Highly-Ranked Football Prospects Report State Offers
PowerBall did an advertising campaign a few years back in which the slogan was "You can't win if you don't play."
The same is true with college football recruiting.
Because it's such an inexact science, coaches tend to cast a wide net in the search for new talent, often handing out scholarship offers to highly-rated players the odds say will eventually sign with someone else.
Just in case.
That appears to be the strategy behind the latest batch of offers extended by NC State coach Dave Doeren and his staff this, as reported on the social media accounts of the players involved.
Among them is Terrence Lewis, a five-star outside linebacker from Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Fla., who is rated among the top 10 prospects in the Class of 2021.
On Saturday, Lewis proudly announced that he'd received an offer from the Wolfpack, mentioning assistant coaches George McDonald and Tony Gibson in the Tweet.
Just four hours later, though, he announced his top six schools: LSU, Alabama, Tennessee, Nebraska, Penn State and Texas A&M.
Another offer than went out on Saturday was to Taizse Johnson, a 6-foot-1, 290-pound n four-star defensive tackle from St. John's High School in Washington D.C., who has already committed to Maryland.
Other four-star offers by the Wolfpack this week were reported by Lovasea Carroll, Drew Kendall and 2022 prospect Enai White.
Carroll is a 6-1, 189-pound running back from IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., who also holds offers from Auburn, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Ohio State.
White is a 6-5, 225-pound defensive end from Imhotep Institute in Philadelphia who has also been offered by LSU, Penn State and Tennessee, among others.
Kendall is a 6-4, 255-pound offensive guard from Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Mass., who is also the target of virtually every other school in the ACC -- including Boston College, Duke, Virginia and Syracuse.
Among the other reported scholarship offers this week went out to three-star defensive tackle Marquise Brunson (6-4, 270) from Princess Anne HS in Virginia Beach; three-star outside linebacker Kaci Seegars (6-2, 208) from Audrey Kell HS is Charlotte; and defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote (6-4, 250) from Flowers HS in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Perhaps the most intriguing player to announce he's been offered by State 2022 athlete Michael Allen of Greenville's J.H. Rose HS.
Not only did Allen (is 5-10, 181) gain 1.427 all-purpose yards as a football player last season, he's also an elite baseball prospect and a sprinter on the indoor track team. Among his other offers are North Carolina, South Carolina, East Carolina, Appalachian State and Tennessee.
