Saturday featured the NC State football team’s first contest on the gridiron since late December, as the Red and White squads, accompanied by perfect weather and thousands of fans, arrived at Carter-Finley Stadium for the annual Kay Yow Spring Game.
Though the scrimmage saw minimal scoring from the offenses, the Red squad walked off with a 16-3 victory over the White team.
“There were some good things out there,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “When we get our full team out there where everyone is healthy, it creates a few more things we can do on offense, but we got out of it what we wanted. We stayed healthy and a lot of guys got worked.”
The red squad scored all 16 of its points in the second quarter. At the 10-minute mark, grad student tight end Benson Browne caught a short pass from redshirt senior Jacoby Brissett and bullied his way to the end zone for the score. On the team’s following possession, senior running back Shadrach Thornton bolted through the trench for a one-yard touchdown.
The game featured two talents under center—one proven and one emerging.
As expected, Brissett generated excitement for the upcoming season by reminding spectators of his athleticism. In the opening minutes of second quarter, the 6’4” signal caller stunned the crowd with a 50-yard laser to sophomore tight end Jaylen Samuels. Brissett played for three quarters and completed 13 of his 32 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown.
It’s nice to know that the Wolfpack will have insurance at the quarterback position this season in redshirt freshman Jalan McClendon. The Charlotte native boasts a rocket arm and a 6’5” frame similar to Brissett’s. McClendon was deadly accurate in the first half, throwing for 117 yards and hitting his receivers on 14 of his 25 pass attempts.
Three-star recruit and early enrollee freshman Reggie Gallaspy II may not play as strong of a role this season due to the Wolfpack’s depth at running back. However, the High Point native showed stellar potential in his 21 reps on Saturday. Gallaspy underperformed in the first half, but impressed coaches and spectators alike after switching to the Red team to start the third quarter. In the second half alone, Gallaspy tallied 120 yards on 13 carries, averaging 9.2 yards per. Wolfpack fans can expect this first-down machine to have an impressive career with the team.
Rock-solid defense was on display from both sides. The linemen showed a strong performance, keeping the quarterbacks under constant pressure. Among the standouts was freshman four-star recruit Darian Roseboro, who, on one occasion, tackled fellow frosh Gallaspy for a seven-yard loss.
“As the spring’s gone on, you’re starting to see [Roseboro’s] God-given ability,” Doeren said. “For a big man he is very quick-twitch. He’s a very mature freshman.”
The backfields were effective on both squads. Senior safety Hakim Jones and junior cornerback Jack Tocho led both secondaries in burdening the offenses with consistent pass disruption.
The only two major mishaps came from NC State’s special teams, who were responsible for a 20-yard punt in the first quarter and a missed extra point after the Red squad’s second touchdown.
Wolfpack fans raised over $16,000 at the event. The donations will be split between the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and the Wolfpack Club’s Kay Yow Endowment.
