The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/846301
JULY 2017 ■ 63 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 RUNNING BACKS BY MATT CARTER I t is easy to anticipate that running backs coach, assistant head coach for offense and recruiting coordinator Des Kitchings would greatly miss having running back Matthew Dayes around. Last season, Dayes had his number called 249 times. Even when counting sacks (but not team rushes), Dayes accounted for exactly 50.0 percent of the Wolfpack's rushes. He gained 1,166 yards and ran for 10 scores while becoming the first 1,000-yard rusher at NC State since T.A. McLendon in 2002. Now Dayes is trying to make the Cleveland Browns after being selected in the seventh round of the 2017 NFL Draft in April. Yet life goes on for Kitchings and the Pack running game, and in many ways things have not changed as much as you might expect. "Matt was here for four years," Kitchings noted. "He was a quiet guy around the building, so not a knock on Matt, but it's not like you are miss- ing a vocal guy." From Kitchings' stand- point, the bigger problem he faced was in the spring two of his returning play- ers — junior Reggie Gal- laspy II and fifth-year senior Dakwa Nichols — missed practices with injuries. Junior Nyheim Hines, a converted wide receiver, was reacquainting him- self to the position he played at Garner (N.C.) High School. "It was kind of a who's who this spring," Kitchings said. The good news for Kitchings is that Hines made progress return- ing to the position where he rushed for a Garner school-record 6,242 yards. After the spring, Hines jumped on the track and fin- ished third in the 100-meter dash at the ACC Championships and ran the anchor leg for the winning 4x100 relay team. However, Hines and his fellow sprinters failed to advance past regionals at the NCAA Championships. "Unfortunate that they didn't make it nationals for a track and field standpoint, but for football we got him back two and a half weeks earlier than we normally would have for the summer strength and conditioning, and that's going to help him," Kitchings noted. "He's a thick guy, but get back into football mode. "He's a guy that comes up here, watches film, studies stuff, has questions. Everything is on track with him." Hines, who caught 63 passes for 781 yards and a score in his first two seasons while also rushing for 287 yards and returning a pair of kickoffs for scores, is not the only potential versatile threat in the backfield. Kitchings noted that senior Jaylen Samuels, who was first-team All-ACC as a sophomore tight end, could get carries. Samuels has rushed for 700 yards and 16 touchdowns — both are the highest among returning players — on 104 carries during his career. "We got to get him to touch the ball, so if we can guarantee touches from the backfield to help us win the game, it'd behoove us to do that," Kitchings noted. Gallaspy and Nichols remain in the mix, too. Gallaspy, who like Hines was a four-star recruit in the 2015 class according to Rivals. ■ By The Numbers 13 Years between T.A. McLendon's 1,000-yard season in 2002 and Matthew Dayes breaking the mark last fall. 1,902 Career rushing yards for the foursome of fifth-year senior Dakwa Nichols, senior Jaylen Samuels, junior Reggie Gallaspy and junior Nyheim Hines. 2,856 Career rushing yards for Dayes, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time list. Running Back Roster STARTER No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 7 Nyheim Hines Jr. 5-9 197 Garner, N.C. Has spent most of his first two seasons playing wide receiver, but moved into the backfield in the spring to get more touches. NFL.com ranked him the fourth-fastest football player nationally in 2017. RESERVES No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 25 Reggie Gallaspy II Jr. 5-11 225 High Point, N.C. Best moments in 2016 came in a pair of rivalry games. He rushed for 61 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, including a 37-yard score, at ECU. Against UNC, he ran 10 times for 62 yards. 27 Dakwa Nichols 5th-Sr. 5-9 195 Rockingham, N.C. Career highlight came in 2015, when he ran 12 times for 78 yards and a touchdown in a home win over Syracuse. WAITING IN THE WINGS No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 33 Brady Bodine R-Jr. 5-10 200 Camp Lejeune, N.C. Walk-on from Camp Lejeune High is one of the best special teams players on the team. 21 Erin Collins Fr. 6-1 200 Plant City, Fla. Playing in a crowded backfield that included an option quarterback who signed with Oregon and a class of 2018 tailback committed to Ohio State, he piled up 857 total yards and 12 touchdowns in nine games as a senior for Armwood High. 41 Will Eason R-Fr. 5-7 173 Charlotte Walk-on from state power Mallard Creek High. 28 Damontay Rhem R-So. 5-11 221 Wendell, N.C. Former East Wake standout has walked on after transferring from UNC Pembroke. Played seven games in 2015 for UNC Pembroke and ran 28 times for 90 yards. 24 Nakia Robinson Jr. Fr. 5-11 185 Miami Ran for 836 yards and 10 touchdowns on 152 career carries at Jackson High. Also played corner and was second-team All-Dade County. ■ Preseason Analysis **** Among country's best; *** Among ACC's best; ** Solid or has potential; * Too unproven Starters **½ There is no question that junior Nyheim Hines has the talent and athleticism to be a threat from the backfield. Position coach Des Kitchings said that the key for Hines will be patience. "At the running back position things happen a little bit faster and the reaction time [differs], as opposed to being on the edges," Kitchings noted. "Internally he has to slow down some so he doesn't miss a read or miss a cut from a running back standpoint." Experience **½ Matthew Dayes ate up the lion's share of carries last season, but the four leading contenders to take over his carries have a combined 355 career rushes, with each hav - ing at least one game of 65 or more rushing yards. It is not the most experienced group, but it does not lack it either. Depth **½ The strength of the position may be its depth. Hines and senior Jaylen Samuels' re- spective versatilities allow them to stay on the field while getting other running backs into the game, and both fifth-year senior Dakwa Nichols and junior Reggie Gallaspy have had some success running in ACC action. Overall grade **½ The group lacks the star power of Dayes at the top of its depth chart, but it has a nice mix of athleticism and power, plus the versatility to be threats in the receiving game. Depth also appears to be solid. NC State's Top Rusher The Past 10 Seasons Year Name Yards 2016 Matthew Dayes 1,166 2015 Matthew Dayes 865 2014 Shadrach Thornton 907 2013 Shadrach Thornton 768 2012 Shadrach Thornton 694 2011 James Washington 897 2010 Mustafa Greene 597 2009 Toney Baker 773 2008 Andre Brown 767 2007 Jamelle Eugene 667