3-star ATH Ronnie Royal III signs with NC State
NC State officially added Ronnie Royal III to its incoming freshman class Wednesday morning. The top priority safety prospect submitted his National Letter of Intent and is officially running with the Pack.
Royal, an Alabama state champion, holds offers from an impressive list of Power Five programs but picked NC State after taking a pair of ACC official visits over the summer. He is one of two safety commits in the 2024 class and could play either role, or potentially nickel, at the collegiate level.
Position: Safety
School: Alexandria (Ala.) Gulf Shores School
Height/Weight: 5-11, 175 pounds
Ranking: No. 438 nationally, No. 14 athlete, No. 26 in Alabama
Other offers: Florida State, South Carolina, Arkansas
Senior year stats: 55 tackles (34 solo, 9 for loss and 2 sacks), 5 interceptions (3 for touchdowns), 2 forced fumbles, 1 quarterback hurry, 12 defended passes, 151 carries for 1,069 yards and 17 scores, 34 catches for 473 yards and a touchdown, 15 pancake blocks, 1 for 1 passing for 37 yards and another score, 2 fumbles lost, 14 kickoff returns for an average of 29.4 yards and 2 touchdowns and 28 punt runbacks for 21.7 yards per attempt and 4 touchdowns, 2,715 all-purpose yards.
Accolades (All state, UA All American, etc. if applicable): Alabama 5A offensive player of the year, 5A state championship MVP.
How Ronnie Royal III ended up at NC State
After picking up an offer from NC State in January, Royal took one trip to NC State— a June official visit in Raleigh. He also spent a weekend at Boston College, and the two ACC programs emerged as his two finalists. The dynamic defensive back committed to the Wolfpack less than a week after his visit concluded. Missouri made a late push for Royal, but his commitment remained completely solid.
Why Ronnie Royal III picked NC State
“Me watching film with the players that were already committed, it just felt like home already,” Royal said.
Coach’s scouting report
“Ronnie is a dynamic kid who’s going to be a great asset to their program,” Gulf Shores School head coach Mark Hudspeth said. “He brings a lot of intangibles to the team that the fans won’t realize until he gets there.
“He’s a great player, obviously, when you watch him on film, but the thing that he brings to the team is he’s a high character kid. He’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve been around. He’ll set the tone for the offseason program. He’s highly competitive and unselfish, willing to play wherever you put him on the field.”
