The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1502339
38 ■ THE WOLFPACKER New Look In Kicking Game BY MATT CARTER N C State head coach Dave Doeren did not have a lot of luck with placekickers until Christopher Dunn arrived on campus in 2018. Over the next five years, Doeren proceeded to be spoiled by Dunn. Dunn won the 2022 Lou Groza Award recognizing college foot- ball's top placekicker, and he shattered NC State records through- out his career. During his five seasons in Raleigh, he made 96 of 113 field goal attempts, including multiple makes for a career-long 53 yards. He also never missed an extra point, converting 199 in a row. Dunn is now trying to win a job with the Los Angeles Rams. NC State went into the transfer portal in January and landed an accomplished kicker in super senior Brayden Narveson, a two- time All-Conference USA performer at Western Kentucky. After the end of spring practice, however, the spot was not guaranteed for Narveson. "That will be a competition in camp," Doeren explained. "I think seeing Collin [Smith's] improvement this spring, and what he did, made it different than we thought it would be. He's a great kickoff guy for us, but he's improved his accuracy as a field goal kicker. "We brought in Brayden to be the guy; Collin made it a competi- tion." Smith, a redshirt junior, made 1 of 2 field goals last season, suc- cessfully booting a 40-yarder against Connecticut. Forty of his 71 kickoffs went for touchbacks. At punter, redshirt sophomore walk-on Caden Noonkester was a revelation in 2022. When Shane McDonough was injured in the latter portion of the year, Noonkester took over the duties and never gave them back. He finished the year averaging 43.0 yards on 29 punts, compared to McDonough's 41.4 yards on 40 attempts. NC State special teams also received a boost when four-year long snapper Joe Shimko decided to use his extra season of eligibil- ity. Last fall, Shimko was named a second-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association, and Phil Steele picked him as a first-team 2023 preseason All-American. SPECIAL TEAMS ■ POSITIONAL GRADES ★★★★ Among country's best; ★★★ Among ACC's best; ★★ Solid or has potential; ★ Too unproven STARTERS ★★★ Super senior Joe Shimko is an elite long snapper, and grad transfer placekicker Brayden Narveson has a proven track record at Western Kentucky. He will battle Collin Smith for the starting job. Redshirt sophomore Caden Noonkester looks to fit the mold of two former NC State punters under head coach Dave Doeren who are now in the NFL — A.J. Cole and Trenton Gill. EXPERIENCE ★★★½ Shimko and Narveson have four years of experience, and Smith handled kickoffs all last season while getting a couple of field goal tries during a lopsided win over Connecticut. Noonkester had 29 punts to his credit last year. DEPTH ★★ NC State has two placekickers competing for the job, and given Narveson's prior performance — he was a two-time all-conference selection at Western Kentucky — that speaks well of the depth there. However, the roster lacks backup options at long snapper and punter. OVERALL GRADE ★★★ If Noonkester proves last year was not a fluke but rather a harbinger of things to come and the Pack gets reliable field goal kicking from Narveson or Smith, then the specialists should be a strength once again. SPOTLIGHT PLAYER GRADUATE BRAYDEN NARVESON Coming out of Desert Mountain High in Scottsdale, Ariz., Narveson was a highly regarded kicking prospect. He made 10 of 15 field goals as a senior with a long of 58 yards while winning Arizona's Luis Zendejas Award given to the state's best kicker. Renowned prep kicking analyst Chris Sailer had Narveson rated the No. 8 kick- ing prospect in the 2018 class. Narveson signed with Iowa State, but he ended up redshirting that year after walk-on Connor Assalley beat him out for the starting job. In 2019, Narveson handled long-range field goal attempts for the Cyclones, and he made 2 of 4 — a 45-yarder at West Virginia and a 48-yard attempt against Texas. With Assalley having a couple more seasons of eligibility left, Narveson entered the transfer portal and landed at Western Kentucky, where he flourished. In 2020, Narveson made 13 of 14 field goal tries, his lone miss a 50-yarder, and had a long of 49 yards. That performance earned him a spot on the Lou Groza Award list of semifinalists and second-team all-conference honors. Pro Football Fo- cus named him a third-team All-American. A year later, Narveson hit a long of 53 yards while going 23 of 29 overall on field goal tries, once again earning second-team All-Conference USA honors. He capped his three-year run with the Hilltoppers by going 15 of 21 in 2022 with a long of 51 yards. BY THE NUMBERS 1st Preseason Phil Steele All-America team for NC State super senior long snap- per Joe Shimko. 3rd Ranking among special teams units in the ACC by Phil Steele. 5th Where Phil Steele ranked Shimko among draft-eligi- ble long snappers. PROJECTED DEPTH CHART STARTERS No. Name Year Ht. Wt. Hometown 44 Brayden Narveson (PK) Gr. 6-0 210 Scottsdale, Ariz. 98 Caden Noonkester (P) R-So. 6-6 205 Waxhaw, N.C. 91 Joe Shimko (LS) Gr. 6-0 230 Belmar, N.J. WAITING IN THE WINGS No. Name Year Ht. Wt. Hometown 90 Collin Smith (K/P) R-Jr. 5-9 195 Gibsonville, N.C. 94 Kanoah Vinesett (PK) R-Fr. 6-0 200 Rock Hill, S.C. CADEN NOONKESTER PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP