The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2016 "I gave them a fun assignment of picking out an NFL quarterback that most resembled their game. I made sure those guys were watching film of those guys, and made sure they could get better in that way too. I know Jalan wanted to pick Cam [Newton of the Carolina Panthers], but I don't know if he's quite there yet." Do you see a passing attack with a volume receiver who catches 60-to-70 plus balls or more of a share-the-wealth approach? "You want to do whatever you can to be successful. Ultimately, the offense funnels in that direction. If someone steps up and becomes that reliable receiver that our quar- terback is dependent on, then it will happen. There are wideouts out there that can demand the ball 60 to 70 times. "If we are running at a good clip and we got three or four wideouts with 40 catches apiece, that is fine too. I don't put myself in a box where we have to do this and we have to do that or it has to look like this. "It is going to take the shape of the 2016 NC State offense. That is what it is going to look like. I'm not exactly sure if we'll have a 100-catch guy or not. If we do, great. We'll see how it works out. "The wide receiver room has a lot of great pieces, and coach George McDonald does a great job developing those guys. You can see it with guys like Stephen Louis, Bra'Lon Cherry and Maurice Trowell, and even these freshmen coming in, they'll step up and help us." How do you plan to use junior tight end/ fullback Jaylen Samuels' unique talents? "There are all kinds of really good plays from last year that stand out. There was the bowl game where he took the jet sweep for a bunch of yards on fourth down. I liked the way he high wired the sideline. There are a lot of really good plays we can use. "Jaylen doesn't fit in a box. He is one of those guys you just have to be creative and find ways to get him the ball. He really fits this offense well with being able to play mul- tiple positions and being able to do multiple things." In his own way, sophomore Nyheim Hines also plays different positions. How can he be a weapon? "You try with both those guys [Hines and Samuels] to get the ball to them in space and let them have room to get their speed going. Speed is such an intimidating thing for a de- fense. Both of those guys do a nice job. "We were able to see Nyheim do that in the spring game, and it gives us some ideas on the ways to use him." Senior running back Matthew Dayes wasn't healthy this spring, but what do you like about his game film? "We need to get him to 100 percent, but he has a proven track record in this conference of being a dynamic running back. He can cre- ate mismatches. He's a guy that can get the tough yards and possibly break it off for a big one. That is what you like about him. "I've seen it on film, but I'm excited to see J-Sam and Nyheim and Matt do this stuff in the fall, when we are together. I try not to get too excited too early because I have to see it with my own eyes. "Matt has been very productive here in the past, and you can see it on film. I know he'll be that for us again." How deep can the NC State running back position be if it maintains good health? "The whole key is who will grasp the of- fense and continue to grow? Nobody is a finished product yet, and each of these guys need to continue to develop and grow. That is what we will focus on." Who are the vocal leaders on offense? "I thought [redshirt sophomore quarter- back] Jalan [McClendon] has done a nice job of being a leader who can rally the troops. [Redshirt sophomore guard] Garrett Brad- bury has done a nice job. [Junior tight end] Cole Cook has done a nice job with his group. [Redshirt sophomore wide receiver] Stephen Louis is a workaholic and grinds all the time. "I think the wide receivers group really responds to that. I think each position group has their own leaders." ■ Drinkwitz said the Wolfpack has to be creative to find ways to get the ball to junior tight end/ fullback Jaylen Samuels, who produced 965 total yards and 16 touchdowns last year. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN "I'm excited to see a lot of this. I've seen it on film, but I'm excited to see J-Sam [Jaylen Samuels] and Nyheim [Hines] and Matt [Dayes] do this stuff in the fall, when we are together." ■ Drinkwitz