The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1481002
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022 ■ 25 coming here. I trust my ability. I trust my athleticism.'" Yet by the time Sumo-Karngbaye arrived at NC State, the one assistant who recruited him, former Pack receiv- ers coach and co-offensive coordinator George McDonald, had left to take an assistant coaching position at his alma mater, Illinois. Thus, there was a lot of getting to know each other between player and program. Whether that included refer- ring to Sumo-Karngbaye by his high school nickname is unclear. At the time, he went by "Shark." On his high school highlight film posted on HUDL, he threw in the name "Slimey Shark." "I was just a kid," Sumo-Karngbaye tried to explain. Little did he know that his old nick- name would be featured on national television during his impressive first performance at East Carolina. "When ESPN called me that, I was like, 'How do they know that?' " Sumo- Karngbaye recalled. While acknowledging the uniqueness of the nickname, Sumo-Karngbaye did not sound like someone who enthusias- tically wants to keep the moniker. "It's kind of corny to me, I'm not go- ing to lie" he said. "It's like a high school thing." One player on the NC State roster who did have an inkling of what Sumo- Karngbaye could do on the football field was fifth-year redshirt junior quarter- back Devin Leary. Leary's younger brother Donovan, who is now a true freshman at Illinois, was the quarterback at Timber Creek High in Sicklerville, N.J., when the Wolves played Sumo-Karngbaye and Willingboro High in 2020, a game Will- ingboro won 21-14. At that point, Sumo-Karngbaye was already committed to the Wolfpack, and Devin Leary was rehabbing a broken leg he had suffered earlier in the season. "I remember my little brother told me that week about the scouting report on Demie," Leary recalled. "At the time in high school, he was playing receiver and my little brother was telling me how good he was at receiver. "When Demie got here, I was expect- ing him to play receiver." Sumo-Karngbaye is certainly not lin- ing up at wideout for NC State. That was quickly made clear in practice. There were times where Doeren had a hard time containing his excitement about Sumo-Karngbaye, like when he appeared on the "Gramlich & Mac Lain" podcast over the summer. "We have, in my opinion, a young man who is going to be big on the scene in college football in Demie Sumo," Do- eren said on the show. "Demie is very, very different." After burning his redshirt while play- ing exclusively on special teams in 2021, Sumo-Karngbaye has emerged as the Wolfpack's leading running back this fall. In the first five games of the year, Sumo-Karngbaye rushed 44 times for 262 yards and 3 scores, averaging an im- pressive 6.0 yards per carry. "Until you get in live games, you don't know, but this is what I thought we would have, watching him and how he played in practice," Doeren said. "He's very talented. "He's hard to tackle. He's got good vision, and he's patient. He can catch. He's tough. He's in a good spot. We've just have to keep him growing. He's still learning." Just like NC State fans and college football observers are learning about Sumo-Karngbaye and whatever nick- name ends up sticking. ■ Sumo-Karngbaye was averaging an impressive 6.0 yards per carry through the Pack's 4-1 start, with 3 touchdown runs including a long of 24 yards at East Carolina. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS