Checking in on NC State football recruits - and potential recruits - in prep football
The high school football season kicks off Friday night, returning to the fall North Carolina nights that fans are used to.
After playing in the spring of 2021 due to COVID wiping out the fall 2020 season, high school football teams in the state are back to a normal routine -- a routine that will include college coaches traveling across the state to watch the best prospects play. Last year, coaches evaluated talent from their desks, watching hours and hours of film. That’s not out of the ordinary -- coaches watch film any other year -- but in 2020, it was their only option.
Dave Doeren and his staff at N.C. State have made an impressive haul in the class of 2022 since prospects were allowed to attend camps in person, landing 11 players so far. Of those, six are from North Carolina.
This Friday night, Doeren will be back on the sidelines, getting a personal look at the prep talent.
“For us, it’s valuable to have live evaluation, we miss that in recruiting, it’s something we believe in,” Doeren said. “One of the most critical ingredients in the evaluation process is seeing them play in person, so being able to go back out, hit the road and do that on Friday nights, we look forward to that.”
Family connection
One of the more intriguing local prospects is Class of 2023 wide receiver Noah Rogers of Rolesville High School. According to the 247Sports composite list, Rogers is the second-best prospect in the state in his class. As a sophomore, he was a major focal point of the Rams’ offense as Rolesville appeared in its first ever state title game. Rogers established himself as one of the top receivers in the state and wants to duplicate that success his junior year.
“I just want to look like a grown man out there,” Rogers said after the Rams first scrimmage of the year against New Bern.
His two-touchdown performance in the state title game backed up that comment and the recruiting picked up for Rogers after that, sometimes attending camps on the same day to get his name out there.
“In June I was trying to get to a lot of places,” Rogers said. “It was pretty crazy.”
Rogers plans to take two of his official visits this fall and three more in the spring. Two of those visits will be in-state. Will one of them be at N.C. State, where his close friend, Heritage quarterback Lex Thomas, recently committed?
Rogers wouldn’t say, but did acknowledge how happy he was for Thomas and how close the two have grown since their youth football days on the Raleigh Bulldogs.
“I’m happy for him because he works hard, I see him putting in work that other people don’t see. I’m just happy for him because we came up together,” Rogers said. “That’s my brother.”
Rogers and Thomas, the younger brother of N.C. State wide receiver Thayer Thomas and linebacker Drake Thomas, are two of the prospects Wolfpack fans can see in person starting this Friday.
Local N.C. State prospects to watch this season
CLASS OF 2022
Wesley Grimes (6-2, 180), Wide Receiver, Millbrook - Grimes is also close friends with Thomas and Rogers and was in the stands (with Thomas) watching Rogers play during the scrimmage last week. As a junior Grimes caught 37 passes for 691 yards and 11 scores. Has offers from five ACC schools (Duke, Louisville, Wake Forest, N.C. State, Virginia).
The trio of Grimes, Rogers and Thomas have talked about possibly playing together in Raleigh.
“We talked about it, I could really see that,” Rogers said. “That could be dangerous right there, but we will see in the future.”
Grimes is ranked No. 17 on The Observer top 25 list.
Jackson Vick (5-11, 174), Cornerback, Southern Nash - The Bailey-to-Raleigh pipeline continues with the commitment from Vick. Running back Zonovan Knight and defensive back Darius Edmundson are already on the N.C. State roster. Vick, the No. 15 player on The Observer top 25 list, rushed for 1,072 yards and 15 scores in the Firebirds Wing-T, but will play corner for the Wolfpack. Vick committed to N.C. State on June 14.
Rylan Vann (6-1, 275), Offensive line, Cary - Vann was the first player in the class of 2022 to commit to N.C. State. He follows in the footsteps of his older brother Davin, a freshman defensive lineman for the Wolfpack. Vann, who can play center and guard, committed to N.C. State on April 14.
Michael Allen (5-9, 203), Running back, J.H. Rose - Greenville is a little bit outside of the area, but it might be worth the drive to see Allen, the highest rated prospect in the class of 2022. Allen committed to the Wolfpack on June 18. He’s ranked No. 4 on The Observer Top 25 list. He only played two games as a junior, but has 1,141 yards and 12 scores in three seasons for Rose.
CLASS OF 2023
Noah Rogers (6-1, 180), Wide Receiver, Rolesville - Had a coming out party as a sophomore on the best team in the Triangle. Caught 31 passes for 660 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games. Also on the Rams’ track and field team, ran a 11.34 100 and was a part of two Rolesville relay teams that made it to the state championships.
Nathan Leacock (6-4, 183), Wide Receiver, Millbrook - Only played in two games in 2021 with just one catch, but has the size coaches look for in a wide receiver. N.C. State officially offered Leacock on June 7. Also on the Wildcats track team and ran a 4.40 40 at State’s camp over the summer.
Lex Thomas (5-10, 176), Quarterback, Heritage - The youngest of the three Thomas brothers, it was almost a forgone conclusion that Lex would follow his siblings, Thayer and Drake, to N.C. State. Thomas committed to the Pack on July 23. Thomas hasn’t taken a varsity snap yet, but showed out across the camp circuit this summer, earning his first offer after a few days of camp at N.C. State.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 12:45 PM with the headline "Checking in on NC State football recruits - and potential recruits - in prep football."
