What is State Getting in Chase Hattley?

Chase Hattley, a fast-rising safety from Panther Creek High School in Cary became the latest addition to NC State's football recruiting class of 2021 on Tuesday.

A long, agile 6-foot-3, 205-pound prospect who also competes on the track team in the high jump and long jump, Hattley led the NCHSAA's 4A classification with nine interceptions last season.

His commitment is a major boost for a secondary that, as Saturday's game at Pittsburgh illustrated, is in need of all the able bodies it can get.

So what is the Wolfpack getting in Hattley? Here's the scouting report from his coach at Panther Creek, Sean Crocker:

"Chase is a great recruit to get. You're talking about a long, athletic young man who's got great range and great hands. He's a ballhawk, a guy who gets to the ball quickly and makes plays."

He plays safety for Panther Creek, but because of his size have college coaches talked to you about moving him around to other roles at the next level?

"Just about every coach that has come through and talked to him and talked to me, they kind of see him as a hybrid just because he's so long and he moves so well. They can picture him doing different things. Some guys have asked if he'd be able to play linebacker and I think some talked to him exclusively about that whether it's outside or I even talked to some who thought he could move to inside linebacker.

My thing was always that it's up to Chase and his mindset. So he and I sat down and talked about it, and he's willing to do whatever. I think right now, in his mind, he's kind of ready to play the hybrid position and when it came down to the last few schools (Oklahoma and South Carolina were the other finalists), that was kind of his mindset -- that he would play some hybrid and he's ready for that."

100% COMMITTED 🐺🔴 #WPN pic.twitter.com/3daTzU4VBZ
— Chase (@chase_hattley) October 6, 2020

What are some of the factors that led him to choose State?

"One is that NC State has been a school on his radar for a long time. Another thing is the proximity to home. Chase is not a flashy guy. Everybody likes being courted by the bigger schools, but he's always maintained that he didn't need to go far away from home to go to college and play football. Then once he got to meet some of (the Wolfpack) coaching staff and talk to them over the phone or text over the past few months, that cemented it for him."

How does Chase's experience in track help him in football?

"He definitely is a leaper who does the high jump and you can't throw over him. He's got such a nose for the ball. I was telling coaches even before the end of last season when his highlights kind of got the ball rolling that we could put Chase in the middle of the field and if you throw a deep pass down the sideline, he's going to get there. He picked off (nine) passes last year.

"You think you've got a guy open and you throw it up there and the next thing you know Chase is on the scene. He goes up, he can high point the ball and there's not many people that can leap over him. With his combination of size, speed, leaping ability and just his athletic ability -- including his ball skills -- he's very tough."

Has Chase decided whether he's going to play his final season at Panther Creek this spring or enroll early at State?

"It's my understanding that he's going to play this spring. We haven't talked about it in awhile because he wasn't thinking to leave early and I don't think he's talked about it with his counselor. He's got some core classes left for the spring. He and my other guy that's committed to App State, Jonathan Streeter, I think they really want to finish out their senior year. So we're looking forward to that."

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook -- ACC Insider

Twitter -- @WolfpackMaven and Brett Friedlander at @BFriedACC

Add us as a preferred source on Google