Masen Smith
Running Back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. breaks through a tackle by Boston College’s James McDuffie at Carter Finley Stadium. The senior had a heavy workload on the day, racking up 104 yards on 25 carries.
NC State football will continue its conference play when Wake Forest makes the trip to Carter-Finley Stadium Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. The Wolfpack sit at 6-2 for the year while the Demon Deacons are 4-5.
Let’s take a look at the offensive side of NC State against Wake Forest.
Quarterback vs. Defensive Back
Graduate quarterback Ryan Finley has 2490 passing yards with 16 touchdowns for the season. In the game against Florida State, Finley completed 21 of 27 passes for an overall 77.8 passing percentage.
Safety Cameron Glenn from Wake Forest has accumulated 65 total tackles this season with one forced fumble. The team captain has tallied double-digit tackles within the past three games against Florida State, Louisville and Syracuse. Glenn will be in pursuit of Finley this weekend in hopes to land his first sack of the season.
Wide Receiver vs. Defensive Back
Junior wide receiver Kelvin Harmon has had an impressive season already with 831 receiving yards and five touchdowns to add to his record. The multi-award winning ACC Player of the Week is averaging 16.6 yards per reception this season.
Cornerback Essang Bassey is one of the better defenders the Demon Deacons have, holding down 61 tackles and 12 passes deflected so far this season. Bassey tied the school record last year in passes deflected at 19. The junior was named to the preseason third-team All-ACC.
Running Back vs. Linebacker
Senior running back Reggie Gallaspy Jr. has been a huge asset to the Wolfpack, becoming the second highest scorer this season with nine touchdowns. Gallaspy tallies 554 rushing yards and 13 receiving yards. The running back has scored a touchdown in every game except for the most recent one against the Seminoles.
Linebacker Justin Strnad is a high-ranking defensive player on the stats board. Strnad has 73 tackles, 1.5 sacks, three passes deflected and one forced fumble. The linebacker made a mark for himself at Wake Forest as the team leader in 2017 with 10 special team tackles.
Tight End vs. Defensive Line
Redshirt sophomore tight end Cary Angeline made his debut back with the Wolfpack after missing the first two games of the season. Angeline has 130 receiving yards with one touchdown this year and is also averaging 21.7 yards per reception.
Defensive end Willie Yarbary will be matched up against the Wolfpack’s offense as he carries 38 total tackles and 1.5 sacks this season. The team captain had a career-best seven tackles against Louisville a few weekends back.
Offensive Line vs. Defensive Line
Redshirt senior guard Terrone Prescod had the nation’s highest grade of offensive guards by ProFootballFocus through week 10. Prescod only allowed five pressures on 242 pass-blocking attempts and continues to further his success each week.
Defensive end Carlos Basham Jr. has 41 tackles and a whopping three sacks for the season. After not getting much playing time last year, Basham stepped up as one of the better defensive linemen to prove his worth.