The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 "Coach Canada has a good head on his shoulders with the offensive things. "We sat down and Matt said, 'Anything you see that we should do with Jaylen, just let me know.' That is the kind of rapport he had with me. That is pretty unusual, but also one of the smartest things I've seen from a college coach." Current NC State offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz kept the same "J-Sam For- mula" and hopes to expand upon it this fall. "There are very few of those guys going around," Drinkwitz said. "He's a guy that can do multiple things with the ball in his hands and has that unique ability to get the ball in the end zone." The graduation loss of star running back Matthew Dayes could also alter how Samu- els gets used this sea- son. He would prob- ably prefer getting 25 carries to catching eight to 10 passes, but he is a team player. How NC State utilizes new running back Nyheim Hines, a converted wide receiver, and Samuels should be an enjoyable story line on offense this season. Samuels never had more than five car- ries in a game last year, but he did top 100 receiving yards in two contests, including having six catches for 104 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-17 win over Vander- bilt in the Independence Bowl. Longtime observers of Samuels under- stand the value he brings to the Wolfpack. "He is one of the best offensive weapons in the country," said David Hale, who cov- ers the ACC for ESPN.com. "He wasn't recruited that way, and at a lot of other pro- grams, he wouldn't be utilized that way." Hale said part of what makes Samuels unique is that he can't be labeled. He half- joked that if he played basketball, he'd be dubbed a "tweener." "He is undersized to be a tight end and probably a little slow to be a running back, and he's probably too 'wide' to be a wide receiver," Hale said. "But he is a unique enough that most defenses don't have any- body to match up against him. "He is quicker than a linebacker and strong enough to block at the line of scrim- mage when he needs to." Hale said it is rare to see an offense build around the unique talents of one player, but the Wolfpack has been rewarded for not being stubborn. "It is one thing to adjust your offense to fit a guy like [Louisville's] Lamar Jackson, who is a quarterback and freakish athletic talent," Hale said. "It is another to do it around a halfback essentially. "It's a position that barely exists in col- lege football anymore. That shows the in- telligence of the NC State staff to see the potential they have in Jaylen." Samuels has been so successful in his role that it would be disappointing if it dis- appeared after his last season. Conversely, he's so unique that finding another "J-Sam type" isn't easy. Faulkner knows asking any prep player to be another Samuels is unfair. "To try and find the next J-Sam, I don't think that is how you word it," Faulkner said. "I need to find some- body with a unique skill set that is unique to that individual. That is something you look at in recruiting. To think a guy will be like him, that's probably putting the guy you are recruiting too high up there. But you are shooting for that." Samuels isn't sure what will happen with his role when he is gone, but knows some players on the current roster can do some of his "pet plays." "We will have to see," said Samuels, who will earn his program management degree in May 2018. "There are a lot of people here that can do a lot of things like Nyheim, but I'm not going to say he will be the next J-Sam." ■ "This is my 16th year coaching, and I've never had anybody like him. I will probably not have another one like him because of what he can do and how well he does each of those things." ■ Assistant coach Eddie Faulkner on Samuels As a sophomore, Samuels pulled in 65 passes — the most by any tight end in the country — for 597 yards and seven scores. He also added 56 carries for 358 yards and nine touchdowns, and was selected first-team All ACC. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN