The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1153250
20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK The Wolfpacker staff has enjoyed get- ting to know various guests on its podcast nearly every Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. inside of Amedeo's Italian Restaurant in Raleigh. The show is always available to listen to on TheWolfpacker.com, iTunes and most everywhere else podcasts can be down- loaded. Here are some excerpts from when NC State beat writer Joe Giglio of The News & Observer hopped on the podcast July 23 to talk about the upcoming Wolfpack football season. What do you think are the expectations for NC State this season? "If you look at it holistically, they had two really good draft classes, which indicates they had some talented players that they developed. We could argue that they should have done better than 18-8. I don't think any- one wouldn't argue they should have done better, but 9-4 for NC State is really good. "NC State is not Clemson, Alabama, Michigan, Ohio State or Oklahoma. You have to build. You have to give those classes time to get experience and mature and go through a cycle. I think you saw that with that young class with JaySam [Jaylen Samu- els], Nyheim [Hines] and [Bradley] Chubb — given the time to develop, those guys did. "I don't think NC State goes back to 3-9, but I think you come back from what they were. On the flip side of that, based on one practice in the spring, you look around and can see the freshmen and sophomores. You can see in 2021 and 2022 that they could have a similar chance to [do what they did in] 2017 and 2018. "Everyone on the defensive line jumped out at me. [Redshirt freshman linebacker] Payton Wilson jumped out at me. [Fresh- man linebacker] Drake Thomas jumped out at me. Even some of the quarterbacks, [but] you can't think they are going to step in — it's not Alabama with Tua Tagovailoa. You aren't going to pull a guy off the scrap heap and throw them into the championship game, and he turns into a five-year starter like Ryan Finley was. "As a program, there are ebbs and flows. I think they are in one of those ebbs in this particular season. The question now for [head coach] Dave Doeren, what is the base- ment? We have seen potentially what the ceiling is. You have to understand this is how most programs [operate]. "Look at Florida State last year, even they went back. Louisville was murdering people two years ago, but they got pulver- ized by everyone they played last year. I think it can come and go." Will the four-game stretch between Sept. 28 and Nov. 2 at Florida State, versus Syracuse, at Boston College and at Wake Forest define the season? "West Virginia [Sept. 14] and Florida State [Sept. 28] will tell you a lot about the team. In years past, those night games [Thursday night tilts versus Syracuse Oct. 10 and at Georgia Tech Nov. 21] usually bring out the best in NC State, last year not withstanding. "They are playing Boston College [Oct. 19] and Wake Forest [Nov. 2] on the road. It is just crazy. "One thing I'm interested in and I've always kind of been critical of [former of- fensive coordinator] Eli Drinkwitz and of the schedule, where they would play these early games and fatten up. They would never do any of the stuff they did in league play. It was almost a completely different playbook. It doesn't help you to play these other games and run plays you are not go- ing to run once you get into your league opponents. "I'm going to be fascinated to see what they are going to do in these early games. Because what happens is, it is third-and- four and you have to pick up a first down. Well, if you have played somebody else, you are going to run some stuff you are comfortable running. "If you are doing, 'Hey, we just beat South Alabama by 100 points; we will never run any of these plays ever again,' then you come home and play Louisville and you lose [in 2015] — Louisville with no quarterback and one win at the time." What is your theory on the quarterback job? "Kurt Roper is the new quarterbacks coach, and he was at Duke with [head coach] David Cutcliffe. Their preferred way of playing is with two quarterbacks — one in short-yardage and red-zone situ- ations, and one that goes up until the red zone. One is obviously the better runner. "In this case, it might work with [redshirt sophomore] Matt McKay being a runner type of quarterback. I think if you come out of this season and say, '[Redshirt fresh- man] Devin Leary is our guy for the next three years,' that part of it, I agree. I think it will be Devin Leary. "At Duke, they used two guys. I think Dave has shown in previous years, he's not adverse to doing that. Some of that, in the first year, was not by his choice. In Ryan Finley's first year, he did try to use Jalan McClendon until he threw an atrocious in- terception against Syracuse in the end zone [in 2016]. "I don't think it is Dave's favorite thing to do, but Roper has a fairly good track record. The year that Duke won the ACC's Coastal Division, that was one of their best years in terms of rotating their guys and maximizing talent." ■ PODCAST H I G H I G H T S Some of the young linebackers have stood out physically to The News & Observer beat writer Joe Giglio when he's been at NC State practice. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN