Those following football recruiting this past year may be disappointed. After watching first-year basketball coach Mark Gottfried bring in one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, football coach Tom O’Brien’s bunch seems to lack the punch for a fan base that constantly craves instant success. Although O’Brien is confident in his team’s current situation, there are fans who are worried.
Since O’Brien’s arrival at N.C . State, he has focused on developing players to become better, instead of signing a lot of top-ranked recruits. However, this approach fails to connect with some Wolfpack fans.
“While I do feel like T.O.B’s ‘Three Star Nation’ approach is effective at what it’s supposed to do, I never understood why he never thought he could apply the same methods to higher-ranked recruits,” Rickey Smith, a junior in human biology, said. “If one has a stronger base set of abilities to improve upon, then the end product will be much stronger.”
O’Brien’s past recruits include Denver Broncos linebacker Nate Irving, Big 10 Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Russell Wilson, quarterback Mike Glennon , defensive end David Amerson and linebacker Audie Cole. While these players have been leading examples of the successes during O’Brien’s reign in Raleigh, the team has often struggled to find many such playmakers at other positions. However, Smith has words of wisdom for those who choose to chastise O’Brien just because Gottfried managed to bring a strong group of recruits.
“Football recruiting and basketball recruiting are completely different animals,” Smith said. “When we’re talking about a team with 50 players, and a team with 15, one player can make more of a difference on a basketball team than on a football team, which changes the dynamic.”
According to J.D . Hamby , a freshman in history, the Pack needs to focus on getting the best players from North Carolina.
“Target them and recruit them better, especially the in-state 4 and 5-star recruits,” Hamby said. “Focus on the in-state recruits.”
Smith chose to offer an opposing view.
“We have to recruit in ‘football’ states,” Smith said. “Local recruits are good, but N.C . just does not have the type of athletic system for football for creating excellent recruits.
“For example, the idea of spring football for high school players would seem extreme here in N.C ., but it’s commonplace in places such as Florida and Texas.”
Smith, despite his reservations, said he believed in O’Brien’s player development approach.
“With T.O.B’s focus on development of the player, I have learned not to get too excited about players until they step onto the field,” Smith said. “Oftentimes what you end up seeing at Carter-Finley is nothing like they did in high school.”
According to a recent article by ESPN, N.C . State is one of the only two universities in the ACC that hasn’t registered a single commitment for the class of 2013, with FSU, UNC and even Duke making eight, seven and five commitments, respectively, highlighting the absence of a long-term recruiting strategy by O’Brien and his crew.
“I would say that it’s pretty early to pass any judgment, but that does look pretty bad,” Smith said.
However, O’Brien remained nonchalant about his recruiting situation and believes the team is heading in the right direction.
“We are in better position than we have ever been at this stretch,” O’Brien said. “Commitments are important come next February, but you got 10 months to go. We are happy with what we have; we are happy with the list we have. We have some kids out there that we think will help us win an ACC championship.”
Fans eager for the football season to begin can get an early taste at the Kay-Yow Spring game, which will take place Saturday at 3.30 p.m . at Carter-Finley Stadium.
