Senior running back Shadrach Thornton was arrested for his role in a scooter accident Tuesday and was dismissed from the team Wednesday before Saturday’s game against Louisville. The NC State football team followed that up with an offensive performance that amounted to just 45 total rushing yards in a losing effort, after rushing for 330 yards and seven touchdowns the week before.
Thornton’s presence as the power back was clearly missed as the Wolfpack struggled to run between the tackles all game. From a talent perspective, Thornton was among the top-five players on the team, and while his dismissal was the right decision, it was one that will ultimately hurt the team.
The 6-foot-1 Hinesville, Georgia, native formed the ultimate one-two punch with junior running back Matt Dayes. While Thornton was more power-oriented, Dayes is more speed-oriented, as he uses his elusiveness to make the defenders miss in both the running and passing game. Though Dayes has had a great season with 95 carries for 522 yards and 10 touchdowns, and 18 catches for 158 yards, he is more effective when Thornton is in the mix.
In the first two games of the season, when Thornton was suspended, Dayes tallied 242 yards and five touchdowns on 48 carries for an average of 5.0 yards per carry. The next two games, with Thornton back, Dayes carried the ball 28 times for 212 yards and four touchdowns for an average of 7.6 yards per carry. Last game against Louisville, Dayes managed just 68 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries for an average of 3.6 yards per carry.
Yes, the overall yardage totals were down as he was splitting carries with Thornton, but his averages were way up. Thornton’s presence not only kept Dayes fresh, but added an extra weapon to the offense that could use Dayes’ versatility in a variety of ways to exploit weaknesses in the opposing defense.
With Thornton out of the picture, opposing defenses will zero-in on Dayes to limit his productivity as he is now the feature back. Freshman running back Reggie Gallaspy II has shown potential in limited playing time, but he is too young and not quite the physical presence that Thornton was. His lack of experience makes the coaching staff more reluctant to give him the workload that Thornton and Dayes had, leaving Dayes seeing more carries than he’s used to.
While Dayes is a talented player, possibly more so than Thornton, he operates best as a scat back who thrives in open space. Without Thornton, Dayes is asked to pound it up the middle more frequently to keep the defense guessing — something that he can do, but not quite as efficiently.
NC State’s offense was built around the power running attack behind the three-headed monster of Thornton, Dayes and sophomore fullback Jaylen Samuels. Even senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett is a decent runner, with his unique use of size and agility making him a tough player to bring down.
In Saturday’s loss, amidst Thornton’s dismissal, the Wolfpack seemed to stray away from its typical identity. Samuels did not carry the ball once, and Brissett lost 26 yards on 10 carries, leaving Dayes as the only effective runner on the day.
However, not all defensive lines are as formidable as Louisville’s, and NC State will have more luck running against just about every other team except Clemson and Florida State. That being said, the Pack will still be a bowl-eligible team sans Thornton assuming it can bounce back from this horrific performance.
Thornton’s impact and running ability, however, would likely have made State a 10-win team and helped it compete against the ACC powerhouses. With a now-hampered run game, the Pack will likely struggle to do so.
The talented running back ends his career sixth place in school history in rushing yards with 513 carries for 2,572 yards and 19 touchdowns, including 30 carries for 203 yards and three touchdowns this season.
If the Wolfpack wants to remain competitive in the ACC and maintain a respectable profile among its foes, it will need to establish a successful rushing attack without Thornton.
