The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1456098
"Devin Leary (3,433 yards, 35 TDs, 5 INTs) could be one of the top quarter- backs in the sport next season," Mandel opined. "New running backs will need to emerge, with the Wolfpack losing Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person Jr. However, the ACC's No. 2 defense could bring back nearly the entire starting lineup, led by four All-ACC players: LB Drake Thomas, DT Cory Durden, S Tan- ner Ingle and LB Payton Wilson, who missed most of this past season." On3 did not have NC State in the top 10, but did put the Wolfpack at No. 15 and noted: "How many people realize Devin Leary threw 35 TD passes this season? Forget nationally — he was overlooked in his own state. And the Wolfpack have some talented dudes on defense." Two more writers had NC State in the top 20. David Kenyon of Bleacher Re- port put the Pack at No. 20 in his top 25, while SI's Pat Forde rated the Wolf- pack at No. 19, writing: "Dave Doeren has built a consistent winner, with last year's 9-3 team among his best. Plenty of key parts from that group return, starting with quarterback Devin Leary (3,433 passing yards and 35 touchdowns in 2021). Linebacker Payton Wilson, who missed most of 2021, is coming back as well to anchor the defense. Be- tween Clemson, Wake Forest and NC State, the ACC will tilt heavily toward the Atlantic Division again." ESPN's Bill Connelly's statistically driven SP+ projections had NC State No. 15. "I thought NC State might end up projected in the top 10, but regardless, this [ACC] title race will have three pieces: longtime heavyweight Clemson vs. upstarts NC State and Pitt (the de- fending champ) vs. two former heavy- weights desperately trying to get their acts together (No. 20 Miami, No. 24 Florida State)," Connelly wrote. NC State is the only team to finish in the top 15 a year ago in Connelly's SP+ rankings and also be among the top 15 in the country in returning production. The Pack was No. 12 in returnees, second best in the ACC behind Florida State. Three Position Battles To Watch NC State should have 10 of the 11 starters back from the opening-game defense in 2021 plus seven back on of- fense. Thus there are not a ton of position battles to follow this spring, but here are three that will be spotlighted: Left Tackle Ekwonu, a unanimous consensus first-team All-American, is set to hear his name called early in the first round of April's NFL Draft. Ekwonu had the highest grade among any offensive player on the team, per Pro Football Focus, at 91.6. Replacing Ekwonu may be the top priority on the squad this spring. NC State used a platoon at right tackle a year ago in Bryson Speas and Timothy McKay. Speas, now a super se- nior, started all 12 games and had a PFF mark of 69.9 (around 64.0 is considered average). McKay, a third-year redshirt sophomore, had a grade of 70.1 while averaging 26.75 snaps per game. One of the two could slide to left tackle. NC State also has high hopes for Anthony Belton, a 6-6, 330-pound red- shirt sophomore. Punter Odds seem to favor Towson transfer and super senior Shane McDonough, a two-time All-Colonial Athletic Asso- ciation honoree. He averaged 43.9 yards per punt in 2019, and then had a 41.3- yard clip in 2021. NC State also has second-year red- shirt freshman Ian Williams on schol- arship. Williams averaged 39.6 yards on OFFENSE Pos. Name Cl. Ht., Wt. QB 13 Devin Leary R-Jr. 6-1, 215 10 Ben Finley R-Fr. 6-3, 205 RB 3 Jordan Houston Jr. 5-10, 192 26 Demie Sumo-Karngbaye So. 6-0, 210 TE-H 6 Trent Pennix R-Jr. 6-3, 230 29 Christopher Toudle R-So. 6-4, 240 TE-Y 87 Kameron Walker R-So. 6-5, 250 43 Ezemdi Udoh R-Fr. 6-5, 247 Slot 5 Thayer Thomas R-Sr. 6-0, 195 4 Porter Rooks So. 6-1, 195 WR 88 Devin Carter R-Jr. 6-3, 215 15 Keyon Lesane Jr. 5-11, 190 WR — Darryl Jones R-Sr. 6-3, 195 85 Anthony Smith So. 6-2, 190 LT 52 Timothy McKay R-So. 6-4, 315 74 Anthony Belton R-So. 6-6, 330 LG 54 Dylan McMahon R-So. 6-4, 305 75 Anthony Carter Jr. R-Fr. 6-3, 300 C 50 Grant Gibson R-Sr. 6-1, 310 57 Lyndon Cooper R-Fr. 6-2, 330 RG 53 Derrick Eason R-Jr. 6-4, 315 72 Sean Hill R-Fr. 6-3, 315 RT 56 Bryson Speas R-Sr. 6-3, 315 76 Patrick Matan R-Fr. 6-4, 310 DEFENSE Pos. Name Cl. Ht., Wt. DT 90 Savion Jackson Jr. 6-2, 290 58 Travali Price R-Fr. 6-4, 265 NT 48 Cory Durden R-Sr. 6-4, 305 5 C.J. Clark R-So. 6-3, 300 DT 45 Davin Vann So. 6-2, 295 97 Claude Larkins R-Fr. 6-4, 282 LB 32 Drake Thomas Jr. 6-0, 230 41 Caden Fordham R-Fr. 6-1, 225 LB 1 Isaiah Moore R-Sr. 6-2, 232 26 Devon Betty So. 6-1, 225 LB 11 Payton Wilson R-Jr. 6-4, 230 2 Jaylon Scott Jr. 6-1, 225 CB 25 Shyheim Battle R-So. 6-2, 195 3 Aydan White So. 6-0, 185 CB 24 Derrek Pitts Jr. R-Sr. 6-1, 193 22 Teshaun Smith R-Jr. 6-3, 190 S 10 Tanner Ingle Sr. 5-10, 186 6 Jakeen Harris Jr. 5-10, 190 S 4 Cyrus Fagan R-Sr. 6-1, 197 12 Devan Boykin So. 5-10, 187 NIC 13 Tyler Baker-Williams Sr. 6-0, 205 19 Joshua Pierre-Louis So. 5-10, 175 Projected Spring Depth Chart MARCH/APRIL 2022 ■ 27