The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1419104
TRACKING THE PACK 18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY THE NUMBERS Sponsored by Colony Tire & Service www.colonytire.com 1 Ranking among NFL Draft guard prospects for Wolfpack sopho- more IKEM EKWONU, according to ESPN expert Mel Kiper Jr., though Ekwonu currently lines up at left tackle for NC State. One of Ekwonu's linemates, redshirt junior Grant Gibson, also made the top prospects listing, checking in as the No. 3 center. 4th Game of his 10th NFL season is when former Pack quarterback RUSSELL WILSON reached his 100th win in the league. It made the Seattle Seahawks signal-caller the fastest in NFL history to the landmark, besting Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who reached the century mark in the 10th game of his 10th season. Nobody else in history has won triple-digit games prior to the start of their 11th campaign. Wilson was off to a phenomenal start this fall before breaking his finger in a game Oct. 7, which required surgery. He's the only passer to open a season with a quarterback rating of at least 110 and zero interceptions through four games since 1975. 5 Wolfpack women's tennis players were included in the ITA preseason rankings — No. 23 Alana Smith (senior), No. 48 Abi- gail Rencheli (sophomore), No. 49 Sophie Abrams (sophomore), No. 73 Sara Nayar (senior) and No. 111 Jaeda Daniel (fifth- year senior). Two doubles teams also made the cut — Rencheli and Amelia Rajecki (sophomore) at No. 18, and Daniel and Smith at No. 27. On the men's side, senior Ra- fael Izquierdo Luque was listed No. 82 in singles, senior Yannai Barkai and sophomore Braden Shick were ranked No. 49 in doubles, and Luca Staeheli was third in the Freshman/New- comer rankings. 93.8 Is the offensive PFF grade posted by sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu through the first five games of the season. Among Football Bowl Subdivision offensive linemen with at least 100 snaps, nobody had a higher mark. PFF ranks him as the No. 3 draft-eligible offensive tackle, after he allowed just three quarterback pressures and no sacks in his first 203 allowed pressure opportunities of the campaign. " I know this is already a known fact … but review- ing the @PackFootball tape, and my goodness … Isaiah Moore and Drake Thomas are so good." — ACC Network analyst Eric Mac Lain on Twitter about the two Pack linebackers following the Clemson game The back-to-back ACC champs secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament by knocking off two No. 1 teams in the regular season. … The good news is this team did not lose their key ingredients. NC State's go-to star Elissa Cunane returns as a senior. Cunane's athleticism and effort goes beyond the paint. She can also stretch the floor and knock down a 3, giving NC State a strong inside and outside scoring threat. The Wolfpack also return Jada Boyd and Jakia Brown-Turner as juniors, plus graduate students Kai Crutchfield and floor general Raina Perez. Like Maryland, the Wolfpack had an unexpected ending to their season, but I believe there will be no drop-off to make a title run." — NCAA.com on listing the Wolfpack women's basketball team fifth nationally in its Preseason Power 10. No ACC team was ranked higher. PHOTO COURTESY SEATTLE SEAHAWKS PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS