NC State football recruiting LOI No. 18: Bishop Fitzgerald
NC State football recruiting was expecting a light February signing day, with just one anticipated signing. That signature has arrived in the form of On3 Consensus three-star safety Bishop Fitzgerald, a native of Dale City, Va., and product of Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College.
Fitzgerald confirmed to The Wolfpacker that he has signed his letter of intent.
Here is a bio of Fitzgerald, who joined 17 letters of intent for NC State football recruiting in December. The Wolfpack also has six transfer portal additions.
Measurables
• Listed at 6-0, 200 pounds on the Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College roster … At a combine prior to his senior year of high school, Fitzgerald reportedly had the fastest 40-yard dash time of the day at 4.41 seconds.
Stats
• Freshman: Made 5 tackles, including 3 solo, in 6 games.
• Sophomore: Had 50 tackles, including 22 solo, 4.5 for loss and 0.5 sacks, in 11 games. Added 6 interceptions (1 pick-six), 2 fumble recoveries (both returned for scores), 8 pass breakups and a forced fumble.
On3 Consensus Rating: Fitzgerald is rated three stars, the No. 9 junior college prospect nationally, No. 1 safety in the country and No. 3 JC player in the state.
• On3: Three stars, No. 13 junior college prospect nationally, No. 1 safety in the country and No. 3 JC player in the state.
• Rivals.com: Three stars, No. 13 junior college prospect nationally, No. 1 safety in the country and No. 5 player in the state.
• 247Sports: Three stars, No. 33 junior college prospect nationally, No. 2 safety in the country, No. 9 JC player in the state
• ESPN: Three stars, No. 11 junior college prospect nationally, No. 1 safety in the country and No. 2 JC player in the state.
Recruitment
• Fitzgerald Emerged on the NC State football recruiting board with an offer in early December.
• Narrowed his choices to offers from NC State, Arizona State, Cincinnati, Maryland and SMU.
• Picked NC State on Jan. 25 after taking official visits during the month to Raleigh and Arizona State.
Recruiter of Record
Safeties coach Joe DeForest
Analysis:
Past history indicates most junior college players make big leaps in performance in their second seasons at a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) program. At NC State, many of their success stories are similar. Larrell Murchison, for example, blossomed into an NFL player after redshirting a year at NC State.
Bishop Fitzgerald, however, has an excellent opportunity to make a quick impact in Raleigh.
The Pack lost both starting safeties from last year’s team plus All-ACC nickel Tyler Baker-Williams. One of the prime candidates to replace Baker-Williams would be rising fourth-year junior Devan Boykin, who similarly would be one of the most experienced options at safety. Aside from returning rising super senior Jakeen Harris, NC State does not have a lot of extensive experience at safety returning, providing Fitzgerald a chance to play quickly.
