The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1476803
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 ■ 31 Here are the top five freaks from the summer for NC State football. Fourth-year redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Joshua Harris Burnette said that at one point, Harris was pushing 370 pounds, but the defen- sive lineman has doubled down on his commitment to shed weight during this offseason. "Now he's roughly around 325, 326 pounds and has been very consistent," Burnette said. "He looks completely dif- ferent. The great thing is that he lost the weight, and he held onto the strength. Oftentimes, when you have to get guys to change their bodies and you're trying to get them to lose weight, they typically lose a little bit of strength." Burnette noted that Harris benches around 430 pounds and squats over 635 pounds. "He's a man-child in the weight room," Burnette said. "The great thing about him is that he's a great person also. I do think him having his little baby girl really motivated him to change his mindset." Fourth-year redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Dylan McMahon Burnette used to insist to NFL scouts that when former NC State All-Amer- ica left tackle Ikem Ekwonu went to the combine that he was going to impress with his 40-yard dash time. Ekwonu, measuring 6-4, 310 pounds, stopped the clock at 4.93 seconds, an excep- tional time for an offensive lineman. Burnette is prepared to make a similar proclamation with McMahon. "I guarantee you, when he comes out, he's going to be another guy that runs fast at the NFL Combine," Burnette stated. In addition to his athleticism, McMa- hon has impressive strength. "He's a guy that's very consistent with his body and put a lot of work into it. He can clean over 405 pounds and is another guy that squats over 605 pounds," Burnette noted. "He benched 400 pounds. If you look at it pound-for-pound — clean, squat, bench — he may be the guy with the best numbers." During the offseason, McMahon was a co-recipient of the Iron Wolf Award, the top honor in the conditioning pro- gram. Fifth-year redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson Wilson was another co-recipient of the Iron Wolf Award. When that was announced, the team, Burnette noted, went "crazy" for Wilson. "They understand the hard work that he put in," Burnette added. W i l s o n h a s b e e n ove r 24 0 pounds this offseason, long a goal of Burnette while trying to fill out the linebacker's frame. Yet despite the added strength, the ACC's leading tackler in 2020 has maintained his ath- leticism. "Payton is running a 4.51 elec- tronic time 40, which is really fast," Burnette noted. "You look at hand time, he's running around 4.46. He's one of the faster guys on the team." What also pleases Burnette is that Wilson is probably as strong as he's been since he arrived at NC State. "He can squat 575," Burnette said. "He hit 375 on bench, which is more than he did last year. … The guy is going to test well in the NFL Combine and pro day when he gets a chance." Super senior linebacker Isaiah Moore This offseason, Moore was looking to drop some weight to add speed. He is now checking in at around 228 to 230 pounds, but as Burnette noted, "He's still a lean guy." On the bench press, Moore hit 415 pounds, which Burnette noted is really impressive. Burnette is also confident that Moore has made a full recovery from his knee surgery. "He's still really strong, still really ex- plosive and powerful," Burnette said. "He did a great job of coming back and putting the work in this offseason." Moore, who was honorable mention All-ACC despite missing five games in 2021, shared the Alpha Wolf Award for leadership in the conditioning program on the defensive side of the ball. "He's a phenomenal leader," Burnette said . Fourth-year junior linebacker Drake Thomas Thomas shared both the Iron Wolf Award and the Alpha Wolf Award in the offseason. "Drake is a phenomenal person and leader," Burnette said. Thomas cleans 330 pounds, squats 600 pounds and has bench-pressed 365 pounds. Burnette added that Thomas, a first-team All-ACC selection in 2021, has undergone an impressive body transformation from 238 pounds at his arrival to 225 currently. "He's put together," Burnette said. "He's a dynamite man. He's a guy that has earned his teammates' respect, especially after last year with his hard work and leadership. Everyone knows that when Drake steps on the field, when he steps in the building, he's all business. "He's a true professional 100 percent of the time." ■ Drake Thomas shared two of the NC State strength program's top honors this offseason, the Iron Wolf and Alpha Wolf awards. Burnette called the junior linebacker "a phenomenal person and leader." PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN