The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY RYAN TICE N C State head coach Dave Do- eren proved last fall he is not shy about playing true freshmen. Part of it was the depth issues of the team he inherited, but 11 rookies played in games during the 2013 campaign. A similarly sized contingent of newcom- ers should see action this fall. After just one week of preseason camp, Doeren rattled off a list of no fewer than 10 new arrivals he felt could play significant roles. Such is life when the squad boasts 33 freshmen, 21 redshirt freshmen and 22 sophomores. All told, underclassmen make up nearly 70 percent of the roster. "We're here to win games, and whoever can help us win games needs to be on the field," the coach explained. "That's the rule we live by. "We [expect freshmen to play] because of the lack of depth we had and also the number of freshmen. Because of our num- bers, that's going to happen no matter what." A group of nine athletes graduated high school early to enroll at NC State in Janu- ary, and that unit obviously has the best chance to play. Several of those players have already undergone physical transfor- mations to help prepare them to contribute on the college level immediately. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill arrived in Ra- leigh around 260 pounds and initially had the goal of reaching 295 before the season; he tipped the scales at 300 by the start of preseason camp. Safety Germaine Pratt first checked in at 195 pounds, but has blown up thanks to the weight room and training table; he's more than 230 now. Others have gone in the other direction. Offensive lineman Tony Adams dropped 22 pounds of body fat by the time fall prac- tices started and is now in the process of packing back on good weight. The rookie is currently listed at 301 pounds and sits atop the depth chart at right guard. "Body-wise, they're not freshmen any more," Doeren noted. "The body types are totally different. They walked into an off- season program that was put together to make a 3-9 team a lot tougher and a lot better athletes. It wasn't an easy offseason, and they jumped right into it. "It made them mentally tougher and, other than injury, out of those nine guys that came in early, most of them will play right away just because we need them to and they got a lot of good, valuable experi- ence in practice." "That's what we came in to do," Hill added. "We want to make an impact and help the team. "I feel like I'm about to be a sophomore in a couple of months, that's how I look at it because I've been around longer than a freshman." However, other rookies that arrived in June have quickly caught the coaches' eyes, and some of that group will also be counted on right away. The 33-man signing class featured a total of 19 team captains, 11 all-state performers and seven state champions. "The talent that we brought in the fresh- man class is very evident," Doeren said. "We have more depth and there's more competition at certain position groups — defensive back, wide receiver, defensive line, tight end and running back. I'm ex- cited about the depth, competition and quality of competition at those positions. It has been documented how young some of that is, but there are some really good young players here." Summer School It may seem like there are more true freshmen in line to play than usual, but they got a head start this summer thanks to new NCAA regulations that allowed the coaches to work with the team two hours per week. That helped the entire squad, but it was most important for the June arrivals. "We're way ahead of where we were last year," Doeren explained. "We entered day one of camp with our entire offense and defense installed, except for our goal-line packages. We had everything in and that's the advantage of the schedule we were pro- vided now with the new NCAA legislation." Doeren noted there wasn't a single pro- cedural penalty in the first scrimmage, compared to an estimated 15 one year ago. The Pack entered last season with few players who knew the offense well enough to, "be able to line up and play" without thinking or committing penalties. Even the freshmen were up to speed this year, thanks to the work done this summer. "It gave all of them a chance to be ready for fall camp," the coach noted. "You're seeing a different type of freshman on the field — guys that know the calls and can make the checks. It's just different. They're able to show you their ability level. "I'd say more than half of the guys came into camp ready to play mentally with the playbook." Defensive end Kentavius Street, who was the highest-ranked recruit in the class but did not arrive until June, noted that he quickly caught up in time for the start of fall camp, thanks to the upperclassmen and coaches. Despite returning players being in direct competition with rookies once camp started, the older guys never hesitated to help the freshmen. "I felt like I came in on the same level as everybody else," he said. "[Early enrollees and returners] were out there going against the offense physically, but mentally I felt like we were on the same level. "As soon as we got here, I felt like we picked it up and started running with ev- erything." Building Something Special NC State's 2014 recruiting class was ranked 30th nationally by Rivals.com. It was the Pack's highest-regarded class since 2005 and a marked improvement over the average of 45th during the past nine years. The coaching staff's first full cycle on the recruiting trail got off to a slow start — the first pledge did not come until April 2 with wideout Bo Hines — but it gradu- ally picked up steam and really blew up in June, when the team added 14 commits, including two of the three highest-ranked athletes. "I really fell in love with Coach Doeren and his staff," said Hines, who led the way with 10 catches for 132 yards in the spring game. "When I was the first commit, I just said: 'I'm going to help build my class.' I definitely put a little bit of pressure on guys Beyond Their years The Pack Boasts A Talented Freshman Class, With Several Rookies Ready To Play In 2014 Freshman wide receiver Bo Hines was an early enrollee, and he made a splash right away, pulling in 10 catches for 132 yards in the spring game. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN