QVirginia Tech’s defensive coordinator Justin Hamilton wasn’t patrolling the sidelines for the Hokies during last night’s game against NC State, but for the most part, his team didn’t need him. In fact, the Hokies didn’t need any of their 23 players sitting out this contest, specifically on the defensive side of the ball, as the Hokies’ defense contained the Wolfpack offense to 24 points.
Quarterbacks
For the first time this season, and it might not be the last, there were two Wolfpack quarterbacks who featured prominently in a game. Starting off the game was redshirt junior Bailey Hockman, coming off an impressive performance against Wake Forest in which he played a large part in the Pack scoring 45 points. He would do no such thing against the Hokies, however, as he lost his confidence early en route to seven completions on 16 attempts, 82 yards passing and two interceptions.
The tale of two quarterbacks changed scripts when the plug was pulled on Hockman and redshirt sophomore Devin Leary came in. By the time Leary entered the game, the Hokies were already up big, but he was able to orchestrate a few drives for the Wolfpack and finished the game with 12 completions on 16 attempts for 165 yards and a touchdown.
It’s unfair to say Hockman’s early struggles cost his team the opportunity for an upset win, but it is fair to say Hockman’s poor play balanced out Leary’s efficiency enough to give the quarterbacks average grades for this week.
Grade: C
Running backs
The running game continues to be a pleasant surprise for a Wolfpack offense that was sorely in need of one against Virginia Tech. Junior Ricky Person Jr. didn’t have quite the explosive running ability he displayed against Wake Forest, but he still ran for 64 yards on 13 carries, giving him an impressive 4.9 yards per carry.
Sophomore Zonovan Knight, on the other hand, continued his impressive play from the season opener, racking up 94 yards on just 14 carries. Sophomore Jordan Houston spelled the dynamic duo on occasion, picking up 22 yards on seven carries.
After two games, Knight and Person have proved the offense needs to run through them this season if the Wolfpack plans on exceeding expectations this year. There’s no guarantee that the Pack would’ve won this game if Knight and Person each touched the ball 20 times, but they would’ve at least made the game more competitive.
Grade: B+
Wide receivers
It’s not the wide receivers’ fault that Bailey Hockman couldn’t get the ball to them, but their play didn’t improve with Leary on the field either. We’ll see how well this unit plays with Leary at quarterback for the full 60 minutes, but the fact that the wide receiver group didn’t rehabilitate their stats at least a little bit in Leary’s portion of the game is concerning.
However, there were a few bright spots. Redshirt sophomore Devin Carter hauled in four catches for 79 yards, and senior Emeka Emezie got four catches of his own, albeit for only 29 yards. Aside from those two, it wasn’t a great day in the office for NC State wideouts.
Grade: D+
Tight ends
Tight ends are never going to gobble up the lion’s share of targets in most conventional offenses, and that goes for the NC State offense as well, but three combined catches for 31 total yards is abysmal. It’s not like redshirt seniors Cary Angeline and Dylan Parham were helping out the offensive line much, so they may as well produce in the receiving game. They did neither against Virginia Tech, so they deservedly get poor grades for this week.
Grade: D
Offensive line
The stats say this offensive line allowed the Wolfpack offense to run the ball well against the Hokies, and it’s true that the NC State offensive line deserves some credit. But Person and Knight are also very good players, and while they did run through some holes the offensive line created for them, the large gains they had were mostly the result of the duo running for its life.
The more telling stat is how this offensive line gave up six sacks against the Hokies, allowing Leary and Hockman to each get sacked three times each.
Grade: D+
