In his sophomore season, tight end Jaylen Samuels took the ACC by storm, emerging as one of the NC State football team’s most dynamic and versatile players en route to earning first-team All-ACC honors.
Now, entering his junior year, he is looking to get even better and help the Wolfpack get some wins under its belt. Samuels’ best trait might be his versatility, as he saw snaps at tight end, fullback, running back and wide receiver. That ability will allow first-year offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz to plug him in at different places on offense, which allows other players to see time at their best spots and cause problems for the opposing defense.
“The guy can do so many things,” Drinkwitz said. “[He can] line up at tailback, line up at quarterback, line up at wideout, line up at Y and in line, he’s done it all over his career and he is a very tremendous football player.”
While Samuels can play just about any position on offense, he classifies himself as a tight end because that is the position in which he works with the most. Many people have taken notice of Samuels, most notably Pro Football Focus, who listed him as a preseason All-American at the tight end position, and he finished second in voting for the All-ACC team with 41 votes, trailing only Jordan Leggett from Clemson, who garnered 89 votes. The expectations are high, but Samuels believes he can exceed them and play at an even higher level with the help of his offensive coordinator.
“I can improve by doing the things [Drinkwitz] wants me to do,” Samuels said. “Playing my game, trying to do better than what I did last year, trying to work on the things I need to work on from last year. All I want to do is win, and if we play together, that’s all that matters.”
Last season, he led the team in receiving with 65 catches for 597 yards and seven touchdowns and was third on the team in rushing with 56 carries for 368 yards and nine touchdowns. That was in Matt Canada’s offense last year, and with a new offensive coordinator in Drinkwitz, he and his teammates spent part of the offseason adjusting to the new offense.
“I think I acclimated to it pretty quick,” Samuels said. “I think everybody has caught on well with the signs and signals because we’re a fast-paced offense. Even the freshmen have caught on pretty quickly. It differs a little bit, but some of the things are the same and he’s starting to put some of the things that were here last year back in. I got adjusted to it pretty quick and I’m ready to play.”
In Canada’s offense, Samuels had a good amount of downtime because the skill players were constantly rotated on and off the field. However, Drinkwitz has a more up-tempo style offense that operates in the no-huddle, so there is a good chance that Samuels sees more playing time than last year, thereby giving him the chance to be even more productive. Samuels and the rest of the skill players worked on their conditioning over the offseason to account for this change.
“Coach Drink had been preaching to us all summer to get in shape, working with coach Thunder, so I’m just making sure I’m getting my conditioning up because I’m going to be in there way more than I was last year,” Samuels said. “Because of the tempo of the game, there’s not going to be as many substitutions, depending on the personnel. I just want to keep my body in the best shape that I can. Coach Drink likes to go fast, if it’s working, he’s going to keep rolling with it until they stop us.”
With the 2016 football season just one week away, Samuels is set to capitalize off of a highly productive 2015 campaign with the potential to make even more of an impact in a new offensive system. It will be exciting to watch as he and the rest of the Wolfpack take on more difficult opponents this coming season.
