With 24 days until NC State travels to Blacksburg, Virginia to face off against Virginia Tech, the Wolfpack began practices in full pads Wednesday. As the team and coaching staff gels together ahead of its 11-game schedule, here’s an early look at causes for optimism and concern in the form of a confidence index for the offense:

Quarterback – Low

There are not a lot of positives that can be said here outside of knowing redshirt sophomore Devin Leary will be the starter for the Wolfpack. A year ago, NC State was running a three-man race for the top spot, but head coach Dave Doeren has been behind Leary as the starter since spring ball. As far as what Leary has shown on the field, his best performance was ironically his first real action: a 15-for-33, three-touchdown day against Boston College. After it seemed he would end the year on a high note, Leary had a dreadful 7-for-20, 98-yard and two-interception performance to close the year against UNC. Leary had problems last year with accuracy, decision-making and dropping the football.

With a new quarterback coach and offensive coordinator in Tim Beck, Leary certainly may take a huge step forward this year, but that’s not a bet many would happily take. Beck’s system is challenging at times, but he’s teaching the quarterbacks the why behind the way their calls work.

“They’re not just memorizing; there’s a system that goes with it, and he teaches it well,” Doeren said. “The words have good word association with them so that guys can understand the why behind why it’s named [what it’s named]. It’s been fun watching Tim and the staff work with the players. They’re very comfortable with it. He’s put a lot on them; he’s really challenged them mentally… They want to be challenged; they want to be pushed.”

Running Backs – High

When asked during Wednesday’s Zoom whether there was a particular position group that stood out, Doeren singled out the running backs.

“The depth at running back, it’s fun to watch,” Doeren said. “[Redshirt freshman] Delbert Mimms had a really good day today. He’s a name that we haven’t really talked about, [out of] the ones that have been out there. It’s just fun to watch the rotation and guys come in, and there’s a lot of pride in that room to not let the level of play change.”

Doeren singling out the No. 4 back on the roster as a surprise is no accident. NC State returns a proven commodity in its three-headed rushing attack of sophomores Zonovan Knight and Jordan Houston and junior Ricky Person. Knight, despite fighting through injury for much of the year, turned in a team-leading 745 yards and five touchdowns on over five yards a carry, and scatback Jordan Houston provided a much-needed change of pace, a speedier and more agile alternative to Knight and Person. Factor in Mimms and redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix adding depth, and recruiting stars aside, NC State’s running backs room rivals any team in the ACC. 

Wide Receivers – Medium

Last year, this group would’ve received high marks, but that was before graduate C.J. Riley tore his ACL and junior Emeka Emezie underwhelmed in his first year as a starter. NC State’s wide receivers group had to deal with spotty quarterback play, sure, but you’d be hard-pressed to find many examples of it making plays last year. Emezie wore Kelvin Harmon’s No. 3 last year but after a disappointing campaign returned to his more familiar No. 86 for this year. Filling Harmon’s shoes is a heavy load to place on one’s shoulders, and that was what wearing No. 3 meant no matter how much Emezie argued the opposite. 

“I think he’s really hard on himself, and I think, at times, he’s been his own worst enemy that way, getting in his own head about his expectations and disappointments,” Doeren said. “Right now he’s just consistent. He’s taking it one day at a time. He’s having fun; he’s very aggressive in practice. He’s been very consistent. And it’s just part of the process of growing up and dealing with all things that you have, and [I’m] proud of the growth that he’s made.”

Between Riley or redshirt sophomore Devin Carter, Emezie and redshirt junior Thayer Thomas, NC State won’t field the scariest starting wide receiver group that teams will go up against, but they do have significant game experience. And young receivers like sophomore Keyon Lesane and freshmen Chris Scott and Anthony Smith add some serious speed to this group.

Tight Ends – High

Between redshirt senior Cary Angeline and graduate Dylan Autenrieth, NC State has pass-catching and blocking covered. Angeline stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall and should be any quarterback’s best friend, but only averaged 30 receiving yards a game. Still, Angeline made the most of his targets with a team-leading five touchdowns despite only having the fifth-most receptions. Autenrieth doesn’t fill up a stat sheet but he opens up running lanes, an invaluable service for the aforementioned running backs corps. These two are safety blankets: They don’t break the game, but you’ll miss them when they’re gone—and NC State certainly missed Autenrieth when it lost him to season-ending injury.

Offensive Line – High

Offensive line coach John Garrison is very happy with the group he’s working with this year, and for good reason. Six returning offensive linemen have starting experience, and sophomore Ikem Ekwonu, an Athlon second-team preseason All-ACC pick, has serious potential. Redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason, who didn’t play much last year while transitioning from defensive to offensive line, is also a player to watch.

“Derrick Eason was a guy that maybe struggled with [the transition] a little bit, early on,” Garrison said. “Now he’s totally gung-ho. He’s grasped it and he’s another guy that is gonna be a big time player for us.”

Along with the young guys causing excitement, a couple veteran players return from season-ending injuries: graduate Tyrone Riley and redshirt senior Justin Witt. Riley and Witt will factor in heavily to play at tackle giving Garrison a good problem to have: figuring out how to get so many talented players on the field.

Kicker – Very, very high

Junior Chris Dunn has never missed a PAT, is already fifth in school history with 44 made field goals, and has the fourth-highest field goal percentage in school history at 88%. Enough said. 

Bonus: Offensive coaches – Medium

Much of this designation hinges on a single new hire: offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck. The rest of the staff inspires confidence, but Beck’s reputation is in need of rehabilitation as stops at Ohio State and Texas ended up with offensive-minded coaches taking the reigns away from him. It appears he thinks the elixir is coming to NC State, a smaller program where he will have more freedom. While undoubtedly a good quarterback coach, this season will make or break the rumors about Beck’s coordinating ability. The offense will go where he can take it.