NC State head football head coach Dave Doeren started his address to the media to kick off Meet the Pack Day by addressing competitions for starting spots, including the kicking responsibilities for graduate transfer Carson Wise and junior Kyle Bambard in the upcoming season.
“[Wise] definitely started with the ones and hasn’t given it back … He has done everything to stay where he was when he got here,” Doeren said. “Kyle has worked really hard and I think he will be our kick off guy. If we had to play now that’s how it would be.”
Good things are expected out of the entire Pack this year, including newcomer Wise, a graduate transfer from Carson-Newman University who spent a season prior with Virginia Tech. While with the Carson-Newman Eagles, Wise was 13 of 18 on field goals and was 96 percent on point after attempts.
“[Wise has] done everything you would want him to do: be consistent, make the kicks he is capable of making and now being in pressure situations,” Doeren said. “We put him in some pressure situations the other day and he was 3 for 3. The next step is live rushing.”
Wise feels getting ready for his first year with the Pack is the same as previous seasons and expressed that his time at Virginia Tech has prepared him for ACC play.
“I don’t really think it’s that different. It’s the same field, the same uprights and everything,” Wise said. “I do have the experience from the time I was at Virginia Tech so although I didn’t get to play there I got to experience the game day and how that preparation is.”
Some NC State fans are relieved to hear Wise will be managing the majority of place kicking responsibilities this season after the missed opportunities from last year. Bambard was 5 for 10 last year while switching off with the now-departed Connor Haskins and was responsible for two game-deciding kicks that did not end well for the Pack.
“Kyle’s got good hang time on his ball and good distance,” Doeren said.
“I have to do whatever I can for this team in order to win a championship and win games,” Bambard said.
Both Wise and Bambard commented on their preparation for the season referring to their work in the weight room, on and off the field and then Bambard spoke on the specialists’ motto of ‘One for One.’
“We are taking it one day at a time and focusing on one rep at a time,” Bambard said. “Our theme for the specialists is ‘One for One’ so we are not looking at, ‘Hey we have to be 80 percent over the course of camp, we have to be 80 percent over the season.’ One for one every rep and the more times we can do that the better off we are going to be.”
Doeren explained that if play began today, Bambard would be the guy for kickoffs and Wise would have place kicking responsibilities. Regardless of how the duties are split, production from its kickers will be key for the Wolfpack in the 2017 season.
