The hiring of Tom O’Brien brought a new coaching regime to NC State and it
also opened up some new recruiting territories for the Wolfpack. One of the
regions that State looks to be more involved in is the midwest. One player the
NC State staff has made early contact with is mammoth offensive lineman Rick Schmeig.
At 6-5, 310 pounds and boasting 5.2-second speed in the 40-yard dash, Schmeig
is a super-sized offensive line prospect that helped lead his Oak Hills
(Cincinnati, Oh) squad to a 6-4 record in 2006- just missing out on the state
playoffs. Despite missing two games due to pneumonia, Schmeig still managed to
tally 67 pancake blocks on the year.
Lining up primarily as an offensive tackle, Schmeig has attracted early
recruiting interest from Eastern Michigan, Cincinnati, Iowa, NC State,
Northwestern, Michigan, Wisconsin and Marshall. For now the rising senior says
Iowa, Northwestern and Michigan are showing the most interest.
"I attended three games at Michigan last year," said Schmeig. "I’m going to
Northwestern’s junior day. The coach there texts me all the time and I really
like him. I think Michigan and Northwestern are probably close to offering. I’m
planning to camp at Ohio State, Wisconsin, Northwestern and maybe Cincinnati
this summer."
As for the Pack, they’ve shown early interest and Schmeig is waiting to see
if they increase that attention over the coming months.
"I’ve gotten some letters from State," he said. "It’s a ways from home but
distance doesn’t really matter to me. I’ve watched them on TV and I’ve always
liked them. I’m really just waiting to see if they’re going to show me more
interest."
A two year starter for Oak Hills, Schmeig plans to attend the Scout and Nike
combines over the coming months. He plans to major in Criminal Justice or
Sociology.