The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/846301
72 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 TIGHT ENDS stats sheet. If you watch the tape, or look at games without him, it's huge. You can look at late in the Syracuse game when he got hurt and he didn't play against Miami (Fla.), there are things in that game that hurt us because he was not on the field. He was making plays that happened in other games where the quarterback threw it to a receiver and it gets glorified. He gets missed on, but he's just as important. "Cole can block a defensive end in the ACC one-on-one and protect the thrower when we want to throw it downfield. Nobody is going to see that, very similar to the offensive line. We don't have anybody else who can do that other than Cole." What adds to Cole's value is his leadership, evidenced by the fact he is a team captain. Faulkner points to Cook not complaining about his lack of catches as an example. "There is not a more consummate team guy than Cole Cook," Faulkner said. "He's a secret weapon. The guy is a stud." It is a good thing Faulkner has two seniors to rely upon because depth at the position took a hit with the graduate transfer of Pharoah McKever to FIU and the departure of promising rising-sophomore Thaddeus Moss, who transferred to LSU. Redshirt freshman Dylan Autenrieth and early enrollee Damien Darden will try to step in as backups. Autenrieth, who has crafted a close relationship to Cook, has earned Faulkner's trust to go into games. "Dylan has some strong leadership qualities about him," Faulkner noted. "He cares. He is smart and tough. If we played a game to- morrow, he'd be the third guy in the group. "He is a really good player and it would take a lot for other guys to beat him out. I think Dylan will do some really great things here." ■ Redshirt freshman tight end Dylan Autenrieth was like every other rookie when they en- rolled to play college football: he wanted to play right away. He even arrived early and suited up in spring drills in 2016 to further his chances. Autenrieth was eager to jump in with the swagger of someone who played football at North Paulding High in Dallas, Ga., a talent rich-region of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area. "Ask anybody from Georgia, we think our football is as good as anything," Autenrieth noted. "We feel like we are ready for it." In hindsight, Autenrieth was mentally ready, but physically at 215 pounds he was not. A redshirt would be in order so that Autenrieth could gain the necessary strength. "The first game seeing them play [on the road on television] … I was like, 'Dang, they are playing and I am not there,'" Autenrieth recalled. "Towards the end you embrace it. "When I was told I was redshirting I was pretty upset about it, but I needed it. And I knew I did, too, and I think that's what pissed me off about it." This fall could be a different story for Autenrieth. He has added 25 pounds to his frame to check in around 240. He has been working hard on his blocking in the box to compliment the receiving skills he already had, evidenced by his senior season at North Paulding when he caught 41 passes and tallied five touchdown grabs. The opportunity to get on the field has been enhanced by the offseason departures of tight ends Pharoah McKever, a grad transfer to FIU, and Thaddeus Moss, a transfer to LSU. "Any way I can get on the field, I'll do it," Autenrieth said. "When the fall comes around, I am just hoping some way I can get on the field. We have a lot of people that can play, so it's a matter of what I can bring to the table." Autenrieth has a good role model in front of him to emulate: his good friend and senior Cole Cook, who will be starting his third straight season for the Wolfpack. Cook understands Autenrieth well, partly because Cook is a native of Carrollton, Ga. The two Georgia natives quickly bonded. "He's an older brother to me," Autenrieth explained. "Me and him have a relationship I don't have with anybody else. When he leaves next year, I don't know what I am going to do without him." Autenrieth's hope is that when he does hear his number called in the fall that he is able to relax and play without overthinking. As Cook has told him before: "Just calm down, you're okay." If he does, Autenrieth could be able to contribute on a team in which he does not hide his confidence. "Wolfpack Nation has been waiting on a good year, and we're about to give them one," Autenrieth said. — Matt Carter Getting To Know: Dylan Autenrieth Quick Facts Position Coach: Eddie Faulkner (fifth season) Returning Starters: TE Cole Cook (15 career starts) and H-back Jaylen Samuels (22) Starters Lost: None FYI: Athlon ranks the Wolfpack wide receivers/tight ends as the sixth-best unit of pass catchers in the ACC … Athlon named senior Jaylen Samuels first-team All-ACC at the all-purpose position … Street & Smith's named Samuels second-team pre- season All-American at tight end and first-team All-ACC … Lindy's tabbed Samuels first-team All-ACC at tight end … Phil Steele's College Football Preview ranked Samu- els as the No. 2 fullback in the country and listed him a fourth-team All-American at wide receiver … Phil Steele's also rated senior Cole Cook as the No. 40 tight end nationally … Freshman Adam Boselli's older brother Andrew is a redshirt freshman offensive lineman at Florida State … Boselli played high school football for former NFL quarterback Mark Brunell at Episcopal School in Jacksonville, Fla., and his father, College Football Hall of Famer Tony Boselli, was the offensive line coach. Dylan Autenrieth, a redshirt freshman, could emerge as the top reserve at the tight end position in the fall. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN "A healthy, focused, in-shape J-Sam is scary for other teams that we have to play." ■ Tight ends/fullbacks coach and special teams coordinator Eddie Faulkner on Samuels