The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1389905
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK BY THE NUMBERS Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com PHOTO BY NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS/DAVID SILVERMAN 1st National ranking of the men's tennis team's 2021 signing class, per TennisRecruiting.net. The newcomers include three international players and two top-rated North Carolinians — Damien Salvestre of France, Fons Van Sambeek of the Netherlands, Luca Staeheli of Switzerland, Joe Wayand of Cary and Braden Shick of Greensboro make up the group. 3rd Is former NC State offensive line- man JOE THUNEY'S placement in Pro Football Focus' 2021 preseason NFL offensive guard rankings. Only Quenton Nelson of the Indianapolis Colts and Zach Martin of the Dallas Cowboys ranked higher on the list. During the offseason, Thuney signed a five-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs that is reportedly worth $80 million. The for- mer third-round draft pick is a two-time Super Bowl champion and earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2019. First of all, he's gotten zero work as a hitter. We went to him when we found out we were going to play to see if he wanted to go up to the cage and take a couple swings. He was excited. "He's just a baseball player. Baseball players do things in baseball games. And Sam Highfill is a baseball player. If we would have taken the lead there he was going to close the game. If this game would have got extended going to extras, then he would have been at third base. He's just a baseball player. And he's smart." — NC State head baseball coach Elliott Avent on freshman pitcher SAM HIGHFILL'S 3-of-4 performance at the plate in the Wolfpack's 3-1 loss to Vanderbilt in the team's final contest at the College World Series in which it only had 13 players I call NC State 'Quarterback University.' Russell Wilson was there, Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Finley. Coach [Dave] Doeren has put so many quarterbacks in the NFL, and [the coaches] got that extension. We're all going to be there for the next four years. They've got great stability there. "Wolfpack fans are going to get the hardest-working quarterback you can ever find. I love to compete. Nobody in the country is going to out-work me. I'm go - ing to go in there and work my ass off every day until I can't anymore. That's what they're getting out of me." — 2022 NC State football four-star quarterback commit MJ Morris of Carrollton (Ga.) High on why he committed to the Wolfpack and what fans can expect from him PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS