Three months ago, a Gatorade-drenched Dave Doeren and his family of players flooded the turf at Tropicana Field in a mob of red and white, hoisting the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl trophy after their 34-27 win over the University of Central Florida in St. Petersburg, Florida. Now, the third-year head coach looks to turn the page and begin the next chapter in preparing for the upcoming football season.
After waiting months in eager anticipation to put the pads on, the NC State football team took the field March 5 to begin spring practice. Since getting back into the swing of things over the past month, coaches have keenly observed their players, old and new, each of whom want to demonstrate experience, athleticism, knowledge, and most importantly, hard work.
“Daily improvement, position by position, player by player; we want to be better,” Doeren said. “We’re trying to work at it in small increments at what can each guy do to improve his game.”
The 2015 Wolfpack parallels last year’s squad, yet features more maturity and experience, having been the NCAA’s third-youngest team in the 2014 season. The Pack lost a good number of seniors to graduation; however, the departures give the bulk of young players the opportunity to step off and prove that they’re deserving of significant roles.
The Pack will endure some key senior defensive departures from players, including safety Jarvis Byrd, defensive end Art Norman, linebacker Rodman Noel and defensive tackles T.Y. McGill and Thomas Teal.
Defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable recognizes the open gaps in his roster, but embraces the healthy competition from young players fighting to make the rotation.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do with some of the young players, particularly in our front seven,” Huxtable said. “They’re giving us good effort, coming out every day and continuing to improve.”
Huxtable was particularly enthused about the freshmen early enrollees, who graduated high school in the fall for the purpose of undergoing early preparations for their first season as a college athlete.
“They’ve been in the weight room since January, and they’ve been conditioning with our team,” Huxtable said. “At the same time, they’ve had meetings, have been able to start learning the schemes and are getting ahead with their classes.”
Two early enrollees who have generated a lot of excitement are the highly touted recruits in four-star defensive end Darian Roseboro and three-star running back Reggie Gallaspy II. Wolfpack fans can expect this pair to begin making an impact as soon as the season kicks off in September.
Though losing running back Tony Creecy, fullback Tyler Purvis and wide receiver Bryan Underwood to graduation, as well as losing breakout freshman wide receiver Bo Hines due to his decision to transfer, NC State’s offense will be as potent as ever in the upcoming season.
Redshirt senior signal caller Jacoby Brissett is ready to take over in 2015. After throwing for 23 touchdowns and 2606 passing yards last season, the West Palm Beach, Florida, native is ready to terrorize the secondary and will have NFL scouts swooning when running the offense.
September also awaits the return of the one-two punch combo of senior running back Shadrach Thornton and junior running back Matt Dayes. The pair combined for 1480 yards and 23 touchdowns, and look to burst through the trench and cause even more havoc in 2015. The duo of backs, as well as the speed and strength of Brissett, will make the NC State offense simply incendiary, a strong advantage with offensive coordinator Matt Canada in the driver’s seat.
One of the most vital strengths that a football team can possess is leadership. When asked about which players have stepped up to take the reins this season, Doeren listed alpha dog Brissett, graduate offensive guard Joe Thuney and graduate tight end Benson Browne on the offense. On the defensive side, redshirt senior safety Hakim Jones, junior cornerback Jack Tocho and redshirt senior defensive end Mike Rose have taken command.
