Sammy Batten: ‘You have to give the edge to NC State’

'10 Football ACC & Other Football Recruiting49

As football recruiting for 2010 comes down the home stretch and National Signing Day (Feb. 3) approaches, schools in North Carolina and elsewhere are scrambling to try and wrap up commitments from those recruits still trying to make decisions.

Sammy Batten, from the ACC Sports Journal, broke down recruiting in the state Wednesday and declared NC State the ‘winner’ overall.

Batten also looked at how well both schools from North Carolina and schools from the ACC performed in-state. According to Scout.com, 17 of the Top 30 recruits in the state have committed to in-state schools. 20 of those 30 will end up in the ACC.

Here’s a list of current NC commitments.

N.C. State (19)
Name Pos. Ht./Wt. Stars^ High School/Junior College
David Amerson DB 6-2/180 4/3 Greensboro (NC) Dudley
Torian Box OL 6-3/295 3/3 College Park (GA) North Clayton
Tyler Brosius QB 6-3/230 3/3 Wayneseville (NC) Tuscola
Tyson Chandler% OL 6-6/340 4/3 Fork Union (VA) Military
Anthony Creecy WR 6-0/195 4/4 Durham (NC) Southern
Robert Crisp OL 6-7/300 5/5 Hillsborough (NC) Cedar Ridge
A.J. Ferguson%-S DE 6-2/250 3/3 Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military
D.J. Green S 6-4/200 3/3 Macon (GA) Westside
Fre’Shad Hunter DE 6-5/245 4/4 Cary (NC) High
Dontae Johnson DB 6-3/180 3/3 Pennington (NJ) School
Andy Jomantas OL 6-7/255 2/3 Dayton (OH) Chaminade-Julienne
Art Norman DE 6-1225 2/- Chamblee (GA) High
Mikel Overgaard-S OL 6-7/270 3/2 Ephraim (UT) Snow Collegee
Tobais Palmer# RB/WR 5-10/165 3/3 Milledgeville (GA) Georgia Military
Raynard Randolph% DT 6-2/325 2/3 Chatham (VA) Hargrave Military
Theodore Rich DE 6-3/225 2/2 Portal (GA) High
Peter Singer DB 5-11/175 2/2 Hillsborough (NC) Cedar Ridge
Thomas Teal DT 6-2/330 3/3 Bennettsville (SC) Marlboro County
Logan Winkles FB 6-0/240 3/2 Thomaston (GA) Upson Lee

After breaking down top players like Robert Crisp and David Amerson, both committed to NC State, Batten discussed just how well teams did in the annual scramble to get commitments.

By landing four of the top 11 prospects and the state’s top quarterback, you have to give the edge to N.C. State. Offensive tackle Robert Crisp, safety David Amerson and wide receiver Anthony Creecy will make an immediate impact for the Wolfpack next fall, while defensive lineman Fre’Shad Hunter has the potential to excel if he can get back on track after being suspended for most of his final high school season. Quarterback Tyler Brosius was a real bonus pickup for N.C. State after first committing to Virginia.

North Carolina only snared one top 10 prospect in offensive tackle, T.J. Leifheit, but the Tar Heels also picked up some big-time athletes in safety P.J. Clyburn, linebackers Ty Linton and Darius Lipford, defensive end Kareem Martin and wide receiver Reggie Wilkins. Wilkins defected from N.C. State just a week before signing day.

Perhaps the biggest surprise among the ACC teams working the state was Duke. The Blue Devils have nine in-state players committed, one of its biggest hauls from North Carolina. Traditionally, the school hasn’t mined much of its roster from the state, but that has changed dramatically under David Cutcliffe.

'10 Football ACC & Other Football Recruiting

49 Responses to Sammy Batten: ‘You have to give the edge to NC State’

  1. Pack05 01/28/2010 at 8:56 AM #

    IMO it’s a decent to good class but I just feel we have to much ground to make up and not enough time. We are small / undersized at many positions and not fast or atheletic enough to close the gap. Duke had better “atheletes” than us which was shocking. We are so far away and if not for RW we could have endured terrible beating after beating. We did anyway in some games even with him. I think TOB somehow has to manage a winning record this year, i just don’t see it happening or he has to be removed cause i don’t want to see the life sucked out of football the way it has been in basketball.

    Edit: If we don’t have a new AD in May then nevermind.

  2. D_Medlin 01/28/2010 at 9:03 AM #

    I don’t believe Duke has better athletes than NC State, at least not overall.

    The Duke loss had way more to do with Thad Lewis playing out of his mind and the Wolfpack making two bone-headed special teams plays, not Duke being more athletic.

  3. ncsufan13 01/28/2010 at 9:11 AM #

    ^ The Duke loss had to do with our defense being so awful that everyone in the conference could put up ridiculous numbers on us. Duke just took advantage of the weakest part of our already embarrassing defense, the pass coverage.

  4. Pack05 01/28/2010 at 9:12 AM #

    They looked faster to me. Our linebackers and secondary were getting burned left and right. Maybe it’s the scheme that makes them look slow and small. The coach is responsible for the scheme though so hopefully that gets adjusted in some manner. Thad wasn’t making passes into small windows.. I could of hit those guys they were so wide open. But regardless, on average do you feel like we stack up athlete to athlete with most ACC teams?

    Edit: 2 deep to 2 deep

  5. D_Medlin 01/28/2010 at 9:16 AM #

    With most ACC teams, yes. With top tier ACC teams, no.

    And Pack05, go watch the game again. A few of Lewis’ passes were fit into extremely tight windows. One of his touchdowns could have been touched by four, yes four, NC State defenders but was thrown absolutely perfectly and made it through the crowd.

  6. Pack05 01/28/2010 at 9:21 AM #

    I will, I have it on DVR…

    Do you think we will have a winning record this coming year? Losing our top guys on the Dline on Defense combined with the back 7 could be very tough sledding. Just curious what your personal feeling about how next season will play out is.

  7. wolfie91 01/28/2010 at 9:22 AM #

    D_Medlin, I do think Lewis was in the zone in that game. How many quarterbacks are going to complete 80% of their passes, even against a poor secondary? You don’t even see D1 guys doing that much against D2 teams.

  8. Statefan1998 01/28/2010 at 9:36 AM #

    Solid recruiting class, filled all positions on the field. Some lack talent and it seems we took some guys just to say we filled the position, but overall I think it looks good. I think as far as the season goes, 6-6 with Wilson, 4-8 without. Either way the heat will be turned up on TOB, and he will be given one more year to turn it around. The good thing is, if he is let go the talent left on the roster should be pretty good for the next guy, hopefully a guy like Jim Grobe.

  9. D_Medlin 01/28/2010 at 9:40 AM #

    Pack05,

    I think the opportunity for a winning record is there, but it will be tough. With the addition of Cincinnati to the non-conference schedule, there is one less “gimme” game early on. That being said, a late November trip to ECU looks a lot better with the Pirates losing 28 seniors and adding a new coach.

    Losing the best guys on the defensive line will hurt, but the back seven should be a lot better. All of those guys will have another year of experience under their belts and should play better.

    If the Pack can go 3-1 in its non-conference schedule, which features games against Cincy, UCF, Western Carolina and ECU, a winning record is definitely within reach.

  10. ldr of the pk 75 01/28/2010 at 9:52 AM #

    That we are concerned over whether or not we have a winning record or not is a telling statement about where we are.

    It’s always WTNY. I’m afraid I’ll have to wait till I’m dead.

    I don’t believe our prospects are as gloomy in Football as Basketball. But, how long are we all willing to wait for some production of a good product from any of our sports teams? We all pull for the Pack, but how long before people start to become indifferent, particularly with the checkbook?

  11. D_Medlin 01/28/2010 at 9:54 AM #

    ldr of the pk 75,

    Thanks for that riveting comment.

  12. PackerInRussia 01/28/2010 at 10:13 AM #

    Was Reggie Wilkins the one who was originally committed to UNC, switched to the Pack…and now he’s gone back again?

  13. WolfQuacker 01/28/2010 at 10:13 AM #

    I fear the UNC haul is going to increase significantly between now and signing day. I really wish we had a shot at a few of the top prospects still up in the air. Seems we always have a really decent class 3 weeks prior to the deadline, but then get lost on signing day. Hope I’m wrong, but I have a feeling Davis has some tricks up his sleeve. Kareem Martin was a strong commit that nobody seems to be talking about. Surprising to me is Duke’s recruiting class, which seems quite weak to me – I thought Cut would really make waves in this arena.

  14. Pack05 01/28/2010 at 10:19 AM #

    The schedule is a good deal tougher and I worry of RW’s decision. I think Glennon is going to be fine but he will not make up the void in his first season of play … nor would I expect him to. I just think we are going to have to continue to score a large number of points to be successful. I do think the Defense will improve but it’s got a long way to go. I’m concerned with the scheme.

    Recruiting:
    Looks like we might be adding RB Musta Greene to that list very soon. That would be a solid pickup.

    Seems Bowens and Morgan may be gone which would open more spots.. not sure if we have anything solidly lined up past Greene though.

    ……………………..

    Spring Game: (outlook)
    I hope we are able to keep the spring game on the upswing. I took my fiancé last year (UF gator) and she was impressed.. she thought it was going to be few people and weak but was very impressed with the stadium, turnout and had a great time… the weather was awesome to boot. It’s a great recruiting tool for us in this state / conference.

  15. VaWolf82 01/28/2010 at 10:27 AM #

    The cross-divisional games are GT (away) and VT (home). Throw in UNC and that may be the hardest schedule in our division.

  16. Sam92 01/28/2010 at 11:26 AM #

    i’ve just been starved for a football entry so i think this is great — and it does look like we’re making a decent haul here.

    football was so disappointing this last year – the third year is when a new coach should begin to really show is stuff, and we actually were worse than TOB’s second year, man was that disheartening

    this class looks pretty good, but most of them will not be on the field this upcoming season – and if TOB doesn’t show marked improvement, i will totally lose faith, and my mind

    i’m glad we’ve got a pretty good class, but i wouldn’t be surprised if UNC makes up some ground between now and signing day

  17. bradleyb123 01/28/2010 at 11:53 AM #

    ^ The Duke loss had to do with our defense being so awful that everyone in the conference could put up ridiculous numbers on us. Duke just took advantage of the weakest part of our already embarrassing defense, the pass coverage.

    Duke players said we did nothing different from what they had seen on our game films. Our poor defense made them look even better than they were. Thad Lewis also looked like Superman that day.

  18. bradleyb123 01/28/2010 at 11:59 AM #

    I don’t believe our prospects are as gloomy in Football as Basketball.

    I actually think the opposite. I’m not confident in our football team’s defense. TOB said things like we weren’t playing at full speed because of the youth in our secondary. Presumably, he thinks they will be better next year with more experience. I don’t buy it. I think they’ll probably be a little better, of course. But I can’t see them being so much better that our defensive woes will be cured. I think our problems on defense are related to our DC, who will be back next year, unfortunately.

    I don’t expect much next year in football the way I expected a little something special this year. We didn’t seem to carry over the momentum that we had going at the end of the 2008 season. And we don’t exactly have much momentum right now that could carry into 2010. Never mind that we lost Toney Baker, and quite possibly will lose Russell Wilson. Even with Russell, I don’t much like our chances in 2010. Without him, and we’ll be lucky to win four games. That’s a pretty grim outlook if you ask me.

    In basketball, we’re already better than expected for this team. And we’re really just losing Horner and Degand for next year. Degand is a tough loss. But look what we’re bringing in. I don’t see how anyone can think basketball has a more gloomy outlook than football. In basketball, there is a little hope for next year. In football, not so much.

  19. Thinkpack17 01/28/2010 at 12:17 PM #

    I thought this season was the year we were expecting the breakthrough and were looking to really compete for the ACC crown? Is this not the word anymore? What has changed?

    Also in Basketball you are only 1 guard away. One great player can take you from a bubble NIT team to a solid NCAA team. Not so in football, a lot of ground work has to be laid.

  20. WolftownVA81 01/28/2010 at 12:23 PM #

    Sort of related to our overall prospects for next year….anyone hearing of any coaching changes (special teams/defensive coordinator)? News on this front would give me more reason to be hopeful for FB next year.

  21. packplantpath 01/28/2010 at 12:26 PM #

    “thought this season was the year we were expecting the breakthrough and were looking to really compete for the ACC crown? Is this not the word anymore? What has changed?”

    Last year happened. To go from the suckitude of last year, to division champs would be a miracle. I expect the defense to be bad next year. How bad depends on Irving.

    “Duke players said we did nothing different from what they had seen on our game films. ”

    I think this is normal. Teams don’t really do anything “different” from game to game very much in football. It’s all a matter of how well they execute the same plays. Sure, there could be a few minor changes to exploit a purported weakness or two, but nothing drastic.

    I would love to hear some of the former players chime in on that though.

  22. Wolfy__79 01/28/2010 at 12:29 PM #

    i am so far past last season.. . mostly courtesy of the happenings with NCSU basketball. the football team was clearly hurt with the absence of nate… not saying he would have solved all the problems but he could have improved our pass defense by actually having the guys lined up and given the correct responsibilities. i never would have thought one player would have made such a difference. anyway, i’m over it.

    i truly expect NCSU football to compete for first place in our division this coming season. forget what we don’t have. if TOB is the man for the job, he will have a much improved defense despite losses and a maturing offense. obviously that may take a hit if RW decides to move on. glennon should be able to step onto the field and win some games. the ceiling is higher with RW, but glennon can take over and win. if we can get better running the ball.. our offense should be better overall.

    our schedule looks good to me. we have to forget what everyone else is doing and focus on what we need to do. that kind of schedule has ACC championship written all over it!!

  23. Pack05 01/28/2010 at 12:33 PM #

    Coaching Changes:

    If there is a shake up it would happen a few weeks after signing day. I would think it’s highly doubtful though. Just doesn’t seem the “TOB” way.

    I pray for Irving.. that kid got mangled. I hope for a T.Baker style recovery and return (making it back to the field and being productive) but he is not even expected to be back for summer practice correct? Anyone heard anything regarding his recovery recently?

  24. MA Wolfpack 01/28/2010 at 12:40 PM #

    Agree…I think Basketball has a much more positive outlook than Football. With that said, I’m hoping TOB knows what he is doing and is building something that we cannot easily see.

  25. packfan03 01/28/2010 at 12:41 PM #

    @Lee_Folwer: obrien calls to tell me he’s got mustafa green. who cares, tom? I don’t have any idea what a mustafa is, much less what colors they come in.

    Classic Folwer. Someone get him to write a post for this site, in character, immediately. I could go for a “state of state” address from Mr. Lee Folwer.

    Can’t wait for Mr. Irving to get back on the field. Our defense will be upgraded instantly. Also, he rocks the 1980s mid drift jersey in the most intimidating way I have ever seen.

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