The NC State football team battled adversity for the majority of last season. After showing promise at the beginning of the year, the Pack dropped off in conference play, ending with the exact same regular season record as the year before, the biggest difference being a sloppy loss in the Belk Bowl.
Combined with the ending to last season and a much tougher nonconference schedule that features Notre Dame and East Carolina, expectations have tempered for the Wolfpack. Here is a breakdown of the team heading into the 2016-17 season.
The starting quarterback battle is possibly the biggest storyline of camp so far. The winner will more than likely come down to redshirt junior Ryan Finley and redshirt sophomore Jalan McClendon, with redshirt freshman Jakobi Meyers as a dark horse.
After NC State hired former Boise State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz to fill that same role with the Wolfpack, Finley followed him over from Boise State for a chance to take the Pack’s starting gig. Finley knows the system and brings valuable experience to NC State’s otherwise young quarterback position.
However, McClendon has been favored to succeed former quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who was drafted by New England in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft, pretty much ever since he was recruited. McClendon has a good blend of power, accuracy and athleticism and should still be the favorite to win the job as long as he picks up Drinkwitz’s new offensive system.
As for the rest of the offense, even with Brissett at the helm, superstars Matt Dayes and Jaylen Samuels were the biggest parts of the offense. Dayes led the team in rushing, running for 865 yards and 12 touchdowns before getting hurt against Clemson, and the offense wasn’t the same without him.
Samuels picked up some of the slack at running back, once again proving that he is versatile enough to play just about anywhere. The offensive juggernaut finished the year with a team-leading 65 catches for 597 yards and seven touchdowns to go along with 368 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on the ground. With No. 1 wide receiver Jumichael Ramos missing the year with a knee injury, Samuels and Dayes could be an even bigger part of the offense.
Also expected to step up at wide receiver is senior Bra’Lon Cherry, redshirt sophomores Stephen Louis and Maurice Trowell with dynamic sophomore Nyheim Hines in the slot.
The offensive line lost three stellar starters to graduation in Joe Thuney, Quinton Schooley and Alex Barr, with Thuney also being drafted by the Patriots and Schooley currently in camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Returning starter Tony Adams was solid at both center and right guard and will likely act as the leader to a young position group.
The defensive line has a plethora of talent in senior Monty Nelson, juniors Bradley Chubb, Kentavius Street, B.J. Hill and Justin Jones, sophomores Darian Roseboro and Eurndraus Bryant. This is one of the top-three position groups on the whole team and will be a force to be reckoned with for opposing teams, with Chubb and Hill being the superstars of the group.
The linebacking corps returns both starters in redshirt junior Jerod Fernandez and junior Airius Moore. Both have been rising stars since they were freshmen and have only gotten better with each year. Sophomore Riley Nicholson and redshirt junior Ford Howell could also see playing time if the team decides to rotate its linebackers like it did last year.
Senior cornerback Jack Tocho is looking for a bounce-back year as the leader of a secondary that lost Juston Burris and Hakim Jones. Junior Mike Stevens will likely start on the other side after splitting time with Tocho last year. Josh Jones also returns as a starter at safety with promising junior Shawn Boone likely getting the nod at the other safety spot.
Sophomore Kyle Bambard looks to have a leg up in the kicking competition, but senior transfer Connor Haskins from UNC-Pembroke could take his job if he can’t improve from his 50 percent field goal percentage from last season. Sophomore punter A.J. Cole played well and got even better as the year went on during his rookie campaign and looks to reassume that role.
While expectations are lower than they were the start of last season, this team has a chance to be very good and possibly surpass the record from last season if the star players are used the correct way in the new offensive scheme and the defense plays at a high level. The team’s success could come down to how well the rising players replace those who graduated.
Junior running back Matt Dayes makes a rush to the sideline during the home opener against Troy on Sept. 5. Dayes performed strongly during the game with 29 touches on 191 yards. The Wolfpack beatTroy 49-21 in the home opener in front of a crowd of 57,000 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
