The NC State football team held its own at home against the No. 3 Clemson Tigers Halloween night, losing 56-41. Here are some of the top performances the Wolfpack had to offer.
Jaylen Samuels
With junior running back Matt Dayes suffering a toe injury at the end of the first half, Samuels proved to be the most valuable offensive weapon for the Wolfpack. He carried the ball six times for 65 yards and a touchdown and caught eight passes for 74 yards and a touchdown. With Dayes out, he took over the lead back role, which didn’t matter as much since NC State was playing from behind and opted to pass the ball for the majority of the second half.
Samuels had two big plays that ignited a flame in the Wolfpack and kept it in the game. The first came when redshirt senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett found Samuels in the flat; the 5-foot-11 sophomore broke a tackle and outran the defense for a 40-yard touchdown to put the Wolfpack up 20-19 with 5:46 remaining in the half. The second came on a 66-yard rush to the 1-yard line, where he burst through tackles and made multiple defenders miss. He punched it in on the next play to bring the Wolfpack within one score.
Juston Burris
While the pass defense struggled all night, allowing sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson to throw for 383 yards and five touchdowns on 23-of-30 passes thrown, the graduate cornerback wasn’t the issue. If you look back at the film, you will notice that most of Clemson’s big plays came on the right side, while Burris plays on the left.
Additionally, Burris was second on the team in tackles with nine, bottling up running back Wayne Gallman just about any time he tried to bounce outside to the left. He also forced a fumble with 13:01 remaining in the game that set up an NC State touchdown that brought the team back within two scores.
Burris’ 6-foot-1, 207-pound frame makes him hard for opposing wide receivers to block, so he’s a valuable asset when defending the run. Additionally he is, hands down, the best defensive back on a team that’s struggled in pass coverage this season.
A.J. Cole
Punters don’t often get the recognition they deserve, but the freshman did a good job against the Tigers. He punted the ball five times for 253 yards and an average of 50.6 yards per punt, landing one inside the 20-yard line. Additionally—something the stats don’t show—he had good enough hang-time on his punts for the coverage team to get down the field and hold Clemson to zero punt return yards on the game.
Play of the Game
After Clemson picked NC State apart in the run game to take an early 7-6 lead, freshman wide receiver Nyheim Hines used his blockers to outrun the entire Tigers’ special teams unit en route to a 100-yard touchdown that gave the Wolfpack a 13-7 lead. The play tied the school record for the longest kickoff return with former wide receivers T.J. Graham and Tobias Palmer.
With the Wolfpack putting together a strong opening drive that was let down by a blocked extra point and Watson absolutely picking apart the defense on the Tigers’ opening drive, Hines’ electric return gave the Pack some momentum and positive vibes in what ended up being an offensive shootout.
Player to Watch: David J. Grinnage
Where has this guy been? In the first six games of the season, Grinnage had merely five catches for 60 yards and zero touchdowns after leading the Pack with five receiving touchdowns last season. Against Clemson, he finally emerged as a threat in the passing game, catching the ball seven times for a team-high 82 yards and one TD.
The junior tight end possesses good speed with his bouldering 6-foot-5, 265-pound frame that makes him a difficult player to guard. He can be a key player in the passing game if the offense utilizes him properly like it did against Clemson. A good option would be to pass the rock to him in the seam, where he is fast enough to get by the linebackers and big enough to catch over the safeties.
