The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1472609
38 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Still Strong BY MATT CARTER T here were a lot of players with choices to make about whether to return for the extra season made possible by the NCAA's eligibility freeze in 2020 or move on with post- college aspirations. Many, including NC State's three-time All-ACC placekicker, Christopher Dunn, de- cided to take advantage of the super senior option. Dunn's return means that for a fifth consecutive year he will handle the placekicking responsibilities while he continues to pad his school records. Punter Trenton Gill, however, elected to enter the NFL Draft, where he was picked in the seventh round by the Chicago Bears. The former walk-on who was first-team All- ACC in 2021 left as NC State's all-time leader in punting average at 45.8 yards. To replace Gill, NC State signed Towson punter Shane McDonough out of the transfer portal. McDonough was a two-time all-conference selection for Towson and averaged 41.3 yards per punt in 2021. Like Gill at NC State, McDonough also handled kickoffs. "He's got to get better at some things, but he definitely showed us [his ability], and we're going to be OK," NC State head coach Dave Doeren said. Snapping to McDonough will be fourth-year junior Joe Shimko, who has been han- dling the long snapping responsibilities since arriving on campus. Shimko was named a 2022 preseason first-team All- American by Phil Steele. Former NC State running back Zonovan Knight was a first-team All-ACC kick returner last year. While the Wolfpack will seek a replacement for Knight, NC State has a veteran returning punts in super senior receiver Thayer Thomas. He has averaged 10.9 yards per return in his career, eighth best at NC State. Thomas was named a third-team all-conference specialist in 2020 and has returned one punt for a score in his career. SPECIAL TEAMS ■ PRESEASON ANALYSIS ★★★★ Among country's best; ★★★ Among ACC's best; ★★ Solid or has potential; ★ Too unproven STARTERS ★★★ Kicker Christopher Dunn and punt returner Thayer Thomas are both back as super seniors and former All-ACC honorees, and fourth-year junior Joe Shimko is considered one of the best long snappers in the country. Transfer punter Shane McDonough has a track record of success at Towson, but a new kickoff returner must be found. EXPERIENCE ★★★1/2 With the exception of returning kicks, NC State has about as much experience at the specialist groups as anyone could desire. DEPTH ★★ Scholarship kicker Ian Williams transferred to Fur- man following the spring, and reserve long snapper Jayden Tate's playing days are over, leaving walk-ons as the only backups. OVERALL GRADE ★★★ NC State has a reliable kicker and long snap- per combination and a dangerous punt re- turner. Plus, the Pack added a punter with a proven track record. Special teams should be strong again in 2022. BY THE NUMBERS 2 Successful onside kick recoveries on three Chris- topher Dunn attempts a year ago, most famously including one in the regular-season finale against North Carolina. 34.4 Kickoff return average last season by running back Zonovan Knight, who left for the NFL. It was the second-best average in NC State history behind George Marinkov's 35.3 yards in 1954. 49 Touchbacks on 70 kickoffs last season by Trenton Gill, who also is in the pros now. PROJECTED DEPTH CHART STARTERS No. Name Year Ht. Wt. Hometown 32 Christopher Dunn (PK) Sr. 5-8 179 Lexington, N.C. 97 Shane McDonough (P) R-Sr. 6-2 200 Clearwater, Fla. 91 Joe Shimko (LS) Jr. 6-0 220 Belmar, N.J. WAITING IN THE WINGS No. Name Year Ht. Wt. Hometown 92 Alex McLaughlin (LS) R-Fr. 5-10 230 Matthews, N.C. 98 Caden Noonkester (P) R-Fr. 6-6 200 Waxhaw, N.C. 90 Collin Smith (K/P) R-So. 5-9 185 Gibsonville, N.C. — Brooks Sturgeon (K/P) Fr. 6-3 180 Norcross, Ga. — Kanoah Vinesett (K/P) Fr. 6-0 185 Rock Hill, S.C. SPOTLIGHT PLAYER SENIOR CHRISTOPHER DUNN For four seasons, Christopher Dunn has been mainly Mr. Reliable at kicker for the Wolfpack, and in the process, he has set a lot of school re- cords. Thanks to the NCAA freezing eligibility in 2020, Dunn now has a chance to create impressive distances between himself and any other kicker, perhaps setting new kicking standards that may be difficult to reach at NC State. For his career, Dunn is 69 of 86 on field goal tries (long of 53 yards done twice) and a perfect 170 for 170 on extra points. He has scored 377 points in his career. The next-nearest scorer in NC State history is Niklas Sade, who compiled 332 points between 2011-14. Sade broke former running back Ted Brown's school record of 317 that had stood for 36 years. Dunn had already broken Sade's mark for career field goals during his junior season and added 13 more in 2021. Considering Dunn has made at least a dozen field goals every season at NC State, he could conceivably have 30 more made field goals than Sade's 55 by year's end. Dunn's 170 extra points surpassed Sade's 167 last year. In three of his four years, Dunn has attempted at least 43 extra points. If Dunn makes 58 extra points this fall, he will have doubled the player third on the list — Josh Czajkowski. Dunn has already more than doubled Czajkowski's previous record of 83 for most consecutive extra points made. PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN/THE NEWS & OBSERVER CHRISTOPHER DUNN