The state of North Carolina produces some of the best high school football players in the country every year. Throughout the year, ESPN.com compiles a list of the top 300 recruits in all the United States. Thirteen players from North Carolina were among the ranks of this prestigious company at the conclusion of last year’s signing period for 2014.
Of the 13 recruits on the list, just five of them decided to play college football in-state. Defensive end Kentavius Street, who ranked 68th, and offensive lineman William Richardson, who ranked 290th, were the only players who inked with NC State.
In 2013, ESPN.com declared 20 North Carolina high school players as being worthy of the four-star distinction. Of the 20, just six decided to stay in-state, and all six signed with UNC-Chapel Hill.
In 2012, even the Tar Heels’ recruiting productivity decreased when a mere two of the 16 four-star recruits attended in-state colleges.
If one continued delving into the past, the trend remains the same. The majority of North Carolina high school players are going out of state to play college ball.
I concur with the critics who say Duke and Wake Forest universities will probably never be able to bring in high-profile recruiting classes because of their limits as smaller, private institutions. However, for NC State and UNC-Chapel Hill, there is no excuse. As schools with more than enough resources and equitable top-notch facilities in comparison to other football powerhouses, there’s no reason that the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels can’t collectively account for at least half of the four-star recruits in the state of North Carolina every year.
SEC East Division schools such as South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Florida have long bullied North Carolina schools by snatching up the state’s best talents. Even ACC programs such as Clemson, Miami and Florida State are frequently racking up the prospects within the “Old North State.”
Fellow ACC programs in the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies have proven that it’s certainly possible to beat out the traditional power schools within state borders. Like North Carolina, the state of Virginia also traditionally produces students with an excellent selection of football pedigree.
Last year, ESPN.com labeled three Virginia prospects as five-star recruits and 10 as four-star recruits, only a handful of players in the nation are given a five-star rating yearly. Despite the fact that Virginia has long been a pipeline state for Big Ten schools like Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State, the Cavaliers and Hokies held their own, signing two of the three five-star recruits and five of the ten four-star recruits. In 2013, nine of the 19 four-star recruits went to either Virginia or Virginia Tech, and in 2012 the Cavaliers and Hokies kept five of seven in the state of Virginia.
Give head coach Dave Doeren some credit: Under his regime, the Pack has improved upon its ability to recruit. Doeren’s 2014 recruiting class, which ranked 38th nationally, was a vast improvement to Tom O’Brien’s last class, which stood at 66th. If NC State wants to become a real contender within the ACC, the team will need to keep improving in the realm of recruiting. In-state recruiting will be the key to NC State’s future success.
