NC State commits working hard to expand promising 2023 class
NC State’s trio of 2023 commits does not have much left to prove before they sign their letters of intent. They’ve already impressed enough to receive an offer and bonded enough with the program to be comfortable committing, but that did not stop all three from arriving on campus Sunday ready to show off their skills on their future practice field while also recruiting their peers to join the Wolfpack.
The second drills began, four-star tight end commit Javonte Vereen made it clear that he was one of the most talented players to take the field that weekend. After spending a some time in tight end drills, tight ends coach Todd Goebbel sent the versatile pass catcher to the receiver drills to catch passes from quarterback commit Lex Thomas.
Vereen is considered a On3 Consensus four-star recruit and a top-200 recruit in the 2023 class. After watching him Sunday, it’s clear why Vereen is ranked that high. At 6-3 and 210 pounds, the tight end was running as crisp routes as any receiver and showed off great speed on a few deep routes between him and Thomas.
This is the first time the duo has thrown together for an extended period of time, and Vereen came away impressed with Thomas’ ball placement. Vereen can win a jump ball with almost any defensive back, and Thomas was able to set him up for success throughout the afternoon.
“He throws great footballs,” Vereen said. “He’s a good quarterback. Honestly, he’s a little slept on in my opinion.”
Thomas returned the complement to Vereen after the camp.
“He has good hands, and he’s easy to throw to,” Thomas said.
The future Wolfpack quarterback was on fire Sunday, showing off tremendous deep-ball accuracy all afternoon.
Outside of the drills, Vereen said he was working on recruiting some of the highly-rated prospects in attendance, including three-star defensive back Tamarcus Cooley who Vereen battled with during one-on-one competition. Thomas was also hanging out with Cooley for a large portion of the camp, and the two connected on some nice passes during one-on-ones.
The coaching staff offered valuable feedback during Thomas’ time at camp, but he knows he was really on campus to help grow the 2023 class.
“That’s the whole reason I’m out here,” Thomas said. “I mean, I’m already committed, so I don’t have anything to gain. . . [I’m] trying to reel them in, tell them what it’s like to play with us and, really, being the quarterback, catching the ball from me.”
It was a coincidence that all three recruits ended up on campus at the same time and, for Thomas, it was his third-consecutive day at camp— his second day throwing. Both Vereen and Thomas are working to recruit three-star wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, who will officially visit the Wolfpack next weekend.
Daylan Smothers, who is teammates with offensive line-commit Darion Rivers at West Charlotte, will also visit campus this weekend. Rivers said he is actively recruiting Smothers to join the class, and Vereen mentioned his name as well. The four-star running back recently visited Oklahoma.
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On3 consensus three-star receiver Nathan Leacock is another prospect that Thomas and Vereen have both recruited, and Vereen said he is also recruiting consensus four-star receiver Chris Culliver as well. Thomas and Leacock are very close friends, the quarterback told The Wolfpacker.
NC State leads the Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Leacock, Smothers, and Concepcion. Culliver is considered a UNC-lean by the metric, and Ole Miss is favored for Cooley after his recent official visit.
In addition to their recruiting efforts, all three prospects received helpful feedback from the coaching staff throughout drills. Rivers said he has a father-son relationship with offensive line coach John Garrison, who helped the prospect continue to improve his technique during the camp.
Goebbel worked with Vereen on his blocking, and receivers coach Joker Phillips focussed on refining his route running.
“I already have good ball skills, so putting that together just makes it even better,” Vereen said.
Rivers is up to 265 pounds, he told The Wolfpacker. Sunday was the 6-5 lineman’s first time on campus since March and, now that school is out, he plans to make trips to Raleigh multiple times per month.
“I didn’t have a dream school until I came here,” Rivers said.
The lineman plans to stay in high school for his entire senior year and join the Wolfpack next summer. Until then, he hopes to make an official visit at some point and enjoy his future college home.
“I wouldn’t want to be any other place besides here,” Rivers said. “Every time I walk in here, it feels like home.”
Vereen, Thomas, and Rivers are foundational pieces on what could be an impressive class at NC State. With an upperclassmen-laden offense on the way out after the 2022 season, Vereen said the group plans to make an instant impact.
“Replace the whole class, take over the ACC,” Vereen said. “That’s the plan.”
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