The Wolfpacker

28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER has compiled 303 yards and five scores on the ground. Defensive MVP: Fifth-year senior defen- sive end Mike Rose went from being just a piece of the puzzle early in career to the leading man in his last season. He enters the bowl game with 10.5 sacks, which is second in the ACC. He also has 44 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and seven quarterback hurries. He had at least one sack in seven games, and half a sack in an eighth contest. Rose earned second- team All-ACC. Special Teams MVP (tie): Freshman kick returner Nyheim Hines and junior punt returner Bra'Lon Cherry both had impressive campaigns. Cherry led eli- gible ACC returners by averaging 13.3 yards on his 27 returns, and he went 52 yards for a touchdown against Wake Forest. Hines led the league in kickoff return yards (791) and ranked fourth in return average (27.3 yards per attempt), and he had a 100-yard touchdown re- turn versus Clemson. Both were honor- able mention All-ACC. Best Individual Performance, Of- fense: Junior running back Matthew Dayes rushed 16 times for 205 yards and two touchdowns (85 and 59 yards), and caught one pass for 16 yards in the 35-17 win over Wake Forest Oct. 24. The rushing yards were the most by a Pack ball carrier since Andre Brown ran for 248 against Southern Miss in 2005. Best Individual Performance, De- fense: Rose had three sacks in the 18-point victory at Wake Forest, which was NC State's first triumph in Win- ston-Salem, N.C., since 2001. All three sacks came on third-down plays, and they represented his three tackles. Best Special Teams Performance: Hines had flirted with returning a kick- off for a touchdown in previous games — 90 yards against Louisville for instance — but finally did it when he sprinted 100 yards against Clemson in the 56-41 defeat Oct. 31. Hines was gone by the time he reached the NCSU 40-yard line, and wasn't challenged over the final 60 yards. He fin- ished with three kickoff returns for 135 yards against the Tigers. Best Offensive Line Performance: Fifth- year senior left tackle Joe Thuney was named ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week twice — at South Alabama and ver- sus Syracuse. We'll go with the latter per- formance, where he helped the Wolfpack amass 511 yards of total offense. Thuney didn't allow a sack or miss an assignment. Best Running Play: Dayes sprinted 85 yards against Wake Forest as part of his huge first quarter. He broke the tackle of WFU outside linebacker Demetrius Kemp and then cut back to fool safety Zach Dan- cel. Junior wide receiver Johnathan Alston delivered a clutch block, and Dayes did the rest. Best Passing Play: Brissett ran a play-ac- tion pass and the Boston College secondary broke down. Brissett hit redshirt freshman wide receiver Maurice Trowell in stride for an 83-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead. The Wolfpack went on to win the road game 24-8 Nov. 7. Prettiest Passing Play: Brissett rolled right, sophomore H-back Jaylen Samuels slipped behind the Clemson defense to the left and Brissett threw it to him. Samuels broke one tackle and raced for a 40-yard touchdown catch. BIGGEST DEFENSIVE PLAY: "The Dravi- ous Wright hit." The play was so vicious that anyone that watched it knows imme- diately what it is. The junior safety had the best hit, sack, forced fumble and perhaps fumble recovery all on the same play in the season opener against Troy Sept. 5. Wright blitzed and crushed Troy quarterback Bran- don Silvers, causing the Trojans player to lose his helmet. Silvers also lost the ball, and Wright recovered it at the Troy 14-yard line in the third quarter. Samuels eventually notched a three-yard touchdown run for 42-21 Pack lead. Best Interception: Take your pick from the Florida State game. Redshirt junior nickel back Niles Clark went up high to deflect FSU quarterback Everett Golson's pass, and then caught it while hitting the ground, which likely prevented at least three Seminoles' points with the Pack leading 17-7 in the second quarter. Ear- lier, junior cornerback Jack Tocho battled FSU receiver Bobo Wilson for the ball, and after deflecting it, snagged it away for an interception at Florida State 30-yard line. NCSU eventually scored a touchdown to take the aforementioned 17-7 lead. Most Memorable Interception: NC State's defense had a case of déjà vu when freshman defensive end Darian Roseboro dropped into coverage, picked off a pass and returned it 20 yards for a score in the win over Syracuse. Clark delivered a nice block to spring him. Defensive end Phar- oah McKever had a similar pick- six against the Orange last year. Best Freshman Defensive Per- formance: Roseboro had an im- pressive game in the win over Wake Forest. He had four tack- les, two sacks and two passes broken up in 32 plays. Best Freshman Offensive Per- formance: Hines rushed for 69 yards, caught six passes for 70 yards and a touchdown, and chipped in three kick returns for 69 yards in the victory over Syracuse. He was named ACC Rookie of the Week for his ef- forts. Best Performance By An Op- ponent, Offense: Clemson quar- terback Deshaun Watson was es- sentially involved in everything the Tigers did in defeating NC State 56-41 Oct. 31. He completed 23 of 30 passes for 383 yards with five touchdowns, and rushed 14 times for 54 yards for a score. UNC sophomore running back Elijah Hood, who rushed 21 times for 220 yards and two scores in the Tar Heels' 45-34 win Nov. 28, also merits mention. Best Performance By An Opponent, Defense/Special Teams: It isn't often an opposing player can stand out when his defense gets torched, but Clemson senior middle linebacker B.J. Goodson had a big individual effort in the 56-41 win over the Wolfpack. Goodson had 10 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. Florida State freshman safety Der- win James had 10 tackles, one sack and a fumble recovery as runner-up choice. ■ Junior safety Dravious Wright delivered the hit of the year against Troy Sept. 5, separating quarterback Brandon Silvers from both his helmet and the ball on a sack before recovering the fumble. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN

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