The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/337646
JULY 2014 ■ 59 FOOTBALL 2014 BY MATT CARTER N C State's wide receiving corps could be the enigma of the Wolf- pack heading into the 2014 season. Wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson knows there is talent, and he has seen flashes from his wideouts since arriving at NC State prior to last season. Depth does not appear to be a problem, and Jackson proclaimed he is excited about the competition heading into training camp. He also has, despite the experience of a few players returning, a young unit — with just one senior and one junior — that continues to seek the consistency needed to reach their potential. "It's a deep group," Jackson noted. "I tell those guys every day if you miss a practice you might be out because the guy behind you is just as good as you are. It's great because all these guys are pushing each other. "They work their butts off. They've still got a long ways to go." Fifth-year senior Bryan Underwood is the head- liner of the group. He has 92 career catches for 1,228 yards and 13 touchdowns. Jackson, a former NFL receiver, knows that Underwood has the speed the professional scouts covet. Jackson, though, is preach- ing that Underwood needs to work on the other aspects of the receiving game, aside from the deep vertical bomb. "I think he has a different mindset than he's had the last couple of years," Jackson said. "He has some stuff to work on from a route run- ning standpoint and a ball skills standpoint, but I believe he'll have a great year if he is able to put it all together and go with it." The other most experienced returning wideouts are sophomores Jumichael Ramos (24 receptions for 352 yards and three scores) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (22 catches for 281 yards). Both have had some grow- ing pains and Jackson hopes they have learned the valuable lesson of not coasting off early success. "I think Valdes was humbled during the sea- son," Jackson noted. "You start off strong and then you get into ACC, and it's big boy football. It's a big boy conference. I think he probably got humbled a little bit there. "[Ramos] didn't have quite the spring that he wanted, but I think he learned from it. In retro- spect, it was good for him to be able to see how much he still needs to work. We need both of those guys to be consistent players and play like guys that played last year." Fellow sophomores Bra'Lon Cherry (eight re- ceptions for 68 yards) and Johnathan Alston played last season instead of redshirting. Jackson likes Cherry's ability to line up at any receiver spot and praised Alston's athleticism. "He's got all the talent," Jackson said of Alston. A wild card among the returnees is redshirt junior Maurice Morgan, a physically gifted wideout in whom Jackson sees building confidence. Quick Facts Position Coach: Frisman Jackson (2nd season) Returning Starter: Bryan Underwood (8 career starts) Starters Lost: Quintin Payton (21) and Rashard Smith (15) FYI: Athlon's ranks NCSU's receivers as the ninth-best group in the ACC … Underwood needs eight receptions to become the 17th player in NCSU history with at least 100 career receptions and needs 272 receiving yards to be the 15th Wolfpacker with at least 1,500 receiving yards … Underwood's 13 career touch- downs is tied for 10th most at NC State with Bryan Peterson … Sophomore Jumichael Ramos' three touchdown receptions last year tied David Davis in 1982 for the most scoring hauls by a freshman in NC State history, and his 352 receiving yards was third most ever for a Wolfpack freshman behind former receiver Koren Robinson's 853 in 1999 and former running back T.A. McLendon's 354 in 2002 … Freshman Bo Hines caught 51 passes for 832 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior at Charlotte Catholic and won the 200-meter state title for the state independent schools' 3-A division as a junior with a time of 22.07 seconds … Freshman Stephen Louis rushed for 1,013 yards as a senior to become West Palm Beach (Fla.) Palm Beach Lakes High's first-ever 1,000-yard rusher, and he led the county with 25 total touchdowns … Freshman Maurice Trowell caught 93 passes for 1,760 yards and 19 touchdowns as a senior at Southern Durham (N.C.) High … Both Hines and Trowell won state titles in football last fall. NC State's Top Receptions Leader The Past 10 Seasons Year Name Catches Yards 2013 Rashard Smith 49 530 2012 Tobais Palmer 54 781 2011 T.J. Graham 46 757 2010 Owen Spencer 60 912 2009 Jarvis Williams 45 547 2008 Owen Spencer 31 691 2007 John Dunlap 45 375 2006 Anthony Hill 45 478 2005 T.J. Williams 36 407 2004 T.J. Williams 31 382 ■ Preseason Analysis **** Among country's best; *** Among ACC's best; ** Solid or has potential; * Too unproven Starters **½ There are some ifs that could bump this rating up: if fifth-year senior Bryan Under- wood can bounce back from a broken collarbone suffered late last season and return to the form he was playing at before the injury; if sophomores Jumichael Ramos and Marquez Valdes-Scantling take the next step in their development; and if true freshman Bo Hines proves that his strong spring was just an indicator of things to come. If all those things come to pass, this becomes a strong position group for the Pack. Experience ** This is a young unit. Underwood has certainly played a lot, and Ramos and Valdes- Scantling gained invaluable time and experience last season, but there is still just one senior and one junior (Maurice Morgan, who has played sparingly up to this point). Wide receivers coach Frisman Jackson likes a rotation of eight wideouts on game day, and more than half of them will have little experience coming into the 2014 season. Depth ** This is another rating that can be upgraded should some of the "ifs" get answered affirmatively. Morgan and sophomores Johnathan Alston and Bra'Lon Cherry have the athleticism to play, and incoming true freshmen Stephen Louis and Maurice Trowell come to Raleigh after breakthrough seasons as seniors in high school. If they prove ready, then NCSU's depth becomes an asset. Overall grade ** Potential is the word that gets tossed around a lot when it comes to the wide receiv - ers. Young is another. Sometimes that is a recipe for growing pains, but Underwood gives NC State a proven fifth-year senior with the speed to be a playmaker. Some of the young players have some experience to build on, too. That may allow the other inexperienced receivers time to find their way and collectively develop into a unit that is better than this rating suggests. WIDE RECEIVERS POTENTIAL IMPACT Pack Receiving Corps Aims To Translate Physical Skills Into Positive Production ■ By The Numbers 10 Number of touchdown catches by NC State receivers combined in 2013. 10 Number of touchdown catches fifth-year senior Bryan Underwood had in 2012. 31 Rushes for NCSU receivers last season, led by departed senior Rashard Smith (17) and Underwood (12). 58-60.WRs.indd 59 6/27/14 12:20 PM