The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER tal hits, and also had two quarterback hur- ries, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and one pass broken up. 13. Punter Wil Baumann The Pack's lone first-team All-ACC per- former this year was Baumann, a senior. He averaged 45.3 yards per punt, the second- highest mark in school history behind only Johnny Evans' 46.1 yard-average in 1975. He led the ACC and was seventh-best in the nation in punting average this year. 14. Safety Hakim Jones Jones, a redshirt junior, finished second on the defense in tackles with 72 while being one of just three players on that side of the ball to start all 12 contests. He also broke up three passes and had one quar- terback hurry in his second full season as a starter. 15. Offensive guard Joe Thuney Thuney's impact was probably best felt when he missed four games with an illness. The starting left guard was not on the field when the Pack piled up 156 and 217 total yards, respectively, in losses to Clemson and Boston College. A week after the BC contest, Thuney returned and helped the Pack get 351 yards at Louisville — which was the top-ranked defense in the country in yards allowed at the time. 16. Wide receiver Bo Hines The true freshman led NC State in re- ceiving with 42 receptions for 537 yards in the regular season, including a 54-yard touchdown against then-No. 1 Florida State. His eight catches for 103 yards against the Noles was the only time a Pack pass catcher had more than 100 receiving yards in a game. Hines tied former running back T.A. McLendon in 2002 for the second-most receptions by a freshman in school history, six behind Koren Robinson's all-time high of 48 in 1999. His receiving yards total is the second-highest for a Wolfpack rookie, trailing only Robinson's 853. 17. Safety Josh Jones The redshirt freshman started seven games at strong safety and was fourth on the defense with 53 tackles, including a sack. He also paced the Pack with three interceptions and was second on the team with six passes broken up. 18. Cornerback Jack Tocho Tocho was one of just three defensive players to start all 12 games of the regu- lar season, and he led NC State with nine passes broken up. He also had an intercep- tion and 38 tackles during his sophomore season. Tocho played the most snaps (770) of any player on defense this year. 19. Offensive guard/center Tony Adams When Schooley did get injured against North Carolina, the Pack was able to not skip a beat because Adams slid over from the right guard position and ably filled in during Schooley's absence. The true fresh- man impressively started eight of the last nine games of the year at right guard for NC State and has a promising future in the Wolfpack uniform. 20. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill Hill is yet another true freshman who flashed impressive potential. After arriv- ing at NCSU at 260 pounds, Hill — who enrolled early — beefed up to 300 pounds and used the new-found strength and bulk to become a disruptive force in the middle. He started four of the last five games of the year, and had 37 stops, 7.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 21. Kicker Niklas Sade Sade made sure it was a record-breaking year for NC State. While making 10 of 14 field goal attempts, with a long of 48 yards, and connecting on 42 of 44 extra points, Sade scored 72 points to pass for- mer running back Ted Brown and become NC State's all-time leading scorer. He also booted 41 of 67 kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. 22. Cornerback Juston Burris Burris was the third defensive player that started all 12 games this season for NC State. The redshirt junior concluded the regular season with 27 tackles, one stop for a loss, five passes broken up and an interception. His pick came against UNC, marking the second straight year he had one against the Tar Heels. 23. Safety Dravious Wright The sophomore started 11 games at NC- SU's newly established nickel position in the base 4-2-5 defense. Wright was one of the Pack's most physical tacklers and piled up 52 tackles, fifth-highest on the team, including five for loss and a sack. He also forced two fumbles. 24. Defensive tackle T.Y. McGill Like Teal, McGill was dominant against UNC, making two tackles for loss and the sack that knocked North Carolina start- ing quarterback Marquise Williams out of the game. McGill started six times during his senior season and posted 34 tackles, including seven for loss and two sacks. He was tied with Teal for the second most quarterback hurries with four. 25. Wide receiver Bra'Lon Cherry The sophomore tied Grinnage for the third-most catches on the team with 25, and he had 319 receiving yards and three touch- downs via the air. He also rushed for two scores, joining Dayes as the only player on the squad to have multiple touchdowns both receiving and rushing. The highlight of the year for Cherry was his three-score effort (two rushing and one receiving) at South Florida in a 49-17 win Sept. 13. ■ Redshirt junior Hakim Jones, one of only three Wolfpack defenders to start all 12 regular- season contests, ranked second on the team with 72 tackles. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN