National Signing Day Important To NC State In A Tough Atlantic Division

As always watch the recruiting videos with the sound down in sensitive areas, as many videos contain explicit lyrics.

The North Carolina State 2015 recruiting class ranks 37th nationally as National Signing Day creeps closer, down from their 30th ranked class a year ago, but still on the uptick from years past. The Wolf Pack have filled filled some holes in their lineup by virtue of bringing in a slew of 3-star recruits, and a group of 4-star caliber talent. Three of the 4-star recruits have committed, while another has also signed a letter of intent.

Like in many years past the Wolfpack quietly put together a respectable class for 2015, built on 3-star caliber players, with the occasional 4-star talent sprinkled in. They know they aren’t going to be a 5-star destination, but they do well for themselves in the competitive ACC, and have done so again this year.

North Carolina State avoided the large number of decommitments that plagued other ACC schools, but did lose quarterback prospect Austin King to Indiana. The Wolfpack have several quarterbacks on their current roster, but with redshirt senior Jacoby Brissett the only one who has taken meaningful snaps, adding a 3-star caliber player like King would have been a boost.

What the Wolfpack did bring into the fold through recruiting are a trio of solid running backs, and a potential game-changer on the defensive side of the ball. We look at three of NC State’s top commits in 2015 here:

 

Johnny Frasier – Running back

  • 4-star recruit
  • 5’11”, 200 pounds
  • Princeton high school (Princeton, NC)

Frasier took an interesting trajectory getting to North Carolina State, decommitting from Florida State late in the recruiting process in favor of staying close to home. He gives an already solid Wolfpack backfield another boost. Frasier is both straight line fast, and has the ability to add an extra burst to his runs, making him especially elusive to defenders. Despite his quickness Frasier is not a flashy back. He isn’t the strongest back, and doesn’t have great moves after gaining possession, but is solid. Frasier won’t make the “ESPN Top 10” often, but also won’t make many mistakes. Efficient and productive are words that best suit the incoming freshman for NC State.

 

Reggie Gallaspy – Running back

  • 3-star recruit
  • 5’10”, 220 pounds
  • Southern Guilford (Greensboro, NC)

Gallaspy signed on with the Wolfpack in September and will now join a backfield that already ranked a solid 39th in 2014. While Gallaspy is not the fasted rusher in the nation, running only a 4.78 40, but he uses all of his 220-pound frame effectively. Cut from the Eddie Lacy or Marshawn Lynch cloth, Gallaspy finds holes and powers through them, and refuses to give up on a run. He tries to get the most out of each play, and can require more than one back to bring him down.

Gallaspy goes down as a 3-star recruit, but is without a doubt 4-star quality. He finished his senior season at Southern Guilford high school with 3,318 yards and 52 rushing touchdowns. He ended his high school tenure with 6,773 yards and 98 touchdowns plus numerous scholarship offers before deciding to stay close to home. The best case situation for the Wolfpack would be Gallaspy progressing into more of an “all-around” back, and taking over the reigns in the backfield beyond 2016. The worst case would likely be using the incoming freshman as a short yardage and goal line threat — not a bad second option with a 220-pound bruiser.

 

Nyheim Hines – Running back

  • 4-star recruit
  • 5’9″, 180 pounds
  • Garner high school (Garner, NC)

Unlike Gallaspy, Hines doesn’t posses the size of a power running back, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of running bigger than his 5’9″ frame would let you believe. Hines obviously possesses the speed you would expect from a small running back, running a 4.31 40, but he also isn’t afraid to mix it up with defenders much, much bigger than him.

In a way similar to Gallasy, Hines will fight for every yard and fight tackles, but also boasts an ability to hit a home run sprint that the former can’t. Hines appears to be a complete package; able to run fast and hard, catch passes out of the backfield, out maneuver defenders, and even chip in on special teams. His size would seem to hinder him on paper, but Hines has made it work for him, and the Wolfpack likely will too.

 

Darian Roseboro – Defensive end

  • 4-star recruit
  • 6’4″, 285 pounds
  • Lincolnton high school (Lincolnton, NC)

Unquestionably the most vital recruit of the 2015 class for North Carolina State could be defensive end Darian Roseboro. There isn’t much Roseboro doesn’t do well on the defensive side of the football, blending his incredible strength, and speed to torment the offensive line, and ultimately the running back or quarterback. His play is equally stellar against the run as it is as a pass rusher, and can lay the opposition out with bone crunching hits.

Making those hits even more effective now is the weight he added during his last year of high school, moving up to the 285-pound mark, and he could keep growing. Whether he stays at end or moves to tackle remains to be seen, and may not matter, as he plays big all over the field. Some players have the natural size and skill set to be dominant immediately at every level they ascend to — Roseboro looks like one of them. He could be a young, unpolished version of J.J. Watt, and is an excellent addition for the Wolf Pack.

 

Outlook

North Carolina State has constructed a solid 2015 recruiting class, buoyed by the signing of Roseboro, placing State in the middle of the ACC pack in recruiting thus far. They’ve addressed several needs with the commitments of 4-stars Frasier, Hines and Roseboro, along with offensive lineman Emanuel McGirt. There is still work to be done with signing day less than two weeks to go. They have several commitments from receivers and secondary players, pending official signings, but still haven’t addressed the quarterback position thus far.

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