The Wolfpacker

JANUARY 2016 ■ 9 I am so excited for the opportunity to play in our home state at the Belk Bowl in the great city of Charlotte. The Belk Bowl allows the NC State fan base a tremendous opportunity to support their Wolfpack, and I look forward to seeing Bank of America Stadium painted Red! A bowl game is a great reward for our players that have worked extremely hard this year. It's also a very important time in the development of our program, as the extra practices we are allowed don't just prepare us for the game, but help us develop our younger players. We dedicated our first five practices just to our younger guys and started from the beginning, covering the basics. It was great to see how far some of these players have come since their arrival this summer. The time they have put in the weight room and on the field are already very noticeable to me, and I am very excited for their progression. Playing in the Belk Bowl allows for 10 of our players to return to their hometown: center Tony Adams, offensive guard Garrett Bradbury, wide receiver Naquan Brown, long snapper Ben Garnett, wide receiver Vernon Grier, quarterback Jalan McClendon, defensive end Emmanuel Olenga, tight end/fullback Jaylen Samuels, cornerback Jack Tocho, and offensive tackle Philip Walton, Jr. Cornerback Mike Stevens and defensive end Darian Roseboro are also from the Charlotte area. This is a busy time for us. We'll finish up December recruiting and then begin the game plan for Mississippi State. Right now, recruiting is the most important thing to our program. We have a few months left until we can sign this class, and we still have a few more holes to fill. I have a great staff that loves to recruit, and I am confident we will finish strong. I cannot wait to get to back to get back on the field and start working with the team to beat Mississippi State. It will be a great opportunity for us and I am excited to finish the season strong. Raise The Bar! 1Pack1Goal, Coach Doeren ■ From Head Football Coach Dave Doeren On Dec. 13, we held our annual award ceremony where we recog- nized our team's top performers. We have a lot to celebrate about this year and our players deserve to be rec- ognized for their great efforts and performances. 2015 NC STATE FOOTBALL AWARD WINNERS: Governors Award — Team Most Valuable Player — Jacoby Brissett Torry Holt Award — Offensive Most Valu - able Player — Jaylen Samuels Mario Williams Award — Defensive Most Valuable Player — Mike Rose Special Teams Most Valuable Player — Bra'Lon Cherry Ted Brown Award — Offensive Back of the Year — Matthew Dayes Gary Rowe Awards — Wide Receiver of the Year — David J. Grinnage Jim Ritcher Award — Offensive Lineman of the Year — Joe Thuney Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year — Nicholas Lacy & Jarius Morehead Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year — Johnny Frasier & Brian Sessoms Dewayne Washington Award — Defen - sive Back of the Year — Juston Burris Bill Cowher Award — Linebacker of the Year — Airius Moore Carey Brewbaker Award — Defensive Lineman of the Year — Bradley Chubb & B.J. Hill Philip Rivers Award — Freshman of the Year — Defense: Darian Roseboro Offense: Nyheim Hines Alpha Rising Award — Most Improved Player — Jumichael Ramos & Niles Clark Michael J. Hardy Award — Winning At - titude — Alex Barr & Hakim Jones Bo Rein Award — Vital Contribution in an Unsung Role — Dravious Wright Bob Warren Award — Exemplifies Integrity & Sportsmanship — Cole Cook & Jack Tocho Al Michaels Awards — Team Before Self — Quinton Schooley Ken McNeill Iron Wolf Award — Return - ing from Injury — Monty Nelson & Gavin Locklear Earle Edwards Award — Highest Scholastic Average — Benson Browne Community Service Award — Tony Adams Wolfpack Spirit Award — Special Sup - porter of the Program — Donna Woolard

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