The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1538921
24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Joly was ready for the next step in college football's highest subdivision. Something To Prove Mora had made it a point to see as many of the Huskies' commits as possible dur- ing the spring of their senior year. When he and Marinelli stopped by Iona Prep to see Joly, their hidden gem was on the Gaels' basketball court having some fun. As the two college coaches watched, their eyes grew bigger and bigger. Joly, who by that point had grown to 211 pounds, was dunking on a 10-foot rim with ease as his head almost hit the rim. It wasn't what Mora and Marinelli were expecting to see, but it proved that Joly wouldn't have any trouble growing into his frame as an FBS tight end. It also quelled any concerns that the added weight would slow him down. Said Marinelli, "The more weight he put on, the more power he had and the more speed he had." When he's fighting for contested catches, Joly resembles a power forward grabbing a rebound, and his ability to out- jump opponents is uncanny. His mental- ity on the field is simple: The football is his, and nothing will stop him from com- ing away with it. When Joly arrived at UConn, he was determined to play as soon as possible. He looked around the tight ends room and wasn't afraid to tell his teammates what he thought. "If you don't want your job, I'm going to come in and take it," Joly recalled telling the others in his position group. That mindset paid dividends. The Brewster, N.Y., native grew to 232 pounds by his second year on campus, and he used his added strength to haul in 56 re- ceptions for 578 yards and a pair of touch- downs during a breakout sophomore sea- son. Joly more than doubled his freshman output of 18 catches for 258 yards and 2 scores, and it was largely because he had mastered the playbook while also tak- ing a step forward as a run blocker. Those two improvements allowed the Huskies to leave Joly on the field in any down-and- distance situation. "He became one of our better blocking tight ends, and he was still a serious threat to open a big play downfield," Marinelli said. "You wouldn't say Justin is a tre- mendous blocker, but that's probably the area he improved the most, and it helped his overall game because we could put him on the field in every situation possible. … The defense had to honor the fact that we had one of the best tight ends in college football." Once his sophomore year ended, Joly appeared ready for the next step. Al- though he flew under the power-confer- ence radar as a prep recruit, his name was well known to nearly every top player per- sonnel department around the country. He entered the transfer portal in Decem- ber 2023, becoming the No. 1 tight end in On3's transfer portal rankings. Tennessee was the first to offer, and within 12 hours of Joly's appearance in the portal, five more teams had joined the Volunteers, including NC State. He com- mitted to the Wolfpack following an of- ficial visit 10 days later. Once he arrived in Raleigh, Joly was Joly's nose for the football was on full display last year when he led all FBS tight ends with an 84.6 contested-catch rate, as determined by Pro Football Focus. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS NC State Football Schedule Date Opponent Time (TV) Aug. 28 EAST CAROLINA 7 p.m. (ACCN) Sept. 6 VIRGINIA Noon (ESPN2) Sept. 11 at Wake Forest 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) Sept. 20 at Duke TBA Sept. 27 VIRGINIA TECH TBA Oct. 4 CAMPBELL TBA Oct. 11 at Notre Dame 3:30 p.m. (Peacock) Oct. 25 at Pitt TBA Nov. 1 GEORGIA TECH TBA Nov. 15 at Miami TBA Nov. 21 FLORIDA STATE 8 p.m. (ESPN) Nov. 29 NORTH CAROLINA TBA