College football is back. With 29 days until NC State’s season-opener against USF in Carter-Finley Stadium, the Wolfpack began fall camp Tuesday, Aug. 3, and practice Wednesday, Aug. 4, with a portion of practice open to the media. Here’s some early takeaways as the team gets into the thick of it:

Let’s get this out of the way, Leary looks the same

Back on the field for fall camp, redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary looked like he hadn’t missed much of a beat since recovering from a season-ending leg injury. He seemed comfortable and confident as a passer, even if the accuracy waned in instances, and his trademark power is certainly still there. So long as offensive coordinator Tim Beck keeps evolving his scheme, NC State will again have the down-field explosiveness we saw with Leary last year.

Transfers contributing across the board

NC State used the transfer portal to great effect this offseason, filling out much of the roster’s deficiencies. The Wolfpack added two transfer O-linemen, a cornerback from Marshall in graduate Derrek Pitts Jr., and a duo of Florida State graduates in defensive tackle Corey Durden and safety Cyrus Fagan. On the defensive side, Pitts is fighting for a starting role while Durden and Fagan are solid second-teamers providing depth. It’s early but the coaching staff likes what they see from the new additions.

“[To answer] how they’re doing, I just need to see some practice to give you a real thing about that,” said head coach Dave Doeren. “Now, on the hoof, they look really good. They’re big, good-looking dudes.”

At 6-foot-5, 325 pounds, Fairmont State grad transfer Chandler Zavala certainly qualifies as a big dude, and he’s one to keep an eye on at left guard. I noticed him running with the ones at one point, and while redshirt freshman Dylan McMahon also got reps there, one typically doesn’t take a guy on his last year of eligibility unless he’ll factor into the equation. He should push to start and help solidify the interior of the line.

The trenches are dug deep

Speaking of offensive linemen, that position group may be improved over last year’s squad so long as it remains healthy. Last year, only redshirt junior center Grant Gibson and sophomore tackle Ickey Ekwonu started every game, and as the shuffling of the line worsened due to injury, the rushing game in particular began to suffer.

Coming into this season, the line returns five players with starting experience along with Zavala and defense-to-offense convert right tackle redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason looks to have settled in as a lineman, running with the starters. The line should be able to hold its own against every opponent this year.

Defensively, there were no real surprises up front. Redshirt freshman C.J. Clark will start at defensive tackle in between graduate Daniel Joseph and sophomore Savion Jackson, the defensive ends. In the second team, redshirt junior Ibrahim Kante and Durden were anchored by freshman Davin Vann. As always, defensive tackle redshirt freshman Josh Harris has the potential to factor in as well.

Position changes to keep an eye on

Each offseason brings position changes, some more notable than others. One of two running backs shifting around, sophomore Jordan Houston was working with the wide receivers Wednesday, perhaps moving into the slot.

Redshirt sophomore running back Trent Pennix transitioned into a tight end-ish role. Though it will harken back to the Jaylen Samuels days, it’s not clear how much that position will be utilized. A former wide receiver, redshirt freshman Chris Toudle moved to tight end as well. I noted, when he signed with NC State, that Toudle’s size portended a move to tight end, and with Cary Angeline gone he may see the field by bolstering the Wolfpack’s weakest position group.

The defense is going to be capital-G good

The biggest takeaway from the hour I spent watching NC State was just how talented, and deep, the defense is at each position. Aside from having the best linebacking corps in the ACC, its defensive line goes two to three deep and the secondary could be even better than it was last season, a far cry from the usual expectations one would have for the group.

At cornerback, redshirt freshman Shyheim Battle is sure to hold down his side of the field with Pitts and senior Chris Ingram, back from a knee injury, on the other. That’s not even mentioning freshman Aydan White and sophomore Cecil Powell, who both have a great deal of potential to impact the game as reserves. At safety, junior Tanner Ingle returns with Fagan factoring in as a reserve, and sophomores Jakeen Harris and Rakeim Ashford provide a great 1-2 punch at strong safety provided Ashford can stay healthy coming off his shoulder injury. At nickel, junior Tyler Baker-Williams is one of the top at his position in the ACC and freshman Devan Boykin looked much-improved switching to that spot.

All in all, this secondary is probably the best Doeren has fielded at NC State, and its talent and experience will provide defensive coordinator Tony Gibson huge flexibility. As impactful as NC State’s defense was at the end of the season last year, it should be better this season and the Wolfpack will depend on that week in and week out as the strength of the team.

Though it has some extra weapons due to super seniors given a COVID-19 year or two, this was always going to be a year with great potential for the Wolfpack given the talent on its roster. If this group has any say about it, people will look back at the class of 2018 as the one that took this program to another level.

“With Drake and Payton, and that whole group of guys [recruited in 2018], I said it a couple years ago, ‘In three years, we could be really good,’” Doeren said. “And we have a chance to be really good. We just have to go earn it.”