Quote of the night from last night’s Wolfpack coaches’ comments on our recruiting class: “stars are like a bikini…they show a lot, but not everything.” Indeed. Our coaching staff seems quite satisfied with our incoming class, and given their experience and history of taking players that are less-heralded and turning them in to solid football players, Wolfpack fans should be satisfied as well.
Some folks think of today as college football’s version of Christmas — National Letters of Intent are flowing into programs across the country as prep players make their commitments to the colleges where they will play their college football. As of the time of this writing, NC State has received 26 NLIs from prospective players.
For more information regarding what a NLI implies, read here (pdf format) Other interesting reading is the NCAA Eligibility Center’s website, located here. Finally, the text of an NLI can be found here.
If you look at the “stars” that determine rankings of classes, State’s is relatively undistinguished: Rivals.com ranked it at #52, with zero five-star, two four-star, nineteen three-star and seven two-star athletes expected to come into the program. Make no mistake, however, these rankings are only a little better than a guessing game and not necessarily a solid predictor of future success. Add to it the fact that NC State Head Coach Tom O’Brien and his staff have a solid reputation of taking under-rated classes and turning them into solid performers and many of his former players now play football for a living. Mike Farrell or Rivals.com gives the class tepid marks, but he has to admit something that anyone who knows Tom O’Brien’s career knows: that he is a superb talent evaluator and that he recruits players into his system that are often overlooked by other coaches:
“I think State will be a little disappointed in being ranked behind Duke, but Tom O’Brien has a history of finding overachievers and players who are better than other people thought. On the surface, this doesn’t look like the best class. But I imagine this class has plenty of surprises. The State staff knows more than we know.â€
Probably the best place to follow the action is Pack Pride.com or The Wolfpacker.com, the Scout and Rivals sites (respectively) devote to Wolfpack sports.
Some recruiting and signing day articles for you:
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