I added four WRs to Big Board (found at post #3 in the thread) based on articles, offers and visits over the past 3 weeks. Denmark and Powell are moved up from the Watch List. Denmark had been on the watch list because he didn’t have an offer from Wake. That changed when he was offered while visiting for the Syracuse game.Even though Powell visited Wake Forest in September, I hadn’t added him to the Big Board because his offer sheet was so stacked. He gets added to the Big Board now because he (surprisingly) included Wake in his very preliminary top 4.
I don’t particularly like Wake chances with Elliott (I think Virginia Tech is the favorite), Denmark (Virginia Tech is the favorite, as well as Clemson if they offer) and Powell (stacked offer sheet) but I felt that they all warranted inclusion at this point. The fourth WR on the list, High Point’s Jeremiah Brown, is an early offer in a recruitment that has a long ways to go.
It is also interesting to me that there has been a flurry of activity at the WR position for 2016 despite the fact that we are taking a lot of WRs in 2015 and are considering using 2 TEs as a base offense.
Jalen Elliott (6’1 / 175 ATH) L.C. Bird HS / Chesterfield, VA
Rating: 3-star
Power 5 Offers: Wake Forest and Virginia Tech
Visits: Wake Forest on October 18 for Syracuse game (Wake offered him in-person). Virginia Tech is August for the VT-William and Mary game. Tennessee (no offer) on October 25. UNC (no offer) on October 4th for the UNC-Virginia Tech game. Camped this summer at Virginia Tech, Virginia, Duke, UNC and Tennessee. He plans to head back to Virginia Tech for the VT-UVA game.
Background: Classified as an ATH, Elliott is currently playing both QB and CB at the high school level but will likely play either WR or DB at the next level. Wake Forest offered him as a WR. Virginia Tech offered him as a DB. UNC is considering offering him as either a WR or an ATH. Both parents are Virginia Tech graduates, and he has already had extensive exposure to Virginia Tech.
Outlook: Virginia Tech is going to be tough to beat for Elliott.
Samuel Denmark (6’0 / 177 WR) Hanahan HS / Hanahan, SC
Rating: Unrated
Power 5 Offers: Wake Forest and Virginia Tech
Visits: Clemson in September for the Clemson-UNC game. Also camped at Clemson this summer along with camps at South Carolina and NC State. Visited Notre Dame in September for a game. Plans to visit Virginia Tech November 1st, Purdue on November 8th, Duke on November 15th and East Carolina on November 22nd. Visited Wake in October (he received his offer during the visit).
Background: Had 900 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore. Track star. Finished 2nd in the state at the 3A level in the 100m and 3rd in the 200m. He claims that is 40-time is 4.44. Was a South Carolina fan growing up.
Recruitment: Based on quotes that I read from November, it looks like both Clemson (no offer) and Virginia Tech are leading Wake Forest right now. It is not yet clear how much interest Notre Dame has. There is a Hanahan graduate currently playing WR at Notre Dame, so Denmark already has a connection there.
Cornell Powell (6’1 / 190) Rose HS / Greenville, NC
Rating: 3-star / #45 WR in the country / #11 overall player in North Carolina (4-star on 247)
Power 5 Offers: Wake Forest, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, North Carolina, NC State, Ohio State and South Carolina, Florida State (?), Duke, LSU (?)
Visits: Visited Wake Forest in late-September. He said that Wake’s campus was “amazing” and said that he was really impressed with the business school. Clemson on October 4th for the Clemson-NC State game. Only attended camps at UNC and Clemson this year. He has also visited Duke and NC State this fall.
Background: Had 1,200 yards and 21 touchdowns (!!) receiving as a sophomore. Already has 875 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns as a junior despite facing near-constant double teams. Rivals ranked him as the top underclassman performer at the Fedora Freak Show camp over the summer. Wants to study business. Was an Alabama fan growing up.
Recruitment: Has a very early top 4 of Clemson, UNC, NC State and Wake Forest. Ole Miss was actually the first to offer. In different interviews during October he has mentioned some combination of Clemson, Florida State (no offer), UNC, Ohio State, N.C. State, Ole Miss and West Virginia as the schools that are recruiting him the hardest right now. Clemson’s WR coach flew to Greenville, NC to watch one of Powell’s games, which was reportedly the first 2016 WR that he gone to see in person. Urban Meyer personally extended the Ohio State offer.
Outlook: I think this is a very open recruitment right now, but I think Clemson and UNC have to regarded as early favorites. Hometown ECU is an interesting darkhorse in the race. I think that he is looking for a good academic school, but I am guessing that it will ultimately be a secondary factor in his decision-making.
Jeremiah Brown (6’2 / 170 WR) – Southwest Guilford HS / High Point, NC
Rating: Unrated
Power 5 Offers: Wake Forest
Visits: Camped at UNC, NC State, Duke, Wake Forest and Clemson this past summer. Visited Wake Forest for the Wake Forest -Army game. Visited UNC for the UNC-SDSU game in September. He plans to return to Chapel Hill for a game later this year, and will also try to visit NC State.
Recruitment: He said in late September that UNC (no offer) was recruiting him the hardest. This recruitment feels like it is still in the very early stages. We will have to wait and see whether UNC and NC State decide to offer.