The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1266731
JULY/AUGUST 2020 ■ 41 OFFENSIVE LINE PROJECTED DEPTH CHART STARTERS No. Name Year Ht. Wt. Hometown 79 Ikem Ekwonu (LT) So. 6-4 308 Charlotte, N.C. 50 Grant Gibson (C) R-Jr. 6-1 305 Charlotte, N.C. 71 Joe Sculthorpe (LG) 5th-Sr. 6-3 300 Hampstead, N.C. 56 Bryson Speas (RG) R-Jr. 6-4 304 Greensboro, N.C. 67 Justin Witt (RT) 5th-Sr. 6-6 310 New Lenox, Ill. RESERVES 53 Derrick Eason R-So. 6-4 286 Norfolk, Va. 52 Timothy McKay R-Fr. 6-4 306 Raleigh 54 Dylan McMahon R-Fr. 6-3 294 Savannah, Ga. 55 Tyrone Riley 6th-Sr. 6-6 296 Savannah, Ga. WAITING IN THE WINGS — Anthony Carter Jr. Fr. 6-5 300 Charlotte, N.C. 72 Sean Hill Fr. 6-3 310 Snellville, Ga. 60 Ethan Lane Fr. 6-3 265 Lawrenceville, Ga. 57 Zovon Lindsay R-Fr. 6-4 291 Fayetteville, N.C. — Patrick Matan Fr. 6-4 290 Chevy Chase, Md. ■ PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★ Among country's best; ★★★ Among ACC's best; ★★ Solid or has potential; ★ Too unproven STARTERS ★★½ The offseason competition among starting offensive line candidates is reflective of the talent at the top end of the group. While the front struggled at times last season, it re- mained one of the high points in the Pack's offense despite being plagued with injuries. A rotating cast of characters helped register a team 75.0 run-blocking grade from Pro Football Focus (PFF), which ranked 14th among the 65 Power Five teams. Sophomore tackle Ikem Ekwonu is considered a preseason second-team All-ACC tackle and fifth-year senior guard Joe Sculthorpe a third-teamer according to Athlon. With the return of fifth-year senior Justin Witt and sixth-year senior Tyrone Riley from injury, along with consistent play from redshirt junior Grant Gibson and the upside of redshirt ju - nior Bryson Speas and redshirt freshman Dylan McMahon, the Wolfpack should be able to field a strong starting unit. Assuming the group stays healthy, the offensive line is destined to improve this season and be a dark horse con- tender to have one of the ACC's top-tier units. DEPTH ★★ With seven potential starters, the top end of the backups will be more than capable of filling in when needed. Riley (37 games played, two starts) and McMahon (four, one) are the likely top reserves at tackle and guard, respectively, and have both seen action. Redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason is the only other blocker who has played offensive line in a college game. He switched from defense to offense 10 days prior to last year's opener and was in for a total of 30 snaps, including one start as a sixth lineman. EXPERIENCE ★★½ Our projected depth chart has four of the five starting slots belonging to upperclassmen with the lone underclass- man, Ekwonu, a preseason All-ACC candidate. Provided the unit can stay healthy through fall camp, the Wolfpack will have plenty of experience on the starting line. Riley is the fifth upperclassman of the position group and is likely to be a major contributor in his sixth year. The top seven bring 159 games and 5,381 snaps worth of expe - rience with 59 starts into the season. Beyond that, there are not many game reps, but seven veterans competing for five spots is not a bad starting point. The rest of the group is very young and inexperienced, which could cause issues if the line runs into injuries again. OVERALL ★★½ There is plenty of reason to be optimistic about the offensive line heading into 2020. The primary point of caution would be keeping the group healthy. While the injuries from last season afforded some younger players valuable experience that could pay dividends this year, a repeat of the blocker's affliction from last fall would lower the ceiling in 2020. Provided the starting lineup doesn't suffer multiple sea - son-ending injuries once again, expect the offensive line to improve as the Wolfpack looks to revamp its attack under new offensive coordinator Tim Beck. Redshirt junior center Grant Gibson led the Wolfpack with 895 snaps played last season and was one of just five players on the team that started all 12 games in 2019. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN