The Wolfpacker

22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER N C State finished its regular sea- son at 7-5 and is headed to the Belk Bowl to play Mississippi State Dec. 30 in Charlotte. The Pack had a pair of first-team All-ACC per- formers in fifth-year senior left tackle Joe Thuney and sophomore fullback/tight end Jaylen Samuels. Those two were among the six Wolfpack players overall honored by the ACC and highlighted the individual efforts that got NCSU to its second straight bowl appear- ance under head coach Dave Doeren. Here is a look back at the top 10 players from the season, the top five rookies and five breakout candidates for next year. 2015 NC State Top 10 Rk. Player Year Pos. 1. Jacoby Brissett 5th-Sr. QB Brissett was actually not among those honored by the ACC on its postseason teams, but it is hard to argue anyone else being more central to the Pack's on-field success. The Pack had the third highest scoring offense in the ACC despite losing its top two running backs during the season, largely thanks to the efficient Brissett, who completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,448 yards with 19 touchdowns and just four picks. 2. Mike Rose 5th-Sr. DE Rose was named second-team All-ACC by the league's sportswriters after picking up 10.5 sacks this season, tied for second most in the league. Rose's 10 solo sacks tied for the most in the ACC with Pitt fifth-year senior Ejuan Price. Rose helped State finish fifth in the conference with 31 sacks. 3. Joe Thuney 5th-Sr. OT Thuney was named first-team All-ACC, the first of- fensive lineman from NC State to receive that honor since Sean Locklear in 2003. Thuney did not allow a sack in ACC play, was twice named ACC Lineman of the Week and helped the Pack finish fourth in the conference in rushing offense (201.9 yards per game). 4. Jaylen Samuels So. FB/TE Samuels was named first-team All-ACC at tight end, but he played various roles for the Pack in 2015. Samuels led NC State with 64 receptions for 599 yards and seven touchdowns. He also rushed 53 times for 315 yards and seven touchdowns. His 14 total scores tied for fourth most in one season in program history. 5. Matthew Dayes Jr. RB A late-season foot injury shut Dayes down after eight games. Had he stayed healthy, Dayes likely would have topped this list. He had 865 rushing yards before getting hurt and was on pace to easily have the 11th 1,000- yard rushing season in school history. Despite missing four-plus games, Dayes still earned honorable mention All-ACC accolades. HIGHLIGHTING THE BEST A Look At The Top Players From The 2015 Football Season Fifth-year senior quarterback Jacoby Brissett completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 2,448 yards with 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions this season. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

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