The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/846301
The overwhelming theme surrounding the 2012 class is attrition. Among all five recruiting classes that were fully assembled by former head coach Tom O'Brien, this group would have, by far, the highest attrition rate. Year Signees Early Attrition Attrition Rate 2008 22 8 36.4 percent 2009 24 11 45.8 percent 2010 17 5 29.4 percent 2011 20 6 30.0 percent 2012 22 16 72.7 percent Of the six that completed their eligibilities at NC State, two were junior college transfers that only played a pair of seasons. Such a high level of attrition essentially meant that O'Brien's successor, Dave Doeren, has been dealing with a short-handed roster for his first four years at NC State. Each football roster is comprised of pieces of five recruiting classes, but Doeren has had to utilize a roster primarily made up of just four classes. The good news is that the 2012 class appears to have been a hiccup. Although the transition class of 2013 has been hit hard by attrition, Doeren's full recruiting classes have held together well. Year Signees Early Attrition Attrition Rate 2013 23 13 56.5 percent 2014 31 9 29.0 percent 2015 22 6 27.3 percent 2016 23 4 17.4 percent TOP STORYLINES THE THORNTON DRAMA Few players face the drama running back Shadrach Thornton did during his time at NC State. Thornton may have had enough talent to be drafted had he not endured a multitude of issues off the field that prevented him from reaching his full potential and was a distraction for the team. His status on the Pack was threatened in 2013, when he was charged with a misdemeanor assault on his then-girlfriend in the school library. Thornton took a deferred prosecution and eventually the charges were dismissed. Later Thornton picked up a misdemeanor marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia charges. He seemed to straighten out as a ju- nior, when he rushed for 907 yards, and was named first-team preseason All-ACC going into his senior year. But Thornton was suspended for the first two games of the 2015 season for viola- tion of team rules. He ran 30 times for 203 yards and three touchdowns in the next two games while helping NCSU race out to a 4-0 start by a combined score of 185-48. Leading into a crucial ACC opener against Lou- isville at home, Thornton was riding his moped on campus when he hit a pedestrian. The victim suffered a busted lip, and Thornton was charged with failure to stop and render aid and failure to provide informa- tion by leaving the scene. That incident proved to be the last straw, and just three days before the Louisville contest, Thorn- ton was dismissed from the team and the offensive coaches were forced to scramble. Louisville would beat NCSU, 20-13. Shadrach Thornton ripped Florida State for a career-high 173 yards and two rushing touchdowns in 2013, the year the Seminoles won the national championship. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN WHERE DID THEY GO? 130 ■ THE WOLFPACKER