The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/503388
34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY RYAN TICE N C State wrapped up its spring practices with the annual Kay Yow Spring Football Game April 11. The game was not televised, but here are five tidbits of information The Wolfpacker was able to glean from the con- test and the rest of this spring's workouts. The Depth Has Improved NC State was without six scholarship defensive linemen by the time the spring game rolled around, and that group was unavailable for most of the spring's 15 practices. The silver lining is some of them — such as fifth-year senior defensive end Mike Rose and junior defensive tackle Monty Nelson — are proven, and their injuries allowed greener players to receive more repetitions. The other positive was the spring game's first-team front was still impressive look- ing, despite an abundance of youth. Sopho- more Bradley Chubb took hold of the top unit on one side, while early enrollee Dar- ian Roseboro worked on the opposite edge in place of Rose. The inside was made up of sophomore duo Kentavius Street and B.J. Hill, who combined for 63 tackles and 8.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage last year. The secondary is also stacked, which shouldn't be a surprise with all five start- ers back. The second-team safeties led the way for the White squad in the scrimmage — sophomore Germaine Pratt was every- where, while redshirt freshman Kalen Mc- Cain nearly had an impressive interception and led the way with six tackles. Another early enrollee, nickel back Freddie Phillips, posted a team-best four solo tackles and trailed McCain by just one total takedown. On the other side of the ball, running backs and tight ends are physically impos- ing groups from top to bottom, and are led by proven commodities. The Pack was one of only two teams in the country to bring in a trio of four-star running backs this year, but playing time will not be simply handed to them with the one-two punch of senior Shadrach Thornton and junior Matt Dayes back for another campaign. The five scholarship tight ends check in at an average of taller than 6-4 and nearly 260 pounds. All possess soft hands for be- ing so large, led by returning starter Da- vid J. Grinnage. Those averages are even brought down by 5-11, 236-pound sopho- more tight end/fullback Jaylen Samuels, who will make an impact in the run and pass game while lining up all over the field. The Backfield Is Loaded This goes hand in hand with the team's improved depth, but the running back sta- ble is so talented it deserves its own space. Thornton ranks in the school's top 10 for career rushing yards (10th, 2,369 yards), rushing average (ninth, 4.9 yards per carry) and 100-yard games (eighth, eight), and he has paced the team on the ground in each of the last three campaigns. He is attempting to join Tremayne Stephens (1994-97) and ACC rushing king Ted Brown (1975-78) as the only Wolfpackers to ever do so all four years. Meanwhile, Dayes is the returning Of- fensive MVP after he led the team with 1,278 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns last year. He has said his goal is to rush for 1,000 yards while going over the same mark in receiving yards, as well. Top-100 recruit Nyheim Hines is a simi- lar dual threat who might make more of an impact in the passing and return game at first. The electrifying athlete totaled 6,242 rushing yards, 1,057 receiving yards and 126 touchdowns during his time at Garner High School. Reggie Gallaspy II, the 5-11, 209-pound early enrollee, led the incredibly talented state of North Carolina rushers last fall with 3,318 yards on the ground. He picked up where he left off this spring, leading all players with 131 rushing yards in the spring game. The 5-11, 225-pound Johnny Frasier eclipsed 9,000 all-purpose yards and 109 touchdowns in his prep career. Hines was ranked as the nation's No. 2 all-purpose back and No. 94 overall senior, while Frasier was named Rivals' No. 24 running back and No. 215 prospect nation- ally; they will both arrive this summer. As Good As Advertised The hope going into last year was start- ing quarterback Jacoby Brissett would stay healthy and allow exciting prospect Jalan McClendon to redshirt. That is exactly what happened, so the first opportunity to see the strong-armed signal-caller since his days at West Mecklenburg High came at the spring game, where he backed up the glowing re- ports heard out of practice last fall. He turned heads immediately by com- pleting 5 of 7 passes against the first-team secondary on the opening drive of the game. That resulted in a short field goal for the White squad, although McClendon's re- ceiving corps was made up solely of walk- ons. His final statistics (16-of-35 passing for 144 yards) were not overly impressive, but it also was not far off from matching Bris- sett in the first half, despite the major roster disparity. He took control of the first-team unit after halftime, proved to be more ath- letic than expected and also did not turn the ball over. Position Changes Have Helped There have been a number of positional changes this spring, but it's all about get- ting the best 11 players on the field, accord- ing to head coach Dave Doeren. The best wide receiver in the spring game was redshirt freshman Elliott Davis, who approached the coaches about switch- ing to offense before the spring started. They were happy to oblige given the inju- ries and question marks at the position; the two-way star also had several offers to stay on offense coming out of Quince Orchard High in North Potomac, Md. Chubb went from linebacker to defen- sive end, while classmate Airius Moore filled his vacancy on the weakside by shift- ing over from the middle. Versatile fifth- year senior Alex Barr also seems to have settled in at right tackle after starting at both guard positions last year, and all three are in line to start at their new spots. Street could probably play defensive end or tackle, but he looked like a disruptive force inside during the spring game, when he notched a pair of sacks. Others changes have helped depth: red- SPRING STATEMENTS Five Things We Learned About NC State Football Heading Into The Summer Dave Doeren, now entering his third season as head coach at NC State, made a number of position switches this spring in order to get the best 11 players on the field. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN