North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: O'Brien Welcomes Influx of Football Talent
2/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
BY TIM PEELER
That was the case Wednesday afternoon, when NC State coach Tom O’Brien announced his first full recruiting class with the Wolfpack. The talented 26-player class, which includes four prospects who have already enrolled at NC State, had little surprises from what had been previously reported on websites and newspapers over the last six months.
The full list of newcomers is available on GoPack.com’s Signing Day Central.
But the second-year coach also announced that four walk-ons defensive lineman Keith Willis, kicker Bradley Pierson, defensive lineman Jamaine Clemmons and wide receiver Koyal George will receive scholarships from the school.
Former wide receiver Geron James, who was not enrolled at NC State last year, has also returned to the team, pending his completion of several academic benchmarks that O’Brien and his staff will monitor throughout the spring semester.
The coach also announced that two players, fullback Ced Hickman and tight end R.J. Armstrong, have left the program.
That leaves the Wolfpack with a net gain of 29 newcomers heading into spring practice, which begins in early March. O’Brien, whose squad survived a rash of injuries to prominent players, welcomed the influx of talent, even if the team is left with a dearth of seniors.
“This year, if you look at our roster, there aren’t a lot,” O’Brien said. “I think we only have 14, and that includes the four we gave to the former walk-ons and the two transfers we brought in last year, Antoine Holmes and Willis. That means almost half of the senior class are walk-ons or transfers we brought in last year.”
That’s one of the reasons O’Brien signed five prep school players and a pair of junior college transfers, to add some immediate maturity, especially on the offensive line. The coach is also trying to ratchet up the competition on the offensive line by moving former defensive linemen John Bedics and Ted Larsen to the offensive line in the spring.
“We did not control the line of scrimmage at all last year on either side of the ball, and that was a priority for us this year finding those kinds of players,” O’Brien said. “We looked for older more mature players who could play right away. It’s better for those young offensive linemen, the high school guys to be able to come and redshirt, until they mature and grow a little bit.”
O’Brien, as is his custom, declined to talk much about specifics of the team’s depth chart. He did say that nothing will be determined about highly rated quarterback Mike Glennon playing next season or redshirting until after spring practice and pre-season camp in August.
The coach was also quick to point out that he has high hopes for Russell Wilson, another
“We think, with those two young players, quarterback should be a pretty good position for us going forward,” O’Brien said.
While the coach would like to red-shirt many of his young lineman, the only player that he mentioned as a definite red-shirt candidate is linebacker Terrell Manning, who suffered a significant knee injury late in his senior year at
The coach was typically coy about his thoughts on several players, including whether highly regarded athletes Brandon Barnes and Tobias Palmer will truly compete at running backs along with returning upperclassmen Andre Brown, Toney Baker and Jamelle
“That’s the position they think they are, so that’s where we put them for right now,” O’Brien said.
More than half of the Wolfpack’s newcomers are from the state of
“We did not do a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage last year,” O’Brien said. “That, and our bad turnovers ratio, led us to all the defeats we had last year. We really wanted to sign the best players in the state.”
The influx of talent has gotten some attention. ESPN.com rated the Wolfpack’s recruiting class as the No. 20 in the nation. O’Brien appreciates the notice, but doesn’t pay much attention to outside rankings.
“I am more concerned with making them all five-star football players than bringing in four- or five-star recruits,” O’Brien said.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
