RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) — The North Carolina State University Wolfpack football team has high expectations heading into the 2024 college football season.
The preseason AP Top 25 poll was released on Monday afternoon and NC State was among the teams ranked in the poll — coming in at No. 24.
The Wolfpack are the fourth-highest-ranked program among ACC teams. Miami ranked No. 19, Clemson ranked No. 14 and Florida State ranked No. 10.
NC State finished last season strong winning their final five regular season games and finishing third place in the ACC. They ended the year ranked No. 21 in the final polls.
Strong returning talent combined with an influx of strong high school recruits and a star quarterback in Coastal Carolina transfer Grayson McCall has Wolfpack fans dreaming of an ACC title.
Recruiting Triad high school stars
Adding to the influx of high school talent for NC State are two local high school football stars.
First up on the list is Grimsley High School’s Terrell Anderson. Anderson is a wide receiver listed at 6-feet-3-inches tall and 188 pounds.
247Sports ranks Anderson as the 92nd-best player in the nation for the Class of 2024 and the 20th-best wide receiver. Anderson’s in-state rankings are even more impressive as he ranks as the 4th-best player in the state of North Carolina.
Anderson was one of the main contributors to Grimsley Whirlies’ 10-0 regular season record and run to the 4th Round of the state playoffs. In the 14 games that he played during his senior season, Anderson caught 64 passes for 1,114 yards and fourteen touchdowns, according to MaxPreps. Anderson averaged 79.6 receiving yards per game.
His longest catch was a 73-yard touchdown grab that can be watched below:
However, Anderson’s senior year production was not simply a flash in the pan. He also recorded 64 catches in his junior season for a total of 1,254 yards. For his career, Anderson finished with 180 catches, 3,269 yards and 34 touchdowns.
Anderson committed to NC State on Dec. 20.
The Wolfpack will also be adding the services of an explosive playmaker from Cummings High School.
Don’t let his size fool you, Jonathan Paylor is a dynamic playmaker. Standing at 5-feet-10-inches tall and weighing 170 pounds, Paylor is considered to be one of the best athletes in the nation.
247Sports ranks Paylor as the second-best athlete in the country. He is the third-best overall player in the state of North Carolina and the 103rd-best overall player in the nation.
Paylor was an absolute terror for defenses while starring for Cummings High School. During his senior season, Paylor himself accounted for 3,262 all-purpose yards and 33 touchdowns in just 12 games played, according to MaxPreps. An average of 271.8 all-purpose yards per game.
Throughout his career at Cummings, Paylor demonstrated high-level play both as a running back and as a wide receiver. He honed his running back skills his senior season rushing for 2,378 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground.
For his career, Paylor recorded 8,319 all-purpose yards and 83 touchdowns. He ran for 4,525 of those yards and was on the receiving end for 2,893 of them.
He committed to NC State on Dec. 20 as well.
247Sports National Recruiting Analyst Greg Biggins says that Paylor can “easily play not just one or two but three different positions at the college level.” He added that Paylor “can bounce between running back and slot and is a true home-run threat from anywhere on the field.”
