Monday, July 2, 2007

'Pack's O'Brien On A Roll

NC State's Tom O'Brien must really be in a good mood these days. Since June 19th, the Wolfpack's new coach has received verbal commitments from six different highly skilled players.

Dwayne Maddox started it off in mid-June. Maddox is a 6'-2", 220lb MLB from Shelby (NC) Crest HS. A 3-star LB with 4.65 speed, Maddox was the subject of a fierce recruiting battle between several high-profile schools in the ACC & SEC. Maddox chose State over offers from Alabama, Clemson, ECU, UNC & South Carolina.

Next the 'Pack got a verbal from RB Brandon Barnes from Bunn (NC) Bunn HS. Barnes is a 4-star RB that is most likely the highest profile recruit State has received since Mario Williams. Barnes is a 6-foot, 180lb RB who is rumored to have 4.4 speed. Barnes had received nearly two dozen offers from major programs & finally chose the 'Pack over Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Michigan, Southern California, & Virginia Tech. The prospect of staying where his family could see him play regularly was a huge boost for the 'Pack.

Local Raleigh (NC) Wakefield HS star WR TJ Graham was next. Graham played for the program that Phillip Rivers' father started a few years back. A 6-foot, 180lb WR with 4.4 speed, Graham never even gave any other schools a chance.

QB Mike Glennon came next. Glennon, from Chantilly (VA) Westfield HS, is a 6' 6", 195lb QB with a 3-star rating. Glennon received several offers from major programs all around the country & finally chose the Wolfpack over Florida State, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia, & Virginia Tech. Mike's brother Sean is Virginia Tech's current starting QB.

State also received a verbal commitment from Raeford (NC) Hoke County HS safety Earl Wolff. The 6-foot, 190lb Wolff runs a 4.45 & chose the 'Pack as soon as they offered.

Last, there was the 3-star Milton (FL) Milton HS SLB William Beasley. The 6'2", 225lb SLB with 4.6 speed chose the 'Pack over offers from Maryland, Iowa State, South Florida, & Southern Mississippi.

Beasley capped of a very productive June for the Wolfpack staff. As much as I wanted O'Brien to take over & install some much needed discipline, I was sure we would suffer setbacks in recruiting. WRONG!!!

3 comments:

Ken White said...

Nice Post. Is it safe to say you are excited about O'Brien?

WolfpackTodd said...

Yes....yes I am!!

Anonymous said...

I think O’Brien is going to bring the level of integrity to the program that Dick Sheridan brought 21 years ago. It looks like he has mended the relationships with North Carolina’s High School coaches that suffered while Chuck was concentrating on pulling talent out of Florida… Hopefully we will start winning the in-state recruiting battles against the Heel’s and ECU and stop Clemson, UT and UGa from raiding the western part of the state.