Why NC State surged inside 4-star EDGE Joseph Buchanan’s top schools after recent offer

by: Noah Fleischman02/18/26fleischman_noah

joseph-buchanan-penn-state-football-recruiting-on3 — Owings Mills (Md.) McDonough School junior edge rusher Joseph Buchanan unofficially visited NC State on Friday. (Credit: Chad Simmons | Rivals)

After initially planning to commit this past weekend, Baltimore (Md.) McDonough School four-star EDGE Joseph Buchanan opted to keep his recruitment open going into the spring. Buchanan, the No. 159 overall recruit in the 2027 cycle, was already a highly-coveted prospect by the top programs around the nation, including Indiana, Notre Dame and Ohio State. But by leaving his process open, it allowed other programs to enter the mix, something NC State took full advantage of.