With our first glimpse at the 2021-22 NC State football team in the books, a 37-17 showing in which the red team generally dominated the white, there are more than a few early observations we can take from this game. Here are five of the most important ones:
Defense may be the strength of this team
Don’t let the high score fool you, the showing from NC State’s defense was impressive. The red team, NC State’s starters, was generally going up against backups in the white team, and yet it struggled in the pass game early on. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary was 4 for 10 early, though explosive when he did get completions. Leary tried the defense early with deep passes and freshman corner Nehki Meredith nearly made him pay. Freshman nickel Nicholas Treco later did, picking him off.
On the starting side, the red team defense had white searching for answers. It lived in the backfield, and as a result, freshmen quarterbacks Ben Finley and Aaron McLaughlin were a combined 6 for 14 with 64 yards in the first half. Over half of those yards came on a single play. The red team did this with impact players like redshirt freshman defensive end Terrell Dawkins, sophomore cornerback Cecil Powell, redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson and sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas out. Incoming transfer defensive tackle Cory Durden hasn’t come to campus yet, either.
This defense, at its strongest, will be one of the best in the ACC. Remember how well defensive coordinator Tony Gibson had his unit playing to end last year? This group should top that.
Offensive line needs its transfers to pan out
Speaking of transfers not yet on campus, the spring game also portrayed a bit of a need there for the offensive line. While the red unit of sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, redshirt freshman left guard Dylan McMahon, redshirt junior center Grant Gibson, redshirt sophomore right guard Derrick Eason and redshirt junior right tackle Bryson Speas performed well, it’s the reserve players that need a boost.
Though redshirt freshman tackle Tim McKay was out for this game, it was a bit concerning to see how much the white team struggled with the opposing defensive line. Adding Chandler Zavala and Anthony Belton — two guys that can be plugged and played — will be huge for rounding out this unit and giving it some needed depth.
Devin Leary is rusty off his injury, Ben Finley improving
It’s not a spring game without some quarterback controversy, imagined or real. Leary is NC State’s starting quarterback, and that will remain true as long as he is healthy, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t a bit off his game at times. The last time he played in front of a crowd, it was October 2020, and it seemed like he had some jitters today. His completion percentage doesn’t look nearly as good as the yards he put up because of the amount of times he missed long on deep throws.
Finley, on the other hand, has made some serious strides under offensive coordinator Tim Beck. He had the two best-looking throws of the day: a 35-yard dime on the right sideline to Chris Scott in the first half and a 47-yard short to Max Fisher in the second half. Finley’s accuracy stood out, and it will be interesting to see what he looks like after another year of development.
TE receiving threats lacking
Losing Cary Angeline has NC State lacking a big pass-catcher for Leary to chuck the ball up to. Though redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix is moving into a Jaylen Samuels-type role for the Wolfpack, the chemistry isn’t yet there between him and Leary. There are two players that could take on Angeline’s role, though; redshirt graduate tight end Dylan Parham is the most likely guy given his experience as a graduate but don’t discount redshirt freshman tight end Chris Toudle, who came to NC State as a wide receiver but has since converted to tight end. At 6 feet, 4 inches, he’s definitely got the size to be a big, go-to target, he just needs to show the pass-catching ability.
Joker Phillips has a problem on his hands
NC State has too many good receivers. Super seniors Emeka Emezie and C.J. Riley didn’t play in Saturday’s spring game and I barely noticed. Redshirt graduate Thayer Thomas had a quiet day outside of his trick play TD and a drive in which Leary decided to only throw to him. The Wolfpack’s wide receivers room legitimately goes three deep at every spot, meaning new position coach Joker Phillips is going to have to juggle a lot of players with very few spots on the field. It’s the best problem a coach could have, and it will be interesting to see what type of receiver Phillips prioritizes, because freshman Porter Rooks, sophomore Keyon Lesane and freshman Chris Scott are pressing for playing time.
N.C. State quarterback Devin Leary (13) passes during the first half of N.C. State football’s spring game at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, April 10, 2021.
