Tom O'Brien has completed his first season as the head football coach at N.C. State, and so far the numbers show that N.C. State's in-state recruiting is on the rebound.

Under the reigns of Chuck Amato, much criticism was directed toward his love for Florida football players.

From 2002 to 2006, N.C. State had 110 football commitments. Of those 110 players, 42 came from Florida, while only 33 came from the Wolfpack's home state. In the last two recruiting periods, 2007 and 2008, O'Brien has signed 44 players, and 20 of those have come from North Carolina.

Take a look at the state-by-state breakdown.

Of course, it's not all about the number of recruits coming into N.C. State from North Carolina, but how good are these recruits? According to rankings from Rivals.com, 2003 was the best year for Amato's in-state recruiting. Amato brought in nine North Carolina prospects, including five-star offensive linemen Derek Morris from North Mecklenburg and four-star Mario Williams of Richlands.

Amato's 2003 in-state recruiting class had an average star-rating of 3.33. In 2004, the average dropped to 3.17, to an even 3 in 2005, and to a career low in 2006 at 2.40.

In two recruiting classes, O'Brien has begun to rebound the in-state recruiting standards. The 2007 in-state class had an average of 2.58 stars, a 0.18 improvement from 2006. So far, O'Brien's 2008 in-state recruiting class has an average of three-stars, but it includes two four-star prospects, Brandon Barnes (Bunn) and Terrell Manning (Scotland County).

O'Brien has brought this improvement to Raleigh because of many different things, but his grassroots connection with the high schools is a major part of the improvement.

The Wolfpack has out-recruited its  foes in Chapel Hill over the past two seasons as well. In the 2007 and 2008 recruiting periods, Butch Davis has snared 10 in-state recruits, half of what N.C. State has harvested. Of those t10in-state recruits, only one has committed in the 2008 recruiting period - Braden Hanson, a 6-6 quarterback from Charlotte Latin.

East Carolina has brought in 28 in-state recruits between the 2007 and 2008 recruiting periods, but those recruits have an average rating of 2.18.

ECU has been able to bring in good players and do great things under Skip Holtz, and if Holtz stays in Greenville, the Pirates could be attracting some of the top talent in the state.

Appalachian State has only brought in nine in-state recruits over the last two recruiting periods.

For several years there has been talk about a prospect pipeline sending top prospects to schools outside of North Carolina. That pipeline is still opening, but N.C. State and East Carolina are helping to slow down the flow.