Tony Creecy Commits to Wolfpack (Updated 10:15am)

Football Recruiting96

The momentum Coach Tom O’Brien has built behind this year’s recruiting class continues as Tony Creecy – another of the state’s top prospects – has committed to play football at NC State.

Southern Durham wide receiver Tony Creecy has committed to N.C. State, according to NCPreps.com.

The 6-foot, 196-pound Creecy runs a 4.5 forty yard dash, and is considered a four-star recruit by Rivals.com. He’s the No. 28 wide receiver in the country, according to the recruiting Web site.

Last season, Creecy caught 48 passes for 863 yards and five touchdowns for the Spartans.

[snip]

Creecy had 31 other offers including Clemson, Duke, East Carolina, Florida State, LSU, Maryland, North Carolina, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest.

Creecy is considered the best wide receiver prospect in the state and easily one of North Carolina’s Top 10 players. His commiment builds on a recruiting haul that may end up being one of the best in NC State football history. The Wolfpack currently has six commitment, including another 4-star/5-star commitment from the state’s best player, Robert Crisp. (We recognize that calling any player “the state’s best” is a statement of debate…especially until UNC-CH gets a commitment from anyone near the Top Five and suddenly that player will rocket to the top spot of most rankings.)

In addition to being a damn fine player, Creecy is a damn fine player at a position where State needed a young stud. The Wolfpack’s current stable of wide receivers is deep and generally young; the current core group will be able to support the program for at least the next three seasons if you choose to include JUCO commitment Tobias Palmer in the group. Heading into this season the Wolfpack boasts:

Donald Bowens R-Jr
Darrell Davis R-Jr
TJ Graham, So.
Steven Howard, R-So
Jay Smith, R-So
Owen Spencer, Jr.
Jarvis Williams R-Jr

That kind of depth provided the coaching staff the luxury of targeting TOP talent for the future as opposed to being in a position to need/have to take some rolls of the dice. After a redshirt year, Creecy projects to be added to a wide receiver corp that will include seniors TJ Graham, Jay Smith, Steven Howard and Tobias Palmer and R-Sophomores Bryan Underwood and Quintin Payton.

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96 Responses to Tony Creecy Commits to Wolfpack (Updated 10:15am)

  1. Packman02 06/23/2009 at 9:06 AM #

    ^ FSU, like NC State, now has a decent QB (Ponder is legit). THAT makes a world of difference in college FB (like I need to preach to anyone here about that).

    I think FSU is back on the upswing – but do I think they are on their way to becoming unbeatable again? NO, SIR. And as for those frustrated ‘Nole donors mentioned above – alot of that is amplified by what’s going on over in Gainesville, I’d imagine.

  2. Skillet73 06/23/2009 at 9:18 AM #

    tvp1, this is what I’m thinking for the 2 deep on the O-line Glennon’s SR year.

    LT – Rob Crisp (R-So), Duran Christophe (R-Jr)
    LG – RJ Mattes (R-Sr), Zach Allen (R-Sr)
    C – Camden Wentz (R-Jr), Torian Box (R-So)
    RG – Denzelle Good (R-Jr), Andrew Wallace (R-Sr)
    RT – Sam Jones (R-So), Tyson Chandler (R-So)

    I think the C position is the biggest toss up after seeing game film from Torian Box…he’s a beast (reminded me of a smaller Denzelle Good). I’m just giving it to Wentz because I know TOB prefers to use more experienced players.

    6’6″ 303 would be our O-line’s average size!

  3. Packman02 06/23/2009 at 9:25 AM #

    ^ Just to fan the flame of enthusiasm a little more, we’re not even taking into account that the OL mentioned above will be paving the way for the likes of Tobias Palmer, Tony Creecy and Brandon Barnes – giggity!

  4. packalum44 06/23/2009 at 11:45 AM #

    FL ST will never dominate the ACC like they once did and as USC does the PAC 10.

  5. McCallum 06/23/2009 at 4:21 PM #

    Dear SFN,

    I thank you for the response.

    My point concerns the rumblings that took place during the Amato Error and I see them here as well in another story on this site. The projections of greatness upon T Hall, Harrison Beck (he was a 4 star aint you heard), Chad Green (what the hell ever happened to him?), and any other number of commits and verbals is clear now. The idea that somehow all those guys would pan out is the same view that other schools take on the matter and it works in conjunction with the idea that State would be so stacked that few, if any, teams would be able to hold the same field as State.

    As evidence I supply the trashing State took at the hands of Clemson at Carter Finley (not The Carter either, Carter Finley) 2 years after Rivers had exited the stage. State had a supposedly stout defense and was totally dominated by a fair Clemson team. Mario Williams was handed his back end by stinking Barry Richardson the entire game. To hear State folks talk (and I have two degrees from State) nobody would be able to move the ball on that defense.

    I’m simply asking the fans that read my postings to not project anything. Allow the staff to mold and build the team and then be aware of the progress as it comes about. Do not put these guys up high and expect them to exceed your projections but allow them to make mistakes and learn. RJ Mattes, for example, has not proven anything and until he hits the field and grades out then attribute nothing to him nor against him.

    My sole point is to not project.

    Regards,

    McCallum

    There is a very good staff in place and evidence shows that teams progress in a positive manner under O’Brien and his staff.

  6. Greywolf 06/23/2009 at 8:28 PM #

    McCallum says, “My sole point is to not project.”

    Mac, But that’s what blogs and message boards do. Some of us project how good football will be and some of us project how bad basketball will be.

    Lighten up a little. It’s been a long time since we’ve had a lot to get excited about. 😉

    Grey

  7. Packman02 06/24/2009 at 9:01 AM #

    This may not be the proper forum for the following questions but I’m going to ask anyway:

    We made Evan Hailes’ Top 5 (Big DT out of VA). Going against the Vols and Hokies here, IMO – anyone have any idea if we have a legitimate shot with Evan. Was he able to make it out to Camp O’Brien?

    Also – what’s the deal with Fre’Shad Hunter and Alfy Hill? Seems like we were hot on the trail for both until the SEC offers began pouring in. Any guesses with either of these two?

  8. McCallum 06/24/2009 at 10:46 AM #

    Packman,

    This is a venture not a projection.

    I’ve studied several of the O’Brien recruits and they seem to be a cut above academic wise as compared to the last regime. This is no intended slander to the prior efforts but many, if not most, of the guys now looking at NC State seem to have their grades together.

    Setting that aside, State is a mid-tier school.(all you engineers shut up cause I really do not care how difficult hydraulics was) Grade wise the school is less difficult to get into as compared to a UVa, unc, Wake Forest, Duke, Ga Tech, Miami (which I understand is a difficult school to gain entry) and Boston College but equal to Maryland and Va Tech though roughly beyond FSU and Clemson. The Hailes kid seems to have his grades in order and might just well understand how together O’Brien and company have the organization. I believe our competition will be with Va Tech on this kid.

    Concerning the SEC: I have been to multiple games at Georgia, South Carolina, Tenn, Auburn, and LSU. The pageantry is something else and the competition for fans is limited. People down here simply do not care about pro-sports or basketball, their entire emphasis IS football. They are not burdened by poor graduation rates (example: only 26% of black football players at UGA graduate while whites hit the 85% mark), the newspapers do not play up stories about poor behavior or grades since the papers are generally staffed by local graduates and when the teams are playing most of the communities are locked in (especially in the rural areas and the southeast is highly rural). My effort here is to show that there are bright lights and the SEC is very shiny so there is no reason to not doubt that both Hill and Hunter are now looking around.

    It is the biggest and best show around but there are plenty of cracks in the armor.

    McCallum

  9. choppack1 06/24/2009 at 11:09 AM #

    McCallum – Even though I’d contend that NC State is now a football school – you are correct – there is a huge difference between the atmosphere at an NC State vs. the atmosphere at a game at UT, USC, UGa, LSU, Clemson, VaTech, OSU or FSU.

    Carter Finley has come a VERY long way in size and atmosphere – but when you enter the stadium – it still doesn’t shock you w/ its sheer mass the way the stadiums I mentioned above do.

    Still, luckily for us – many of these high school kids don’t care about these things. Some will want to stay close to home, some will look for a specific criteria regarding player development that TOB, Inc match nicely.

    However, if the “stage” and “setting” is really important to the prospect – they probably aren’t coming to State if they’ve been exposed to those other schools.

  10. Packman02 06/24/2009 at 11:26 AM #

    ^ Excellent points, above.

    McCallum and Chop – that’s an impressive list of SEC exposure. I attend at least 2 Florida games a year but have not taken in the likes of Tennessee, UGA, LSU, etc; Having experienced the impressive pagentry of games played in the Swamp, I can imagine the venues you listed to be as impressive. I have also witnessed A LOT of talent waiting patiently on the sidelines, eternally buried in the Florida depth chart. I say this to make the point that, while CF may be an inferior venue (from a size standpoint only), I would pit our coaching staff against any other in the country, in terms of the identification and development of talent – AND we have playing time available.

    So, in a nutshell, I agree with the notion that we should be a bit nervous about the local targets looking around but, at the end of the day, NC State offers the opportunity to be exceptionally coached and actually hit the field. If that’s what these guys are about – NC State is the logical choice.

  11. bradleyb123 06/24/2009 at 11:29 AM #

    All pageantry aside, when we get to the point where the best recruits believe they have as much chance to win a national championship here as anywhere else, more and more will choose us over SEC schools.

    We’re not there yet (but only because of the BCS junk). If there were a reasonable playoff system in place, I believe State COULD be there this year, and certainly within 2-3 more years.

  12. choppack1 06/24/2009 at 12:23 PM #

    bradleyb – It’s really absurd to blame the BCS system on our lack of championships.

    If we go 13-0, as long as someone else doesn’t go 13-0, we’ll be there. (A lot in the SEC would argue that THIS is unfair.) We haven’t yet reached the point yet where we can have 1 loss and be considered, but we’re putting that cart way in front of the horse.

    You’ll never realize it because you’ve obviously drank the kool-aid being fed to you by the talking heads, but NC State has a much better chance at winning a national championship in the current environment than they would in a playoff system.

    The first step for NC State is to win our division. The next is to win our conference. We do those things, and we’re on the national scene.

  13. bradleyb123 06/24/2009 at 2:20 PM #

    ^ “bradleyb – It’s really absurd to blame the BCS system on our lack of championships.”

    I’m not blaming our historical lack of championships on anything. I agree, it would be absurd to blame the BCS system for that.

    I’m saying with the BCS, I think State (or UNX, either one) could go unbeaten, and not be in the national championship game. We’d need some help from everyone else, as in losses. Some teams would probably play in the championship game with a loss before we would with no losses. It might be different if we were in the top-10 preseason, and were able to stay there and climb the rankings as we remain unbeaten. As of now, we’d have to beat everyone on our schedule CONVINCINGLY to play in the national championship game. We’d have to not only be unbeaten, but leave no shadows of doubt that we belong there.

    It’s a good old boys club. I’d rather try to finish in the top 8 or top 16 and get invited to a playoff. I think that would give us a better shot, and it should be that way anyway.

    The rankings are so subjective. I remember the year we started the season 9-0, and BARELY cracked the top-10 (or did we? We were close, I know that much…) This year, we have a weak OOC schedule (other than SC), and the ACC is thought of as a weak conference in football. So just going unbeaten probably wouldn’t be enough to get us into the national championship game.

  14. choppack1 06/24/2009 at 2:50 PM #

    “As of now, we’d have to beat everyone on our schedule CONVINCINGLY to play in the national championship game. We’d have to not only be unbeaten, but leave no shadows of doubt that we belong there.

    It’s a good old boys club. I’d rather try to finish in the top 8 or top 16 and get invited to a playoff. I think that would give us a better shot, and it should be that way anyway.

    The rankings are so subjective.”

    You say that – but we simply haven’t encountered that scenario yet. Has a team from a BCS conference ever run the table and missed out where there is only one undefeated team since the new BCS formula was updated?

    Right now, in order to win a national championship, NC State may only have to win one game vs. a team in the Top 5. With a playoff system, it’s likely they’d have to win 2 or 3 of these teams. According to you, we’d have a better chance to go 12-1, 11-2 or 10-3 in our conference and beat USC, some SEC powerhouse, and some other powerhouse to win a championship. I think we’ve got a better shot at going 12-0 in our sorry conference and beating USC.

    You also make (I think a foolish) assumption that these things stop being subjective. Especially w/ an 8 game playoff – you’d still have the opportunity to be left out – depending on the playoff model.

    I’d tell you that our current system – while flawed – is merit-based. Like most schools, NC State falls in the category of “Must go undefeated to warrant consideration”. In this sense, we’re no different than Arizona, Arizona State, Purdue, UConn, Ole Miss, etc…If you are a team w/ a great recent history, you’ll merit consideration w/ 1 loss. We certainly aren’t there yet.

    Of course, our biggest problem is there is no great opponent that can put us on the map as a legit team. Quite frankly, if we’re going to be the program we want to be – we need to remember that when it comes to scheduling.

  15. packalum44 06/24/2009 at 3:33 PM #

    ^ Easy guys. Let’s win an ACC first, 2009, then we’ll resume this National Championship talk next year! 🙂

  16. McCallum 06/24/2009 at 3:54 PM #

    choppack,

    The state of North Carolina simply has a number of items which stand in the way of any school building anything close to what you see in the SEC. Not that it is impossible to build but there is a culture in place that allows the SEC to far surpass the ACC and specifically the North Carolina schools.

    A) Look at the schools you listed: UT, USC, UGa, LSU, Clemson, VaTech, OSU or FSU. Three of those schools (UT, LSU and OSU) have no rival in state and they can claim nearly all of the decent talent within their borders. (there is not that much football talent in Tenn BTW so the rise of Bama has destroyed those fertile grounds of north Alabama that Tenn once ruled). USC and Clemson have the run of a very small state while UGa has had the run of Georgia for nearly 10 years (I live here and 90% of the population is pro-UGA) and Georgia has a population slightly larger than NC (9.3 million people). Va Tech also has a single in state school to compete with while having its way with the 8 plus million people in Virginia.

    FSU is having trouble IMO for a number of reasons, the main bulk of those are 1) being in the ACC from an admittance view, 2) in state competition between Miami, Florida, Central Florida and South Florida, 3) an old worn out coach

    B) You must spend some time in states like Tenn, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama to understand what games mean in the fall. Since the education systems in those states have always been piss poor, the single state university or its sister institution (Auburn to Bama, Miss State to Miss) have always produced the bulk of the college grads who in turn run much of the business, teach in the schools as well as run the print media. You will not get bad stories about LSU from the papers in Alexandria, Shreveport, Lake Charles, and so forth. The population is attuned to loving all things LSU. I can pretty solidly say the same about Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Tenn. The problem is much worse (or better considering your team) in states like Tenn or Louisiana.

    C) Most of the SEC schools have their stadium on campus. Go to games at LSU, UGA, Tenn, Ole’ Miss etc and you immediately are drawn back to the campus and you can relate to your time there. All of the schools are welcoming and open to the alumni which is something NC State has no concept about. There is a timeless nature to SEC football and one generation can pass along the view to the next without fear of 4 hrs to tailgate before a game.

    NC State games, and I have been to tons and I have cooked at tons, are more like going some other place for a game, it is bland and abstract. It simply does not have the feel of what a college football game should be like since it is not on campus.

    D) There is too much competition for fans and media attention in North Carolina. North Carolina also has multiple large cities where many of the other southern states do not. Look at the schools competing for fans and attention in NC: ECU, Duke, unc, Wake Forest and North Carolina State coupled with a very large school in Boone (bigger than Clemson) which has a very good program. In other states you have no where near this level of competition for the fans and my point is that it makes coaching in the state of North Carolina very difficult.

    E) NC State is a contemporary nightmare. It destroys any and all semblances of tradition. Go to a UGA game and the entire crowd knows fight songs and cheers while the band dominates the tone and mood of the stadium. The best Raleigh can produce these days is that damn Dumbo-Tron and the commercials for TV 50. I can only hope they dropped the Braveheart charge clip that drove me from Carter Finley years ago.

    State can be loud, it has a nice feel but until the administration opens the gates earlier and understands mood and tone in the stadium then Carter Finley will lag other places IMO. Turn up the band and turn down the Dumbo-Tron.

    McCallum

  17. packalum44 06/24/2009 at 4:27 PM #

    ^ Thanks for sharing your perspective. I haven’t been to any SEC games but plan to go to a GA game this fall.

    IMO, the biggest difference between us and the SEC is they win. Sure there are reasons why and you share good insight. Someone else could make counter-arguments and compile a completely new and insightful list. The cool thing about TOB is the list would seem like “excuses” to him.

    When we win and become nationally relevant the party at CF will only get wilder. I can tell you it has the potential to rock the ACC world. From what my friends tell me, USC tailgating or stadium has nothing on NC State tailgating and CF (quality over quantity).

  18. McCallum 06/24/2009 at 5:59 PM #

    “The cool thing about TOB is the list would seem like “excuses” to him.”-packalum44

    Now I’m so old fashion I still believe in horse whipping (thus I never use the term cool) but your statement is spot on because O’Brien and his crew put their heads down and go to work. He is not a Woody Hayes type but watch and listen to Woody Hayes concerning hard work, study and progress. Big points with me running the North Carolina state flag out onto the field.

    If you go to a Georgia game it is always interesting to see how many people the visiting team brings with them. All the SEC teams travel well except Vandy. Quality of food cooked in Raleigh is not matched by many with the exception of LSU. UGA is way overrated on the tailgating item, beautiful campus but it is filled with people getting smashed. They do their eating at all the restaurants around campus so the cooking is not hitting on much.

    Reminds me about seeing a 6’10” guy in the parking lot beside Sanford Stadium a few years ago prior to the Tenn game. This guy is wearing a NY Mets jersey to a Georgia game so I walk past him and swear like hell he looks like Tom Gugliotta. Sure enough it was Gugs and he was pounding Bud Lights.

    McCallum

  19. bradleyb123 06/24/2009 at 6:13 PM #

    ^ “You also make (I think a foolish) assumption that these things stop being subjective. Especially w/ an 8 game playoff – you’d still have the opportunity to be left out – depending on the playoff model.”

    Oh, absolutely. But selecting the top two teams is foolish. In a playoff there will ALWAYS be someone left out in the cold. At least with eight teams, there will be SIX additional teams that were not left out. That’s better than nothing.

    I didn’t mean for this to become a debate about playoffs vs. BCS bowls anyway. Obviously, I think a playoff is always better. I’m not sure where you stand on that, chop, but it sounds like you are a BCS guy. That’s fine, I don’t even care to debate that anyway. We just have differing opinions on how likely we would be to get that championship bowl bid. I like to THINK an undefeated year would get us in. But we would STILL need every other team to get at least one loss. If there are three undefeated teams, say Texas, Florida and NC State, who do you think would be left holding their jock straps? That’s my point. We would almost certainly need help, meaning other teams getting losses (which is what I already said earlier).

    I agree that we’re more likely to run the table in our weak conference, and pull off a win against USC for a national championship than to win 2-3 HUGE games in a playoff. But I think we’re more like to win that playoff than to even GET INVITED to the championship game.

  20. Packman02 06/25/2009 at 8:54 AM #

    DT Thomas Teal is in the house. Don’t get distracted by the lack of stars next to his name – this is a huge win for the DL (kid plays guard in high school but projects as a NT).

    Check out some of the footage on him from ESPN:

    http://insider.espn.go.com/ncf/recruiting/tracker/player?recruitId=92713&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncf%2frecruiting%2ftracker%2fplayer%3frecruitId%3d92713

    (Hope that link works!)

    My takeaway is that this kid is a great pickup; he really appears to have some speed for someone 315 lbs. (and his ESPN evaulation says as much – good ‘sleeper’ DT prospect). Scout and Rivals don’t display that he also had offers from Illinois, Baylor and Duke – so we weren’t the only BCS schools in on this kid. Just got him early – ANOTHER great job by the staff of spotting and securing top flight talent early on.

    Very excited about how we could potentially close this class out!

  21. choppack1 06/25/2009 at 11:18 AM #

    bradleyb – It’s not that I’m huge BCS fan – I actually think they have done themselves a huge disservice in some of the matchups they’ve had for the championships and other BCS bowl games. However, I just think most of this playoff noise is being generated by people who really have nothing to lose by having a playoff. I think there’s a huge risk with a playoff in that you’ll be forever changing a game – which continues to grow in popularity and interest – for the worse.

    Playoff advocates need to be careful about what they are asking for. Simply put, the big dogs (tOSU, Michigan, Florida, USC, etc) and ESPN doesn’t care if most schools totally lose interest in college football. However, it’s my opinion that schools like NC State, Rutgers, Wisconsin, and Texas Tech have the most to lose in a system because it makes their miracle “run” that much more difficult.

  22. bradleyb123 06/25/2009 at 11:34 AM #

    Chop, I get what you’re saying. You’re not wrong. But I guess I don’t think in terms of wanting a miracle run, though. I want NC State to build a powerful team that has just as much chance of winning a playoff as any of those other teams.

    In the near future, or the short run, the most likely scenario is the miracle run (and hoping for every other team to lose at least once). But I don’t like having to depend on several GREAT teams to get at least one loss. That makes the “miracle run” even more miraculous. With a playoff, we don’t have to depend on that. We only have to depend on ourselves.

    But putting NC State aside for a minute, I think a playoff is the most FAIR way of determining the national championship. That’s the main reason I want a playoff anyway. I don’t want to keep the BCS system just because State might have a better shot at a miracle run. Keeping what I think is a bad system in place JUST so State can maybe pull off a miracle is not the way I want it to happen. I’ve wanted a playoff since I’ve been watching college football. There’s just no sense in hand-picking two teams to play for a national championship.

    People talk about the BCS system “working” when the #1 and #2 teams face each other for the championship. I would argue that EVEN THEN it doesn’t work. Because the goal should be to pick a handful of teams (as many as can feasibly be picked) and let them settle it on the field like men, not to hand pick the two teams we THINK are the best to play for the championship.

  23. choppack1 06/25/2009 at 12:37 PM #

    bradleyb – It’s all perspective…If you look at the college football season as a 12-13 game playoff (which in fact it is) – I think you can get an idea why the fans are so passionate.

    Did you watch the Texas-Texas Tech game this year? Throw a playoff in there – and there’s a good chance, fewer people watch it.

    Like I said, playoff proponents should be prepared to accept the fact that they can potentially ruin college football – and be willing to accept that risk.

  24. CaptainCraptacular 06/25/2009 at 1:07 PM #

    I’m on the fence about the BCS and playoff argument but if there’s one thing I am sure of, it’s that the 12-13 game college regular season is absolutely not a playoff. If it were, then Auburn in 04, Boise State in 06, Utah in 08 just to name a few wouldve had an opportunity to play for the so called BCS championship. In a single elimination playoff, these teams did not get eliminated.

  25. bradleyb123 06/25/2009 at 2:27 PM #

    ^ “bradleyb – It’s all perspective…If you look at the college football season as a 12-13 game playoff (which in fact it is) – I think you can get an idea why the fans are so passionate.”

    It may seem that way, but it isn’t. It seems every year a few teams finish this so-called “playoff” unbeaten, yet do not get invited to the big dance of football (which also happens to be the smallest “big dance” in the world!) Yet some teams lose one game, and rather than being eliminated from the “playoff”, they get to play for all the marbles. The regular season has all the importance of a playoff, so I get why people like to think of it as one. But let’s not kid ourselves. It isn’t. The BCS system is a farce and the only reason we have bowls is because of money.

    ^ “Did you watch the Texas-Texas Tech game this year? Throw a playoff in there – and there’s a good chance, fewer people watch it.”

    I don’t get this. As long as they play the game, who isn’t going to watch it? If that game is played, and it’s on TV, I’m watching it. Unless State is playing at the same time. 🙂

    ^ “Like I said, playoff proponents should be prepared to accept the fact that they can potentially ruin college football – and be willing to accept that risk.”

    If it ruins the game, which I don’t see any reason it would, we could always call it a failed playoff experiment and go back to the bowls. The way I see it, the BCS system is already making a joke out of college football.

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