NC State surging for 4-star WR Jonathan Paylor

As Burlington (N.C.) Hugh M Cummings four-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor‘s commitment date nears, an in-state program continues to rear its head.

Thanks to a pair of predictions on the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), the NC State Wolfpack is making some ground behind South Carolina. The Wolfpacker’s Ethan McDowell and GamecockCentral’s Wes Mitchell have each placed a pick for NC State to earn the pledge of Paylor with confidence levels of 60 and 65%, respectively.

South Carolina still holds the RPM lead at 57.6%, but NC State is right behind at 37.6% and continues to trend in the right direction. Paylor is set to commit on August 5 at 2 p.m. ET at his high school.

“The news isn’t as positive for the Gamecocks with four-star wide receiver Jonathan Paylor,” said Mitchell, who placed his RPM pick for Paylor to choose NC State on July 29. “I believe the Wolfpack have strengthened their position in the last week.”

Paylor took a round of official visits in June, heading to North Carolina, Maryland, NC State and South Carolina. In total, the 5-foot-9, 170-pounder has taken double-digit visits to Raleigh. Paylor told McDowell that his top five schools — the four aforementioned as well as Penn State — are all still in contention in his recruitment and he is yet to pick a school.

“It’s still between the top five,” Paylor said. “Right now, all schools are still top contenders. All schools are still up there, but, right now, what helps me is the family decision, what program fits me the most and what offense would I fit in.”

Ranked as the No. 169 overall player in the class, Paylor is also the No. 28 WR and No. 4 player out of North Carolina in the cycle, per the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

NC State in need of Paylor’s commitment

NC State owns the No. 57 class in the nation and the No. 12 class in the ACC, better than only Virginia and Boston College. The Wolfpack have just 12 commits, tied with the Cavaliers for the least in the conference.

Paylor would be the highest-ranked commit in coach Dave Doeren‘s 2024 class, which is currently made up of only three-stars, highlighted by Alexandria (Ala.) Gulf Shores athlete Ronnie Royal III and Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna quarterback Cedrick Bailey Jr.

The Wolfpack’s class currently doesn’t feature a wide receiver. Paylor would be the fifth in-state commit in the class, joining Charlotte Providence Day safety Brody Barnhardt, Gastonia Ashbrook offensive tackle Trent Mitchell, Rolesville running back Isiah Jones and Wake Forest linebacker Zane Williams.