NC State 2012 Recruiting

2012 North Carolina State Wolfpack ... Head Coach: Tom O'Brien

NC State Wolfpack

2011 Record: 8-5

Sept. 3 Liberty W 43-21
Sept. 10 at Wake Forest L 34-27
Sept. 17 South Alabama W 35-13
Sept. 22 at Cincinnati L 44-14
Oct. 1 Georgia Tech L 45-35
Oct. 8 Central Mich W 38-24
Oct. 15 OPEN DATE
Oct. 22 at Virginia W 28-14
Oct. 29 at Florida State L 34-0
Nov. 5 North Carolina W 13-0
Nov. 12 at Boston Coll L 14-10
Nov. 19 Clemson W 37-13
Nov. 26 Maryland W 56-41
Belk Bowl
Dec. 27 Louisville W 31-24

2010 CFN Prediction: 6-6
2010 Record: 9-4

Sept. 4 W. Carolina W 48-7
Sept. 11 at UCF W 28-21
Sept. 16 Cincinnati W 30-19
Sept. 25 at Georgia Tech  W 45-28
Oct. 2 Virginia Tech L 41-30
Oct. 9 Boston College W 44-17
Oct. 16 at E Carolina L 33-27 OT
Oct. 23 OPEN DATE
Oct. 28 Florida State W 28-24
Nov. 6 at Clemson L 14-13
Nov. 13 Wake Forest W 38-3
Nov. 20 at North Carolina W 29-25
Nov. 27 at Maryland L 38-31
CHAMPS SPORTS BOWL
Dec. 28 West Virginia W 23-7
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 NC State Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Manny Stocker
6-3, 200, Scout.com 64th ranked, three-star quarterback. Stocker passed for 1,200 yards and 18 touchdowns last season while completing nearly 67% of his passes. Extremely athletic, Stocker was timed at 4.60 at the NC State camp.

2. DT K’Hadree Hooker
6-2, 270, Scout.com 29th ranked, three-star defensive tackle.

3. DE Kenderius Whitehead
6-4, 212, Scout.com 45th ranked, three-star defensive end.

4. TE David Grinnage
6-5, 240, Scout.com 21st ranked, three-star tight end.

5. OG Bryce Kennedy
6-3, 285, Scout.com 55th ranked, three-star guard.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... The Wolfpack is going hard after the defensive line for the second time in four years. The line is fine for now, but Tom O’Brien needs players to develop for down the road with the wave of strong prospects from the 2009 class are done. The offensive side will get more help for the interior with the guards getting the most attention.

Team Concerns For 2012: The passing game needs more options for QB Mile Glennon to work with after speedy T.J. Graham chose to leave early and receivers Jay Smith, Steven Howard, and tight end George Bryan also done. The defensive side needs help on the inside with starting tackles J.R. Sweezy and Markus Kuhn gone. The Pack has plenty of young players ready to show what they can do, but it’ll be an untested area in spring ball.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: After closing out the season winning four of the final five games, the needle is pointing up with enough veterans coming back to expect a possible run at ten wins. The line struggled in pass protection, but four starters are back to pave the way for James Washington and a running game that might be better. QB Mike Glennon started to come into his own, and he needs to be terrific with new starting receivers – led by Tobias Palmer - taking over for T.J. Graham and Jay Smith. The defense that led the ACC in sacks loses Terrell Manning a year early for the NFL and has to replace Audie Cole in the middle, but the entire secondary returns and the ends should be terrific with Darryl Cato-Bishop ready to do more in the rotation.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Linebackers. There aren’t a ton of great ones in a generally mediocre class, but the hope is for strength in numbers with Mike Rose and Brandon Pittman two safety-sized defenders with the potential to be excellent with a little bit of time. The defensive line got help with Ty McGill for the inside and Dave Mann on the end, and quarterback Brian Taylor and WR Hakeem Flowers will be asked to be the star pitch-catch combo by 2013, but overall the star power isn’t there.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 43. That Class Was Heavy On ... Offensive lineman. This might not be the sexiest class, but it has teeth. WR Tony Creecy is a speedster who should make a big impact, and JUCO transfer Tobais Palmer will be a part of the running back mix right away. The key is the offensive line with Robert Crisp a massive and very talented offensive tackle who'll end up being the anchor up front. Crisp is 6-8, as is fellow tackle Andy Jomantas, while Tyson Chandler is a 6-6, 340-pound mauler. Defensively, Fre'Shad Hunter will be the star on the inside up front once he adds some weight.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 36. That Class Was Heavy On ... defensive linemen. Tom O’Brien and his assistants absolutely loaded up on defensive linemen with this class, going as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Georgia to find space-eaters. Willie Young, Alan-Michael Cash, and Shea McKeen have only one year of eligibility remaining, so this group will be expected to eventually form the backbone of the defensive front for the next four or five seasons.

Belk Bowl
NC State 31 … Louisville 24
- CFN Thoughts on the Game

NC State: The Wolfpack made five sacks and 12 tackles for loss. … Mike Glennon completed 21-of-33 passes for 264 yards and three scores with a pick. … James Washington ran 14 times for 45 yards. … WR T.J. Graham caught seven passes for 116 yards and two scores. … Brandan Bishop made 12 tackles with a tackle for loss, while Audie Cole made ten tackles with two sacks and four tackles for loss. … David Amerson made five tackles with two picks to close out the year with 13 picks.

Louisville: The Cardinals outgained State 391 yards to 329. … Teddy Bridgewater completed 24-of-43 passes for 274 yards and two scores with three picks. … Victor Anderson ran 15 times for 61 yards. … Eli Rogers caught seven passes for 54 yards. … Adrian Bushell made seven tackles with a tackle for loss and a forced fumble with a broken up pass.

(AP) CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Mike Glennon threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns and David Amerson returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown as North Carolina State defeated Louisville 31-24 in the Belk Bowl.

T.J. Graham made the most of his final game at N.C. State with seven catches for 116 yards and two touchdowns, including a 65-yard score on a nifty catch-and-run, as the Wolfpack (8-5) overcame a series of special teams blunders to hold off a late charge from the Cardinals (7-6).

Amerson had two more interceptions to give him 13 for the season, the most in the country, while setting a new Atlantic Coast Conference record.

Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater, who threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another, nearly brought the Cardinals back from a 21-point deficit, but his final heave on fourth-and-23 was picked off by Amerson with 41 seconds left.

Louisville used a fake punt and recovered an onside kick to get back in the game after falling behind 31-10.

Bridgewater threw a pair of 2-yard touchdown passes to close the gap to 31-24 with 3:55 left in the game.

The Cardinals had once last chance to send the game into overtime after stopping N.C. State on fourth-and-2. However, on a third-and-12 Dontae Johnson sacked Bridgewater for an 11-yard loss setting up Amerson's clinching interception.

The Wolfpack came into the game leading the nation in interceptions and picked off Bridgewater three times.

On Louisville's first possession, Bridgewater came under pressure and made a poor decision to try to dump the ball off, but instead threw it in the hands of linebacker Terrell Manning for an interception. Glennon took advantage, methodically driving the Wolfpack 79 yards completing 6 of 7 passes for 49 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown strike to Graham to take a 7-0 lead.

Wolfpack coach Tom O'Brien was worried about his young special teams unit coming into the game and his worst fears were realized on his team's next drive. Freshman punter Will Baumann mishandled a low snap from center and was swarmed under at the 5-yard line.

The Cardinals cashed in three plays later on an 8-yard touchdown run by Bridgewater to tie the game.

After Louisville went ahead 10-7, Glennon bounced back from an early interception by completing five straight passes for 80 yards, capped by a 35-yard touchdown to Tobais Palmer, who made a nice adjustment with the ball in midair to haul in the pass.

Then came the play of the game as Graham caught a pass over the middle from Glennon and broke two tackles en route to a 68-yard touchdown reception giving the Wolfpack a 21-10 lead at the break.

N.C. State tacked on three more to start the third quarter after a pair of costly Louisville penalties -- a running into the kicker on Adrian Bushell on fourth down and unnecessary roughness call on linebacker Preston Brown after the Cardinals stopped the Wolfpack on third down.

The Wolfpack seemingly put the game away 17 seconds later when Amerson intercepted Bridgewater downfield and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown.

With his team trailing down 24, Louisville coach Charlie Strong started to gamble.

Strong called for a fake punt after the Cardinals' next drive stalled and Preston Brown, the up back on the punt team, took a direct snap from center and raced 32 yards for a first down. That set up a 2-yard touchdown pass from Bridgewater to tight end Nate Nord in the back corner of the end zone.

Bridgewater added another 2-yard touchdown pass to Josh Bellamy but it wasn't enough.

Nov. 26 at NC State 56 … Maryland 41
CFN Analysis: All of a sudden, the season went from a big-time crash to a bowl game in the most spectacular of fashions. The Wolfpack needed the win, but all was lost down 41-14 before the epic comeback. This team didn’t show any quit this year. … Mike Glennon had a nice moment. Considering all the publicity over Russell Wilson, and the big shoes Glennon had to fill, the 306-yard, five-score comeback was special. … The offensive line had a nightmare of a time early but gave Glennon just enough time in the fourth quarter to work. C.J. Wilson’s pick six to close things out was the one bright spot for a defense that has to breathe a sigh of relief after getting gouged for three quarters. 

Nov. 19 at NC State 37 … Clemson 13
CFN Analysis: Thanks to the wins over Liberty and South Alabama, NC State has to beat a woeful Maryland to assure itself of a decent bowl game, but the dominant win over Clemson, especially coming off the clunker against Boston College, showed that the team really is getting better under Tom O’Brien. QB Mike Glennon was great with an effective 19-of-29, 253-yard, three-score day, while James Washington and Tony Creecy provided a nice 1-2 rushing punch. … The Wolfpack held on to the ball for over 36 minutes and controlled the game throughout, keeping the Clemson offense off the field. … The defense was fantastic at getting into the backfield with Darryl Cato-Bishop and Art Norman each coming up with two sacks and the team generating five sacks and 14 tackles for loss. It was a dominant performance at just the right time. 

Nov. 12 at Boston College 14 … NC State 10
CFN Analysis: Just when it seemed like the Wolfpack were ready to make a statement, they came up with a clunker. The offense moved the ball nicely on the first drive, and didn’t do anything until late. Mike Glennon was trying, pushing the passing game with 40 attempts for 220 yards, but the offense didn’t go anywhere. James Washington scored late, but he only ran for 40 yards on 13 carries. … The defense was stellar. David Amerson came up with his tenth pick of the year and made his sixth pick in the last five games. He led a secondary that gave up just 118 yards and was air tight in the second half. … This was the layup the Pack needed to secure a bowl win. The hope is for Clemson, who clinched the Atlantic, to come in flat next week, otherwise the finale against Maryland will be for the 13th game.  

Nov. 5 at NC State 13 … North Carolina 0
CFN Analysis: The offense might be struggling a bit over the last few weeks, but the defense turned things around after the blowout loss to Florida State. Considering the nightmare of games in the middle of the season, now the D has turned the season around. North Carolina’s offense didn’t do anything, being held to just three rushing yards, while the offense did just enough to generate the needed balance to get by. James Washington carried the offense, and while Mike Glennon struggled, he wasn’t as bad as the Tar Heel quarterbacks. With winnable games against Boston College and Maryland wrapped around Clemson, not only will State go bowling, bit it’ll be high up in the pecking order.  

Oct. 22 NC State 28 … at Virginia 14
CFN Analysis: All of a sudden, NC State is among the living. After an awful start to the season, this was the first win over a BCS conference team and the 4-3 record means there’s hope for a bowl game again. Mike Glennon picked a great time to get hoe with 231 yards and three scores, and while he threw two picks, the Wolfpack was still +2 in turnover margin and played a terrific game on defense. Terrell Manning made nine tackles and David Amerson came up with a huge game making six stops and two picks, including a pick six, and now it’s time to dial it up a few notches. The pass rush has been tremendous all season long and the team has been great at winning the turnover battle, and next week it’ll have to be great at both to have any shot at Florida State next week.  

Oct. 8 at NC State 38 … Central Michigan 24
CFN Analysis: Finally, the NC State defense showed up. Central Michigan’s offense rolled at will, but the Pack came up with stop after stop with turnovers taking away four interceptions and forcing a fumble. Offensively, Mike Glennon didn’t take many chances, but he threw four touchdown passes and he didn’t make any key mistakes. James Washington had a hard game running for a workmanlike 109 yards and a touchdown, but he gave the long-suffering ground game some punch. With two weeks off, and at 3-3, there’s time to prepare for a road trip at Virginia. Win that, and there’s still a shot at a bowl game. 

Oct. 1 Georgia Tech 45 … at NC State 35
CFN Analysis: NC State played the wrong team at the wrong time. The defense had been having issues and the offense wasn’t putting up enough production on a consistent basis to begin with, and then it had to deal with the high-octane Georgia Tech attack. The defensive line is playing relatively well and keeping the Yellow Jackets to 296 yards isn’t too bad, but the offense couldn’t keep up the pace. James Washington had a nice day with 131 yards and a score, and Mike Glennon was good connecting 20-of-29 passes for 163 yards and two scores with a pick, but it wasn’t nearly enough against a hot team. Central Michigan should ease the pressure a bit before tgoing on the road to face Virginia.
 
Sept. 22 at Cincinnati 44 … NC State 14
CFN Analysis: NC State is a disaster. Injuries on defense don’t excuse the miserable play from the offense, who’s biggest problem is a line that can’t do anything for the ground game and isn’t giving Mike Glennon any time. The Cincinnati defense is good, but it’s not so good that State should be held to -26 rushing yards. While Glennon did connect on a few big plays, and T.J. Graham was a weapon with his touchdown grabs from 87 and 49 yards away, this was an embarrassment. With Georgia Tech’s running game up next, the depleted defense has to figure out something in a big hurry – like how to take proper angles – or it’ll be another ugly blowout. 

Sept. 17 at NC State 35 … South Alabama 13
CFN Analysis: It was a little bit of a fight, but the Wolfpack managed to put away South Alabama with a near-perfect day from Mike Glennon, who hit 17-of-20 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns, working with T.J. Graham five times for 128 yards and a score. The defense did its part with four sacks, including Darryl Cato-Bishop coming up with two. The run defense was a bit soft, giving up a 117-yard day to Kendall Houston and allowing way too many third down conversions, but it was an easy win. Against Cincinnati, the pass rush will have to make up for the other problems coming up with stops, while the offensive line has to be far tighter in pass protection.

Sept. 10 at Wake Forest 34 ... NC State 27
CFN Analysis:  NC State needs to find an identity and needs to find a pass defense after getting bombed on for 632 yards in the first two games. The offense is having a big problem finding something that works with the running game getting stopped way too easily with Mike Glennon not doing enough through the air against Wake Forest until it was comeback time. The pass rush has been great over the first two weeks and there haven’t been a slew of mistakes, but there’s too much of a reliance on the big pass play without much of a ground attack to count on. South Alabama is up next, but then the Pack has to get ready for a shootout against Cincinnati before a do-or-die ACC game against Georgia Tech. 

Sept. 3 at NC State 43 … Liberty 21
CFN Analysis: Uhhh, NC State, you’re not supposed to struggle so much against Liberty. The Wolfpack didn’t exactly come out roaring in the first game after Russell Wilson bolted for Wisconsin with Mike Glennon completing a pedestrian 18-of-31 passes for 156 yards and a touchdowns. Curtis Underwood saved State with 114 yards and a touchdown on just 14 carries, while James Washington was a nice complement for a decent day for the ground game. It took the defense and seven takeaways, along with a big punt return from T.J. Graham, to overcome the upset bid, with David Amerson saving the day with eight tackles and two picks. This type of effort isn’t going to work against Wake Forest in the ACC opener; the offense has to start to work and the offensive line has to be far, far better and keeping Glennon upright.

The 2011 Recruiting Class Is Heavy On … Linebackers. There aren’t a ton of great ones in a generally mediocre class, but the hope is for strength in numbers with Mike Rose and Brandon Pittman two safety-sized defenders with the potential to be excellent with a little bit of time. The defensive line got help with Ty McGill for the inside and Dave Mann on the end, and quarterback Brian Taylor and WR Hakeem Flowers will be asked to be the star pitch-catch combo by 2013, but overall the star power isn’t there.

Five NC State Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Brian Taylor
A two-year starter for Harnett Central, Taylor is one of North Carolina’s top quarterbacks in the 2011 class. He missed half his sophomore season with a leg injury but still managed to account for nearly 1,500 yards of total offense and 20 touchdowns (13 passing, seven rushing). He was also an all-conference selection in basketball and baseball during his sophomore year.

2. DT Chris Jones
6-5, 260, Scout.com’s 47th ranked defensive tackle

3. K Niklas Sade
6-1, 190, Scout.com’s 3rd ranked placekicker

4. P Wil Baumann
6-3, 185, Scout.com’s 3rd ranked punter

5. WR Hakeem Flowers
Flowers does a lot of the little things well at wide receiver. He catches the ball well, he uses his length to his advantage, he runs good routes, and he is very consistent. He needs to improve his down field speed, his quickness off the ball, and getting better separation. He is a possession type of receiver, but a good one.

2011 Entire Recruiting Class

Alex Barr 6-7 302 Offensive Line Fayetteville, Ga. Starr's Mill HS
Wil Baumann 6-4 190 Punter Wilmington, N.C. J.T. Hoggard HS
Benson Browne 6-5 240 Tight End Cincinnati, Ohio Walnut Hills HS
Juston Burris 6-1 185 Athlete Raleigh, N.C. Needham Broughton HS
Tyrrell Burriss 5-11 185 Defensive Back Daytona Beach, Fla. Mainland HS
Hakeem Flowers 6-3 182 Wide Receiver Simpsonville, S.C. Wade Hampton HS
McKay Frandsen 6-3 255 Defensive End American Fork, Utah Snow College
Carlos Gray 6-4 321 Defensive Tackle Pinson, Ala. Oak Ridge Military Academy
Hakim Jones 6-2 190 Athlete Henderson, N.C. Southern Vance HS
Dave Mann 6-3 230 Defensive End Fairburn, Ga. Lithonia HS
Ty McGill 6-1 290 Defensive Tackle Jesup, Ga. Wayne County HS
Maurice Morgan 6-2 215 Athlete La Grange, N.C. North Lenoir HS
Rodman Noel 6-3 206 Defensive Back Everett, Mass. Milford Academy
Michael Peek 6-2 215 Linebacker Grayson, Ga. Grayson HS
Brandon Pittman 6-3 212 Linebacker Raleigh, N.C. Leesville Road HS
Mike Rose 6-4 215 Defensive End Simpsonville, S.C. Hillcrest HS
Niklas Sade 6-3 190 Placekicker Wake Forest, N.C. Wakefield HS
Brian Taylor 6-3 205 Quarterback Lillington, N.C. Harnett Central HS
Scott Thompson 6-0 220 Longsnapper Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. Trabuco Hills HS
Joe Thuney 6-5 250 Offensive Line Centerville, Ohio Archbishop