The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY/AUGUST 2021 ■ 23 That plus a heralded group of returning players sparks optimism for 2021. The group is also still motivated and hun- gry. Redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, a potential ACC Defensive Player of the Year candidate, noted that, "We are working harder than we've ever worked." "We know what we are going to do, and we know what we can do," he continued. "We don't care what anybody says the nation." One of the team's undisputed leaders is redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore, who wears the coveted No. 1 jersey in Doeren's program. He added that in the players' eyes, last year was a bit of a disappointment. "Going into last season, eight wins were never the goal," Moore noted. "The goal was to always go 12-0. That's the motiva- tion. We didn't feel like we lived up to the expectations of ourselves and our standards. "We return pretty much everybody. There's no lack of experience on this foot- ball team. We've all been in games. We've all been in close situations. We feel like we are a very close-knit team as well, and so we can rely on each other. "The motivation is putting it all together and accomplishing the end goals and win- ning championships." Wilson and Moore headline a linebacker corps that leads the defense, while the return of Emezie sparks an offense that already features high-profile talents in sophomore running back Zonovan "Bam" Knight, sophomore tackle/guard Ikem Ekwonu and redshirt junior center Grant Gibson, among others. The kicking game returns its dynamic duo of placekicker Christopher Dunn and punter Trenton Gill, plus dangerous return- ers Knight on kickoffs and redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas on punts. And now every unit has had a full spring and offseason to fully acclimate to Gibson and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck's systems. "No doubt the spring ball was really good, to get the guys out there and really install the right way and take your time with it and make corrections," Gibson said. "We were trying to do that last year in the season. We didn't feel really good about it. "You tried to game plan and get it the best you could in a three-, four-day window. Now 15 spring days and getting to have a bunch of summertime and meetings with them, we feel much better." Doeren also noted that besides the talent and experience, there is a hunger that both Moore and Wilson mentioned. "They want to be the best team in this league," Doeren said. "They know going from four to eight wins, improve by four wins from one year to the next, do that again and that puts you at 12 wins — and that's your goal, to win every one of them. "This is a team that has had failure, they've had success. They know what both feel like. They want to take the program to another level, and they are really motivated to do that." ■ Doeren led the Wolfpack to a school-record seven ACC wins last year during an 8-4 campaign. PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN, NEWS & OBSERVER NC State's 2021 Football Schedule Date Opponent Time Sept. 2 South Florida 7:30 p.m. Sept. 11 at Mississippi State 7 p.m. Sept. 18 Furman 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25 Clemson TBA Oct. 2 Louisiana Tech TBA Oct. 16 at Boston College TBA Oct. 23 at Miami TBA Oct. 30 Louisville TBA Nov. 6 at Florida State TBA Nov. 13 at Wake Forest TBA Nov. 20 Syracuse TBA Nov. 26 North Carolina TBA