know that their time at State would be part of a rebuilding process.

“It’s not for everybody, but it was for these guys,” Doeren said. “They believed in us, they believed in N.C. State, and they wanted to be a part of it.”