Here's your recruiting class on zero conference wins

The summer months were good to Dave Doeren and his staff during their first year in Raleigh, but they haven't been able to match that early success in their second go 'round through the recruiting cycle. It's not easy to play salesman after your program just finished a winless run through conference play, but even with that handicap, State has been (and is) in the mix for blue chip talent.

It's just that State hasn't managed to close on several of its primary targets this year, as Matt outlined last month. There are several premium targets still on the board, and a couple pledges could quickly begin to change the atmosphere surrounding the Pack's 2015 class.

Particularly with football recruiting, it seems like things can change on a dime (or a grand, am I right). At this point the harsh truth is this: NC State has the lowest number of commitments in the ACC, and that group ranks last in the league. State's one of just three ACC programs with fewer than 10 commitments.

There's a lot of context to those rankings--quantity can trump quality, and half the league is in the exact same place as State in that they have zero four- or five-star commitments. Go by average rating and State's class ranks right around the middle.

That's not bad, but it still feels like a step backward. If it weren't clear enough, Dave Doeren and his staff need a good 2014 season on the field to prevent this whole mess from unraveling completely. A bowl game, some tangible progress, this they can work with. (While they search for more competent bag men. YOU PEOPLE ARE REALLY LETTING US DOWN OVER HERE. ahem).