Junior college players recommit to Wolfpack

N.C. State has again received football commitments from two players who signed with the Wolfpack in 2008 but failed to qualify.

Tobais Palmer and Roy Mangram both played at Georgia Military College this past season, and will do so again next fall. They will join N.C. State’s program in 2010 and have two years of eligibility remaining.

Palmer was an in-state standout at Northwood High in Pittsboro. A 5-foot-10, 170-pound running back/receiver, he carried 43 times for 311 yards (7.2 average) at Georgia Military. He also caught 13 passes for 259 yards, almost 20 yards a catch.

“He split out as much as he played running back,” said Georgia Military coach Bert Williams. “We look for a tailback who can basically give us what we want as a receiver. He does a very good job with that.”

Palmer has 4.45-second speed in the 40-yard dash. He had almost 1,600 yards rushing and 25 TDs as a high school senior.

Mangram was formerly at Glynn Academy in Brunswick, Ga. He’s 6-1 and 200 pounds. A defensive back in high school, he bulked up and eventually moved from safety to linebacker.

He had 19 tackles – three for losses – and a sack. He also returned a fumble for a score and had an interception in limited playing time on a 9-2 team.

“We moved him to linebacker probably the last quarter of the season,” Williams said. “He did a good job for us. We need Roy to step up next season because we lost just about everybody and we believe that he will. He’s a very good player. He’s got a lot of talent.”

-- Stan Olson