NC State football is looking to add to its program, and not just through the transfer portal. Jan. 24 at 7 a.m. in the Murphy Center, the team hosts an informational meeting to students interested in trying out for the team.
Depth is king in college sports, and that remains true down to the walk-on level. Graduate receiver Thayer Thomas had to earn a scholarship after he came to campus, and the elder Thomas brother went on to start for the Wolfpack for four straight seasons. Isaac Duffy earned a scholarship after walking on and factored heavily into the team’s 2020 resurgence. The coaching staff preaches next man up, and they make it happen in reality even down to the lowest on the depth chart.
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Alec Neugent joined the team by attending an informational meeting and trying out in spring 2020. The East Forsyth alum had finished his career with a bang, recording over 100 tackles and 20 TFLs, earning All-Forsyth County and All-Conference honors in his senior year. Then his parents encouraged him to try out for NC State’s team.
“I played football [for] four years; I loved it, it was awesome,” Neugent said. “I missed it a lot. And seeing the tryouts on Twitter and all that kinda made me think a little bit and question myself. But it wasn’t that I just missed [playing] a lot, my parents thought I should do it. I thought it’d be a good opportunity as well.”
Despite nervousness for about a month heading into the tryouts, Neugent said if he had to do it all again with the benefit of hindsight, he would’ve been fine save for cardio issues during his tryout. He was contacted shortly after with the good news.
Neugent said if could do it again, he wouldn’t change a thing; he formed great relationships and enjoyed being back on the field. In the defensive end room he singled out junior Savion Jackson, graduate Ibrahim “Ibu” Kante and Danny Blakeman as guys who became great friends.
“I remember I had a class with Savion prior to making the team and talking to him about tryouts and all that; he was telling me that you got this, don’t worry about it,” Neugent said. “But all of them really [welcomed] me, the whole D-line. Nice to me, did everything they could to help me get used to the whole system. Coach Wiles, he was awesome.”
Getting back into football is an adjustment, both physical and mental, especially considering the course load students have. Neugent said the first spring was the toughest, going from 7 a.m.-to-noon practices to class, then to meetings with Wiles to continue getting down the playbook.
“It was a lot to take care of in the first month I’d say, but I ended up adjusting to it; once I got the playbook down, it started coming all together,” Neugent said.
Neugent said the main difference between scholarship players and walk-ons is just the number of reps, other than that it’s all the same work. Culture’s extremely important for a program on the rise, and Neugent’s experience is yet another positive sign for the emerging Wolfpack.
“I would recommend this to anybody, if you ever get the opportunity, because coming from high school, I thought I was gonna be done with football,” Neugent said. “I thought it’d be over. … Giving me another chance to just go out there and just relive the days, it’s been awesome the last few years. If I could do it again, I definitely would because I think in the long run, it’ll always be worth it if it’s something you really care about, and the relationships you can build through college football, you’ll have for a lifetime, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Students interested in attending the informational meeting should bring their current class schedules. High School Relations Director Henry Trevathan can provide more information httrevat@ncsu.edu.
