Southeast Raleigh running back Christian Freeman gave NC State an early fireworks show Friday, becoming the Wolfpack’s first commit for its 2027 college football recruiting class.
“I’m Staying Home 🏠🐺!!!” Freeman announced with a social media post mid-morning July 4.
Freeman, a rising junior, gives NC State a three-star prospect to launch its 2027 class. He’s listed by 247Sports as the No. 20 player in the state among rising juniors and the No. 42 running back nationally.
The Wolfpack represented his first FBS “Power Four” offer. The Southeast Raleigh campus is located just 10 minutes from NC State’s Carter-Finley Stadium.
“I grew up an NC State fan since I was around 8-9 years old,” Freeman told The Wolfpacker, an On3 Web site.
Freeman (5-9, 190) rushed for 806 yards and six touchdowns last season for Southeast Raleigh. He also caught 19 passes for 197 yards and a TD. The Bulldogs won seven games. His speed during camps this summer caught the attention of NC State staff. He clocked a 40-yard dash time of 4.5 seconds. He was the running back MVP at a UNC camp.
Freeman also held offers from Appalachian State, Charlotte and East Carolina in our state, as well as West Virginia, Liberty, Troy and Bethune-Cookman.
In addition to starting its 2027 commitment list, NC State recently added a pair of in-state pledges to its 2026 recruiting class:
- Safety D’various Surratt (Shelby | Crest High) committed to the Wolfpack on July 1.
- Long snapper Taylon Tranel (Cameron | Union Pines HS) gave a verbal to the Wolfpack on June 30.
The Pack now has 15 verbals from the class of 2026, also picking up a commitment from safety Tristen Hill (Suwanee, GA | Peachtree Ridge HS) on July 2.
Surratt: NCSU’s highest ranked 2026 in-state pledge
247Sports lists Surratt as a three-star prospect and the No. 26 player in North Carolina. He’s currently the highest ranked in-state commitment for the Pack.
Surratt had a busy spring, visiting North Carolina, Duke and Virginia Tech in addition to NC State. He chose the Wolfpack over a wealth of notable offers, including Tennessee, Missouri, Wisconsin and West Virginia. He held 20 offers in all, per 247Sports, including all seven in-state FBS schools as well as Gardner-Webb.
Surratt (6-0, 185) picked off four passes for Crest last season. He also earned 43 tackles and returned punts for a 9.0 yards-per-return average. Crest finished 10-3.
Wolfpack gets its future long-snapper
NC State has long had strong special teams under coach Dave Doeren. Long-snapper Joe Shimko earned first-team All-American in 2023 and won the Patrick Mannelly Award.
Union Pines long-snapper Taylon Tranel aims to be next in the cue for the Wolfpack. He also held an offer from Elon.
Tranel (5-11 | 215) is ranked a 4.5-star long-snapper and the No. 16 long-snapper nationally from Kohls Snapping. He earned all-conference at Union Pines last season.
Tranel worked out at NC State’s prospect camp in mid-June and earned an offer June 23.
100% committed!!!
Thanks to all my friends, family, and coaches who supported me throughout this journey. Thanks to Coach Roper, Coach Goebbel, and the rest of the coaching staff at NC State for this opportunity. Thank you to Coach Till and the rest of the coaches at UP. Thanks… pic.twitter.com/diDrl1dnyG — Taylon Tranel (@Taylon_tranel70) June 30, 2025
Georgia three-star gives NCSU more safety help
NC State addressed a position group of need, adding three-star safety prospect Tristen Hill from Suwanee, Ga. Hill told 247Sports that he committed to the Wolfpack after his mid-June visit but did not announce it publicly for a few weeks. Hill also visited Duke, Louisville and Minnesota.
He’s a tackling machine, collecting 158 stops over the past two seasons at Peachtree Ridge. He also has picked off three passes.
✅Check out all of NC State’s 2026 verbal commitments: Visit our NC College Commitment Tracker.
✅See where North Carolina prospects from the Class of 2026 have committed: Visit our NC High School Commitment Tracker.
