June Recruiting Update: Part 2

CyJust over a week into perhaps the busiest recruiting month on record after the end of the longest NCAA dead period in Division 1 college football history, players across the state are hitting camps all over the country. The return of in-person evaluations has led to an uptick in offers and recruiting interest. Here, we’ll break down some of those new developments on the recruiting trail. In this installment, we’re focused on the offensive players taking visits and earning offers. <strong>Talented Underclassmen Getting Early Starts</strong> A pair of prospects in our 2024 top 10 earned their first offers in the past week with Power Five visits. Charlotte Catholic tight end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="115725" first="Jack" last="Larsen"] </strong>put together a tremendous showing Saturday in front of the South Carolina coaching staff and earned an offer from the Gamecocks. We’re told Larsen ran in the 4.8-range, put up a vertical over 31 inches and broad jumped over nine feet, all impressive numbers at his size. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="147685" first="Zack" last="Myers"], </strong>one of our top 2024 prospects from Christ school pick up offers from Duke and Tennessee in rapid succession, his first offers. His 2024 teammate, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="156074" first="Cayden" last="Jones"], </strong>picked up his first offer from Charlotte on Tuesday. Jones has a rare combination of size and speed. It’s early, so I’m not sure where to project him in terms of future position, but he’s 6-foot-4 and ran a 4.5, so that bodes well for his recruiting future. In the 2023 class, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="121427" first="Que’Sean" last="Brown"], </strong>a recent transfer to East Forsyth, picked him his first offer from Duke after a strong camp performance. Vance running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="144923" first="Jordan" last="Thompson"] </strong>was in Charlotte earlier this week, earning an offer from the 49ers. Thursday, he made the short trip down I-77 to South Carolina with a few teammates, including 2023 running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="44973" first="Daylan" last="Smothers"]</strong>, our highest-ranked 2023 skill player. Smothers has an offer from the Gamecocks and picked up a couple more from Missouri and Louisville earlier this week. He also visited Penn State with Hickory Ridge receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="44969" first="Christian" last="Hamilton"].</strong> Vance Teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="156088" first="James" last="Pearce"]</strong> picked up an offer from the Gamecocks, as he adds to his already impressive list. Lastly, 2023 wide receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="44975" first="Kevin" last="Concepcion"] </strong>picked up an offer from Old Dominion Wednesday. Talented receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="143456" first="Jahreece" last="Lynch"] </strong>of North Surry added an early Coastal Carolina offer while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="154603" first="Lex" last="Thomas"] </strong>of Heritage had a great showing in NC State and earned his first Division 1 offer. <strong>2022 Prospects Gaining Momentum</strong> From an offer standpoint, the 2022 quarterback class isn’t as big as at some of the other positions but a lot of that has to do with the lack of in-person visits. Top 2022 quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28670" first="Byrum" last="Brown"] </strong>of Rolesville is picking up steam, as he nabbed an offer from South Florida after a visit to go with a recent North Carolina Central offer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="130376" first="Skyler" last="Locklear"] </strong>of Cleveland earned a Davidson offer a couple of weeks ago and then ran a 4.6 at Mercer’s camp last week that will really help his recruiting stock. He’s going westward for the weekend with stops at East Tennessee State, Vanderbilt and Western Kentucky this weekend. Christ School quarterback <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28571" first="AJ" last="Simpkins"] </strong>reclassified to the 2022 class during the pandemic for recruiting purposes and it seems to have worked. Simpkins has had one of the better starts to the summer in the state, putting up strong performances at several camps, including the National Preps showcase where we left impressed with his arm and mechanics. Simpkins visited Liberty earlier this month, a program that has already offered before seeing Georgia Tech and Kennesaw State. Simpkins also received his first Ivy League offer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="141269" first="Terrell" last="Timmons"] </strong>of Northern Guilford has been busy this month, picking up offers from James Madison, Rhode Island and Elon between camps at ECU and NC State. He’s a long, speedy receiver we could see put up great camp performances throughout the summer. https://twitter.com/TerrellTimmons4/status/1401727080241508353 In other news and notes,<strong> [player_tooltip player_id="105946" first="Trevor" last="Tate"] </strong>of Cuthbertson picked up an offer from Navy earlier this week while Davie’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="107429" first="Tate" last="Carney"] </strong>committed to Wake Forest and NC State picked up a pair of commitments from AL Brown’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28639" first="Torren" last="Wright"] </strong>and Whiteville’s <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="149126" first="Daejuan" last="Thompson"]. </strong>The Wolfpack are hot on the trail and could pick up a few more commitments soon. North Carolina hosted 2022 top-rated defender <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28630" first="Travis" last="Shaw"] </strong>Thursday on what could be a pivotal visit in his recruitment. Last week, the Tar Heels hosted and offered 2022 defensive end <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28646" first="Beau" last="Atkinson"] </strong>of Leesville Road. The Tar Heels have also hosted Cleveland running back <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="28635" first="Omarion" last="Hampton"]</strong> (twice) and Millbrook receiver <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="109146" first="Wesley" last="Grimes"].</strong>