Top Recruits

Lets take a look back at some of NC State Footballs top recruits and how they have done for the program!

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Host

Logan Brumley

What is In The Den?

"In The Den" with host Logan Brumley covers everything from the NC State Wolfpack's NCAA, intramural and club sports. "In The Den" is a podcast from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2 at NC State University.

Logan Brumley: Hello and welcome to WKNC official sports podcast in a den.
Logan Brumley: So as of yesterday, you know, yesterday of recording NC State lost in the Auburn regional to Auburn in like an elimination game 1713, there was that really odd pitch violation.
Logan Brumley: I kind of secured the game and stopped to come back pretty late in the game.
Logan Brumley: This was Elliott offense last game as head coach of the NC State baseball team.
Logan Brumley: In the next episode, I will be going a little more in depth and checking, you know, kind of his career, his legacy at NC State and then going a little bit more into Chris Hart and you know, more about him as a manager, his past, his experience and what he could mean for State as well.
Logan Brumley: Today I do have kind of a more filler episode.
Logan Brumley: You know, we're heading into the summer so things are going to be less intensive, but I decided to try to do a little fun.
Logan Brumley: One the top 10 biggest NC State football recruits in history.
Logan Brumley: I did kind of keep it post 2000 for simplicity sakes.
Logan Brumley: I don't really have enough time on my hands to like go really in depth into anything back then when it was just like a lot of newspapers and you know, it was more regional recruited and it was more.
Logan Brumley: You kind of had to figure out what hype looked like back then.
Logan Brumley: But yeah, so I will.
Logan Brumley: You know, that's going to be our topic for today's episode.
Logan Brumley: Get your headphones on and let's get straight to it.
Logan Brumley: You know, in the past few years, NC State has been a solid recruiting program.
Logan Brumley: I mean, if you look at some of the more recent ones, you know, Payton Wilson, all American.
Logan Brumley: You know, there was also Terrell Anderson before he left the Rivers family.
Logan Brumley: But a real big question to kind of ask is how well has NC State done in capturing, you know, the bigger dogs of college football?
Logan Brumley: You know, being able to throw their names in the hat of some of the biggest recruits in the country and what has that been for nc State in their history?
Logan Brumley: You're gonna see a lot of similar kind of years show up when it was, you know, really big in the what's his name, the Tim O'Brien years and the Chuck Amato years.
Logan Brumley: And you'll kind of see that coming with, you know, wanting to go play with Rivers and then trying to find something for themselves afterwards.
Logan Brumley: But I will start with I got two honorable mentions first up in transfer portal.
Logan Brumley: Honorable mention.
Logan Brumley: I couldn't find any like top transfer portals.
Logan Brumley: I mean it didn't like really kind of kick off to like regular usage until early 2020s, but I did Find sure this name will ring a bell to a lot of State fans, sort of both fortunately and unfortunately.
Logan Brumley: Brennan Armstrong, quarterback from the Virginia Cavaliers.
Logan Brumley: I wouldn't say he's legendary, but he does hold records with passing yards, touchdowns.
Logan Brumley: They did have a losing record with them, but it was also a very tumultuous time.
Logan Brumley: Post pandemic for Virginia, he chose to come back to nc.
Logan Brumley: Well, not come back.
Logan Brumley: He chose to go to NC State for his last year of eligibility to play with former offensive coordinator Robert Anay.
Logan Brumley: I think I'm pronouncing it right or a nay, but see where he said who's now the offensive coordinator for Utah State, if that helps you with any of that.
Logan Brumley: He had a rough time with the Wolf Pack.
Logan Brumley: He threw for 900 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions in those first four games.
Logan Brumley: I think they went like 2-2.
Logan Brumley: There wasn't really much of an offensive spark for the team at the time.
Logan Brumley: So he was benched for MJ Morris and MJ Morris, held like a little bit medium after it and kind of tapered away for Armstrong come back in, win four straight and then lose in the Pop Tart Bowl.
Logan Brumley: I believe to it was either Will Howard or Avery Johnson.
Logan Brumley: I think it was Avery Johnson because Will Howard transferred over to Ohio State at that time.
Logan Brumley: Yeah, this was I think the last quarterback before the C.J.
Logan Brumley: Bailey era that we're currently in because yeah it was Brendan Armstrong recruited him, Grayson McCall, they recruited C.J.
Logan Brumley: Bailey.
Logan Brumley: Now we're here with football so you know a little bit of a disappointment there but honorable mention K.J.
Logan Brumley: Caldwell recently has kind of been a major transfer for NC State.
Logan Brumley: He was at 12th all time.
Logan Brumley: He chose NC State over 30 different schools.
Logan Brumley: See yeah he chose it over like Arkansas, Auburn, Duke.
Logan Brumley: He was recruited by Duke, Tennessee, Vanderbilt.
Logan Brumley: So he was looking to stay close to home but he eventually chose NC State.
Logan Brumley: Trying to see why he chose NC State.
Logan Brumley: It's probably just because that secondary so bad family oriented culture.
Logan Brumley: See he built connection with co defense coordinator Charlton Warren and recently we did a trip.
Logan Brumley: So I mean let's hope that it goes great for him.
Logan Brumley: We'll see but won't waste too much more of your time.
Logan Brumley: Let's go into the top 10.
Logan Brumley: Number 10 won't be all dramatic.
Logan Brumley: Johnny Frazier, running back from Princeton High School 2015 saw a major collection of running back prospects that come out come to Raleigh.
Logan Brumley: Most notably was Nyhiem Hines, Reggie Gillaspie and the guy who's supposed to be the top dog of those three, Johnny Frazier.
Logan Brumley: He was Initially supposed to go to Florida State, but a visit during an NC State, Florida game or Florida State game made him flip just out of nowhere.
Logan Brumley: Surprised he cited a fan.
Logan Brumley: Basically, community was his biggest reason.
Logan Brumley: He was the second highest running back crew and was a big grab in the top 30 recruiting class.
Logan Brumley: He was behind on the depth chart, you know, in the first few years seeing no more than seven carries a game.
Logan Brumley: However, shoulder injury against Louisville did sideline him for the rest of that season and he eventually retired.
Logan Brumley: Because of.
Logan Brumley: Well, he entered the transfer portal because of academic struggles, injuries and being buried in the running back.
Logan Brumley: Heavy depth chart.
Logan Brumley: It was just he was supposed to be the number one guy.
Logan Brumley: Didn't see much of it, got hurt, struggled academically.
Logan Brumley: It was a major bust.
Logan Brumley: Who knows what could have been?
Logan Brumley: I mean a Heinz, Gillespie, Frazier running back trio does sound really good or at least it did at the time.
Logan Brumley: Maybe going to Florida State would have been better off for him.
Logan Brumley: Who knows.
Logan Brumley: The only thing I could find on him outside of NC State is that he might have played a little bit for Fayetteville State in 2019, but no official documentation on that regard.
Logan Brumley: All right, number nine, Tramain hall, cornerback, Deerfield Beach High School in Florida.
Logan Brumley: He was one of those dual prospects of receiver, defensive back.
Logan Brumley: He was recruited as a defensive back; I guess his primary position.
Logan Brumley: He didn't, let's see, he didn't have any big goals in the state coming out of high school, but chose to go to Amato's coaching staff.
Logan Brumley: He did struggle with eligibility, which is something that the program kept going.
Logan Brumley: I couldn't find any official reasoning for that either, but I know Amato is kind of like, hey, we're going to keep their cars close to the chess on that one.
Logan Brumley: He wasn't able to come right out of high school to play.
Logan Brumley: It looks like he spent a year at Los Angeles Valley College.
Logan Brumley: Again, this was 2001.
Logan Brumley: There's not much information on it, but he was able to qualify for more eligibility with the 4-2-4 rule, which is four year college, two year student code and then some more.
Logan Brumley: Four years, as long as you have a 2.0 GPA and a red shirt.
Logan Brumley: It all accumulated with a standing ovation on his first reception with Phil Rivers.
Logan Brumley: This was, you know, in the middle of the Phil Rivers kind of era.
Logan Brumley: He managed to become NC State's number two receiver late in the Phil Rivers era.
Logan Brumley: Now Crotchery and hall, he had three plus games of 100 yards and totaled almost 800 with seven touchdowns.
Logan Brumley: However, when Rivers left his production Started to fall, it was like it took him two years to get to the stats he had in that one year.
Logan Brumley: However, he did have the athletic talent.
Logan Brumley: He was able to find himself on a new DFA spot with the Titans and then eventually played in Europe.
Logan Brumley: His most notable career story that I have listed as being a major catalyst for a fight against UNC when he slammed it to Mike Mason while returning a punt.
Logan Brumley: So, I mean, this is one where, you know, he wasn't the elite cornerback that he was recruited to be, but receiver wise, he was really solid.
Logan Brumley: Was it a major return on investment?
Logan Brumley: I would say sure.
Logan Brumley: I mean if you had a grade, it'd be like a C plus, probably, maybe a B minus.
Logan Brumley: All right, 2002 had our next one.
Logan Brumley: A.J. Davis, cornerback from Northern High School in Durham.
Logan Brumley: All American cornerback and one of the top recruits in the state.
Logan Brumley: He was even North Carolina high school athlete of the year and chose to get into state due to their recent success.
Logan Brumley: Coming off the 113 season with of course Philip Rivers.
Logan Brumley: After a strong freshman year with two interceptions, he seemed to struggle to produce in his, you know, couple next years.
Logan Brumley: 2005 To 2006, he didn't really have much, but 2007 he got ACC comeback player for year when he got two sacks, a two tackle for loss and two more interceptions.
Logan Brumley: His physical skill sets and talents were in full display because, you know, he was a reliable defensive asset.
Logan Brumley: Again, not a star like you would expect from an all American and top recruit.
Logan Brumley: But for, you know, being a starter, he was not too Shabby.
Logan Brumley: Became a 4th round pick with the Lions and was a career practice squad player.
Logan Brumley: Reliable starter.
Logan Brumley: This is kind of like A again, if we're doing grades, it would be a B.
Logan Brumley: He was someone who maybe did not necessarily kind of become an elite prospect, but he was definitely really solid for the team.
Logan Brumley: Who's next?
Logan Brumley: Number seven, Darrell Blackman, running back from Williamsport Area High School in Pennsylvania.
Logan Brumley: He was a legend there at high school.
Logan Brumley: Two all state selections and a jersey number retirement as a running back.
Logan Brumley: He even played in the All American bowl before his recruitment.
Logan Brumley: We're starting to get into like, you know, the premier, like big dogs, the top five recruits.
Logan Brumley: But you know, NC State rarely gets five star recruits in football and I think we're starting to get to the category where these guys are.
Logan Brumley: NC State seemed to be a favorite variant early on since he took a visit in his junior year and committed during the senior.
Logan Brumley: It's 2003 so there isn't too much information on who was trying to Recruit him.
Logan Brumley: I don't think that anyone in his home state was trying to recruit him.
Logan Brumley: Let me double check this real quick.
Logan Brumley: Five schools were listed.
Logan Brumley: Sorry.
Logan Brumley: No, that's.
Logan Brumley: Okay.
Logan Brumley: I can't get.
Logan Brumley: I can't seem to get the.
Logan Brumley: Okay, here it is.
Logan Brumley: Iowa, Maryland, Oklahoma and Pitt.
Logan Brumley: So wide variety NT State seemed like the best option at the state time.
Logan Brumley: He did have academic issues dating back to high school and needed a year with the Hargrave Military Academy to boost his academic record.
Logan Brumley: So again him and Tramain Hall both had issues with education.
Logan Brumley: Maybe there's something there because I don't really.
Logan Brumley: I can't remember the last story that happened outside of Arik Gilbert.
Logan Brumley: So that's, you know, something that's interesting.
Logan Brumley: That early 2000s, especially an NC State trend, he wasn't really anything special.
Logan Brumley: He combined for 409 rushing yards in two years.
Logan Brumley: However, he started to transition to wide receiver and punt returner which is where he got more reps and more success finishing with 1200 career reception yards and four touchdowns.
Logan Brumley: He was also the number one receiver in his final year and I believe that was 2007.
Logan Brumley: So I remember that being a bleak time for.
Logan Brumley: Well I don't remember it but yeah, I mean it was a bleak time for NC State.
Logan Brumley: Where were we?
Logan Brumley: This is another guy that you know wasn't really a failure but wasn't a success either.
Logan Brumley: He was first team all ACC punt returner and totaled about 2700 total punt kickoff return yards which is third in NC state history.
Logan Brumley: So hey, third team all NC state history punt returner.
Logan Brumley: He is kind of putting himself in the history books in that regard.
Logan Brumley: So hey, it's not too shabby.
Logan Brumley: Number six, Curtis Couch, offensive tackle from E.E.
Logan Brumley: Smith near where I live in Fayetteville.
Logan Brumley: Six foot five, 344 pound offensive lineman.
Logan Brumley: I mean of course he had everyone going after him, especially Clemson Ford on Oklahoma, but he still chose NC State throughout the process.
Logan Brumley: You know there isn't much to stat wise on these guys.
Logan Brumley: He was a.
Logan Brumley: He was not an elite ACC star but he was a solid recruit.
Logan Brumley: He kind of had to kick into the inner offensive line.
Logan Brumley: I think he was.
Logan Brumley: No, that's later on but solid offensive line starter, no major injuries.
Logan Brumley: He started every game.
Logan Brumley: He had NFL draft hooks.
Logan Brumley: Not too bad for an offensive lineman recruit number five, here's a fun one, Mike Glennon, the quarterback from Westfield High School in Virginia, All American state title with Westfield High school and the fourth highest quarterback prospect.
Logan Brumley: In 2008 he chose NC State for the pro Ready offense with Dana Bible and Tim o' Brien and his brother I think was at Virginia Tech at the time.
Logan Brumley: He was originally going to go there but still how his brother was doing.
Logan Brumley: He sat early on behind Russell Wilson and I think even Jacoby Brissett.
Logan Brumley: But once he got the reins he didn't hold back.
Logan Brumley: He threw for 7,411 career yards, 63 touchdowns and he has 31 interceptions.
Logan Brumley: He once had a season with 17 I believe that led the nation.
Logan Brumley: He went NC State to several bowl games but has but his hot hand made him yeah the interception went 15 11.
Logan Brumley: In O' Brien's last few years of NC State with no like big all team all conference honors, anything like that.
Logan Brumley: Good quarterback, sloppy team.
Logan Brumley: He's one of those guys that he's more memorable just because of the fact that he managed to go probably pro and has been a consistent backup there.
Logan Brumley: He was drafted to Tampa Bay in the third round.
Logan Brumley: He was the last of the quarterbacks before the Jameis Winston era.
Logan Brumley: And yeah journeyman backup, not too terrible for career.
Logan Brumley: So I mean I would say this one's an A recruit just because, you know, NFL guy.
Logan Brumley: I mean now he's in that short list of Brissette Rivers, him technically Russell Wilson.
Logan Brumley: All right, number four, Richard Washington, wide receiver from Fort Myers, Florida highway title.
Logan Brumley: Four star recruit out of Florida.
Logan Brumley: The Gators and Georgia Bulldogs both made offers, but Washington chose NC State for the chance to play right away with a certain future Chargers quarterback, one who has 11 children and zero Super Bowls.
Logan Brumley: He made an immediate impact catching for 500 yards and six touchdowns and Phil Rivers final year at NC State.
Logan Brumley: So I think it Washington and Hall who both were kind of number two wide receivers or were in tandem and that spot if I'm kind of mapping it out correctly in my head but once this again was something that Chuck Amato did not provide reason to.
Logan Brumley: I guess maybe they weren't really transparent in the early 2000s, but in 2005 he was dismissed from the football team.
Logan Brumley: It did not play against this.
Logan Brumley: He might have been able to be a great NC State wide receiver if whatever happened in that walk room didn't happen.
Logan Brumley: But it was an off 2004 season that was probably their biggest casualty.
Logan Brumley: It was all just ugly.
Logan Brumley: All right, we're on to the top three.
Logan Brumley: Number three, Robert Crisp, offensive tackle from Cedar Ridge.
Logan Brumley: He's Raleigh native and all American senior year all American bowl and five star recruit.
Logan Brumley: So really great offensive tackle.
Logan Brumley: What is the size?
Logan Brumley: I didn't put down his size since that's probably like the biggest thing to know about these guys.
Logan Brumley: We said 6 foot 7, 300 and pounds.
Logan Brumley: Wow.
Logan Brumley: Hey.
Logan Brumley: Oh well it took a minute for him to become a regular starter.
Logan Brumley: He opened the season, started with tackle before transitioning to special teams.
Logan Brumley: In a first year he became an elite left tackle for Wilson, not giving up a sack and 413 snaps.
Logan Brumley: However, he started to struggle to start weight during his career with lower back injuries and a concussion sidelined in him for about two years before he had that last year of eligibility with him and Joe Tunney anchoring the left side of the offensive line.
Logan Brumley: So again this is a guy who maybe if he wasn't as injured he would have been a great offensive tackle.
Logan Brumley: Would have been a really respected one for NC State.
Logan Brumley: Could have maybe found some more NFL success than he did.
Logan Brumley: But he spent a few years at UDFA for the Arizona Kerners.
Logan Brumley: So solid career with NC State.
Logan Brumley: No disrespect to Crisp.
Logan Brumley: That was probably one of the few top tens that I think worked out a little bit more than people think outside the injuries.
Logan Brumley: Number two, Toney Baker, running back from Ragsdale.
Logan Brumley: Toney Baker was one of the most in the least elite running backs in North Carolina State history.
Logan Brumley: Accumulated over 10k yards in high school.
Logan Brumley: Multiple All American honors in the early 2000s as well.
Logan Brumley: I think you guys number retired too.
Logan Brumley: Chose to go to NC State because it gave him the best opportunity to play competitive football and become a pro.
Logan Brumley: You know Tim o', Brien, great recruiter at the time.
Logan Brumley: I mean I don't know where he we put him all time in a college football or NC State greatest football coaches but he's definitely up there just purely off of recruiting ability.
Logan Brumley: With that.
Logan Brumley: Let's see, he...h.
Logan Brumley: e didn't see much of the ball his freshman year.
Logan Brumley: He became an elusive running back tandem with Andre Brown though, which was funny enough.
Logan Brumley: Andre Brown was outside top 10 in this list.
Logan Brumley: I think he was like 15th.
Logan Brumley: So it might have seemed like hype wise they kind of flipped.
Logan Brumley: But Andre Brown was more of the number one with Baker being the number two guy combined him for over 1200 yards twice.
Logan Brumley: However, Baker had a knee injury in 2007 which took him out for two seasons and gave him a medical red shirt.
Logan Brumley: In 2008 he had his chance to become the number one running back and ran for 773 yards and six touchdowns.
Logan Brumley: Earned an ACC bravery award for, you know, coming off of a major knee injury as a running back and running for over 700 yards on a pretty crummy team.
Logan Brumley: It's not too bad.
Logan Brumley: Injuries kept him from really being able to play in the NFL, but he had practice squad appearances with the Broncos and Seahawks.
Logan Brumley: Number one, D'Mario Presley.
Logan Brumley: Defensive tackle Dudley High school Mario Williams was also outside top 10.
Logan Brumley: It's crazy.
Logan Brumley: So is Joe Thuney.
Logan Brumley: It's weird.
Logan Brumley: Elite defensive tackle, prospect, All American and Gatorade player of the year honors, chosen to stay over unc, which is, you know, that's always great.
Logan Brumley: Why do you choose NC State?
Logan Brumley: I can't find any reason.
Logan Brumley: It seems just like a lot of multiple reasons, but just the opportunity to win and play in community seems to be kind of the consensus career.
Logan Brumley: 99 Tackles, four sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss in three years.
Logan Brumley: So not elite, but a really solid defensive tackle, which is always, I think, a must to be a great college football team.
Logan Brumley: And he was able to do that.
Logan Brumley: Obviously, he's not as elite as you expect from one of the top defensive tackles in the country, but hey, you.
Logan Brumley: You'll take what you can get, right?
Logan Brumley: He eventually went drafted in the fourth round, I think, by the Saints and won a Super bowl there.
Logan Brumley: I mean, he wasn't really a starter, he was a backup, but he still played.
Logan Brumley: I don't know if he played in a Super bowl, but he won1 today.
Logan Brumley: NC State can get big prospects.
Logan Brumley: Whether they work out is purely dependent on more than just star ratings.
Logan Brumley: You know, I see a lot of thematics with health, academic eligibility and then just, you know, being able to develop yourself past A level.
Logan Brumley: I think there's a ceiling for everyone, especially in something as physically demanding as sports.
Logan Brumley: And whether you have it or not, should not just be purely dependent on just what you show, but also just.
Logan Brumley: I mean, I think it's a lot more of just luck and good development than anything else.
Logan Brumley: You know, Tim o', Brien, who was able to recruit, but I don't think he really won much outside of Rivers.
Logan Brumley: But yeah, I mean, that's something to keep in mind that even though these teams have top recruiting classes, doesn't mean that they're always getting D top guys.
Logan Brumley: Anyways, that concludes today's episode.
Logan Brumley: Hope you have a good day and go pack.