The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
100 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2015 Offensive Player To Watch JACOBY BRISSETT, 5TH-SR., QB At this time last year, Jacoby Brissett was still largely unproven. After watching Brissett practice as a redshirt, head coach Dave Doeren did not shy away from heaping praise on the former highly touted recruit who transferred from Florida, but the signal-caller had just 74 career pass attempts under his belt. To add to the uncertainty, he was surrounded by inexperienced weapons on nearly all sides. Nobody was really sure what to expect out of the offense, especially after a 3-9 campaign in 2013. Now, Brissett is the unquestioned leader of an offense that helped propel the Wolfpack to a 4-1 finish, including a win in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl. During that stretch, he completed 56.9 percent of his passes (70 of 123) for 810 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions, while he also rushed for 341 yards (on an average of 6.7 yards per tote) and two scores. He finished the year ranked third in the ACC in total offense (241.2 yards per game), tied for fourth in total touchdowns (26), fourth in passer rating (136.7) and sixth in passing yards (200.5 per game). "It felt different," Brissett said when comparing day one of the past two springs. "You know a lot more, you see things a lot faster. It seemed like everything fit together with adding new pieces and the way the offense came out in practice today. "We were way more ahead than I thought we would be from every standpoint: energy-wise, knowledge of what we were doing and everybody was moving fluently as if we were already in season." One thing that doesn't change from last year is Brissett will once again be breaking in a largely unproven receiv - ing corps. Bo Hines and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who combined for 67 catches and 873 yards last season, have both transferred. Bryan Underwood, who added five catches for 98 yards, is also gone after graduation, while the returning wide receivers combined for just 56 catches, which gained 657 yards, last year. However, juniors Bra'Lon Cherry, Johnathan Alston and Jumichael Ramos, along with sophomore Stephen Louis, did combine for six receiving touchdowns, while Hines, Valdes-Scantling and Underwood recorded just one each. Add in the returning running backs and tight ends, who combined for 80 receptions, 908 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns through the air, and it's easy to see why Brissett said he is not worried about the pass catchers. "We have a lot of new pieces to the puzzle, and it's going to be something special with all of the weapons we have on offense," he said. "I'm not going to say I'll have to pull [the passing game] along, it's going to be a collective effort. "Those players are ready to play." — Ryan Tice Defensive Player To Watch JEROD FERNANDEZ, R-SO., LB By any measure, Jerod Fernandez had a good rookie season for the Wolfpack, and equally true was the need for him to perform. Rather than easing his way into the lineup, Fer- nandez was pressed into action full-time when M.J. Salahuddin, then a junior, injured his knee during the preseason. Salahuddin was expected to be the starter at the middle linebacker position, and his absence meant that Fernandez was taking over the middle of the defense in his first career game. He responded by making eight tackles against Georgia Southern, and then a week later notched the first of four double-digit tackle performances when he piled up 12 tackles against Old Dominion — a total he would match against Presbyterian two games later. Fernandez, though, also proved his worth in ACC play. He picked off two passes against No. 1 Florida State while holding the Seminoles' Nick O'Leary, the Mackey Award winner for the nation's top tight end in 2014, without a catch for one of just two times all season. Fernandez was named the ACC Linebacker of the Week after the FSU game, and two weeks later he picked up a career high in tackles with 13 against Boston College. He also had 10 tackles versus Georgia Tech. Despite missing the Louisville contest and having only one tackle in the lopsided win over Wake For - est, Fernandez ended the regular season with 76 hits, most on the squad. He would be overtaken by rising fifth-year senior safety Hakim Jones though in the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl, when Fernandez had two tackles compared to Jones' eight, giving Jones 80 on the year. Odds are that if Fernandez continues his progres- sion from last season, the final tackles tally will not come down to the bowl game, and Fernandez will be leading the way. That is why Fernandez is the defensive player to watch. — Matt Carter Phil Steele named Fernandez a first-team Freshman All-American after he finished second on the team with 78 tackles a year ago. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Brissett ranked third in the ACC in total offense (241.2 yards per game), tied for fourth in total touchdowns (26), fourth in passer rating (136.7) and sixth in passing yards (200.5 per game) in 2014. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN