Next stop N.C. State: A look at two of the area’s top recruits

There’s a recognizable amount of respect between Shyheim Battle and Zonovan Knight.

They aren’t necessarily best friends, and they didn’t grow up together learning the game that has unlocked a considerable amount of opportunity for both of them. They go to different schools, play different positions, and were raised in different towns, but there’s a knowing handshake you give to a fellow power five recruit from your area who’s been through all the same pitches and pressures along the way.

Knight, a running back and rising senior for Southern Nash, committed to N.C. State in early July. Battle, a cornerback and rising senior for Rocky Mount High, followed along with his word to the Wolfpack later in the same month.

In between, there was some nudging from Knight to his contemporary, throwing out the idea of two athletes from the 252 area code teaming up in Raleigh in 2019 for N.C. State.

After this high school football season, both will graduate early and enroll in college for the second semester of the school year, making that scenario a reality.

The two met up earlier this month at Rocky Mount High to discuss their future team, their two current teams, who’s going to win the Big East this year, long visits to Indiana, group chats, the time Knight got a step on Battle for a touchdown, and more.

Rocky Mount Telegram: How well do you guys know each other? When did you guys meet?

Shyheim Battle: Middle school. Seventh grade.

Zonovan Knight: I didn’t really know-know Shyheim until high school. I think our relationship really clicked this year when we played them. He was a wide receiver and I had to guard him. I just kept telling him, ‘Good job,’ ‘Good job,’ after every play. That’s where we clicked.

RMT: When did you take notice of Zonovan?

SB: When we first played Southern Nash in middle school, I didn’t know who he was, but every time he got the ball he was running up the sidelines. He frustrated me. In high school, I come to find out he’s a fast kid. A pretty good kid. Had to keep my eye on him. He’s a good baller.

RMT: Of Shyheim?

ZK: I think my sophomore year when Sherrod Greene was here. We played them and they came to us.

RMT: You’re in the same grade and in the same area getting the same kind of recognition. Did that make you closer as friends?

SB: Yeah. I started hitting him with the direct messages. I think we followed each other, starting DMing each other: Who you like? Where you going to go? That type of stuff. Our relationship started growing when we found out we were the top two guys in our area. We started communicating more.

RMT: Who followed who?

(Pause)

ZK: I can’t even remember. (Laughs)

SB: I just know we started texting around the time we got some more offers.

ZK: It’s just something that happened.

RMT: What do you remember about those conversations?

ZK: Like Shyheim said, most of the time when we were talking we were just asking what our top schools were.

RMT: You guys committed to N.C. State pretty close to each other. (Zonovan) was in early-July. (Shyheim) was later that month. In that time between, did you guys talk at all?

SB: He was persuading me to commit. I kept telling him I would think about. I might make a move. When it all came down to the end, I thought about who was there the longest.

RMT: What kind of stuff were you telling Shyheim?

ZK: At first, he was kind of telling me that State was his first option. That was back when I was committed to Duke. And, like, once I decommitted, that’s when I started seeing, and we’d talk about, all the good stuff (Shyheim) liked about State. When I committed, I tried to recruit him. Tell him we had a good class coming in. He kind of surprised me when he committed.

RMT: How’d you find out? Twitter?

ZK: No, we were messaging each other on Instagram. He said he “flipped the switch.” I didn’t know what that meant. Then I started getting all these alerts — four-star cornerback commits to N.C. State. I texted Coach Doeren, he said he did.

RMT: How’d you find out about Zonovan?

SB: He told me right after, but I had a feeling he was going to go there. He visited N.C. State a lot of times. I was like, ‘Man, he’s at N.C. State everyday.’

ZK: Yeah, everybody already knew. (Laughs)

SB: Yep. I said, ‘He’s got to be going.’

RMT: It seems like it’s the movement right now for in-state players to go to N.C. State. Did that matter to you?

ZK: It played a big role. We had a group chat. We were all connected through the group chat, saying what we liked about State.

RMT: All you guys with a bunch of offers had a group chat?

ZK: It wasn’t everyone. I don’t think Shyheim was in it. We had (N.C. State commit) Josh Harris, he was in it. (N.C. State commit) Drake Thomas was in it. We all knew we were going to commit before we said it, but we didn’t really say anything.

RMT: You guys both had chances to go pretty far. When you see a guy like Zonovan commit close to home — and there are a bunch of others from around here — is that a perk to be familiar with teammates? Instead of somewhere you wouldn’t know many people?

SB: When Coach Doeren was recruiting me, when he first offered me, he sold that — ‘You won’t have to travel far. You can save money. You’ll have that connection with the area.’ That type of thing. You don’t have to travel way on the other side of the country. You won’t have to start a new life. That’s a good thing to me.

RMT: What did your moms say when you decided to stay close?

SB: She was shocked, surprised. But they’re behind me. They supported me. They can just drive up the street. They say they’re going to move, too.

ZK: My mom kind of already knew. I think when I went on my official visit to Purdue, that kind of sealed the deal. I knew I wanted to be close. I didn’t want to be too far from home. I wanted to go visit my parents.

RMT: All the way in Indiana?

ZK: Yessir. It was a different kind of feel. The first day there I knew it wasn’t for me. It was a great school. I just knew I wanted to be home.

RMT: Maybe that visit was a good thing, just to know you wanted to be close.

ZK: Before that, I was telling coaches I didn’t mind going across the country. That one visit showed everything to me. (Laughs)

RMT: Dave Doeren is a champion for Raleigh. He’s always touting the city and the facilities. Did his passion stick out to you guys?

SB: He’s really big on the area. He hasn’t been there so long but he says he doesn’t want to leave. He wants to raise his family there. He really likes it, the people he works with. My dad showed me something the other day, that another program was trying to take his guys, so he offered them raises so they won’t leave.

ZK: Really, he was family-based. Making sure my family was close, so they wouldn’t have to spend much money coming to the games. I grew up in Raleigh before I moved to Middlesex, so he didn’t so much have to sell me on the city. I already knew it was a great city.

RMT: What sticks out to you about Shyheim as a cornerback?

ZK: His break on the ball. He’s a great player. Most of the time, I guard him when we play. I watched his film. His ability to break on the ball is really good. He’s lanky. It gives him an advantage.

RMT: Shyheim?

SB: Everytime he gets the ball, I know he’s going to take a couple of steps, find a hole, and from there, ain’t nobody touching him. I can promise you, he’s got breakaway speed. He got three steps on me one time. I knew it was over. I know how it is when you have that speed.

RMT: If you both switched positions, who would be the better player at what?

ZK: I’d probably be the better corner (Laughs). But I like the feeling of scoring versus defense.

SB: I was a good running back in middle school. On the high school level I might not be so good. Maybe quarterback, wide receiver, not running back.

RMT: What’s one thing that surprised you throughout the whole college recruiting process?

SB: The attention. Once you’re a big-time recruit they treat you like a celebrity. It’s kind of like a respect thing. It makes you feel good but you’ve got to know what you’re worth too.

ZK: Being an NCAA Division I athlete, a lot of people expect different things from you. Expect you to do better. That was a hard adjustment for me.

RMT: Was all the attention weird?

ZK: At some point it feels like people want to be around you for that reason. Before all the offers not too many people were around.

RMT: You guys are all wrapped up college-wise. But there’s still a senior season to be played. Who’s going to win the Big East this year?

SB: Good question. I’m pretty confident in my team. Other than us two in the conference though, I don’t think there’s nobody else there.

ZK: I’m going to go ahead and agree with that.

RMT: Are you going to miss playing with Kendrick Bell?

ZK: I’m going to miss it a lot. Our relationship was pretty good. This past season we had to take over. The relationship over the course of the year grew through football, basketball and track.

RMT: How’s he doing at Charleston Southern?

ZK: Last time I talked to him, he was beat. He said they hadn’t touched the ball yet. Just conditioning. (Laughs)

The last thing I’ll ask — being from this area, being two marquee athletes in your grade — do you guys take pride in that?

SB: I take pride. I know I’m a competitor. I don’t like to be beat. I lost an All-Star Game and it got me good. I want to be the best at what I do. I’m going to work for it.

ZK: I feel like I have a lot to prove. You hear all those stories about the people that almost make it or don’t make it because of injuries and other things. I don’t want to be one of those people. I want to be one of those people that actually makes it. I want to change my families lives and take care of my mom.

This Q&A can be found in the Telegram’s upcoming football preview magazine.