The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/896287
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK NC STATE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WELL REPRESENTED ON VARIOUS MIDSEASON SQUADS NC State's football players were popular choices for various midseason All-America teams and All-ACC squads. Rivals.com and ESPN.com both named senior de- fensive end Bradley Chubb and senior H-back Jaylen Samuels to its All-America squads. Samuels made both teams at tight end. ESPN writer Mark Schlabach selected Chubb as his National Defensive Player of the Year after he racked up 35 stops, 14 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in the season's first six games. Five NC State players were on ESPN.com's midseason All-ACC squad — Chubb, Samuels, junior running back Nyheim Hines, redshirt junior right tackle Will Richard - son and senior right guard Tony Adams. Chubb also earned a spot on Pro Football Focus' All-America squad, and Yahoo! Sports writer Pat Forde selected him as the nation's "Best Defensive Player." Chad Reuter of NFL.com ranked Chubb the No. 5 overall player in his midseason top 25 list. The Athletic staff selected Chubb as a first-team All-American at defensive end, and Hines earned a first-team slot as an all-purpose specialist. Chubb also earned national first-team honors from the Associated Press, Sporting News, CBSSports.com, SI.com, USA Today and Athlon. The Associated Press, Sporting News, SI.com and Athlon also selected Samuels to the midseason na - tional teams. The Associated Press and CBSSports.com both se- lected Hines to its All-America teams. BRADLEY CHUBB IS A SEMIFINALIST FOR CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD NC State senior defensive end Bradley Chubb has been named a semifinalist for the 2017 Chuck Bednarik Award, which is given annually to the nation's most outstanding defensive player. The semifinalist field was trimmed down to 18 players, led by five from the ACC. Chubb had racked up 45 total stops, 17 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, one forced fumble and two passes broken up through eight games. Semifinalist voting began Oct. 31 and closes Nov. 19. Three finalists for the award will be announced Nov. 20 and a second round of voting will take place at that time. The winner of the 23rd Chuck Bednarik Award will be announced as part of the Home Depot College Football Awards Show, which will take place Dec. 7 on ESPN. LINEBACKER RILEY NICHOLSON HANGS UP THE CLEATS Junior middle linebacker Riley Nicholson suffered a concussion on the opening kickoff against South Carolina, and due to previous concussion issues opted to retire from football. Nicholson finished his NCSU career with 43 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble in 25 games (five starts). "Riley had a great spring and a tremendous fall camp," defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable said. "He was playing well and with a lot of confidence. It's a shame what happened. He loves football and is very passionate about it." Nicholson could eventually move into coaching or the strength and conditioning field. "He loves the weight room and is interested in being a strength coach," Huxtable said. "He is a tremendous guy in the weight room and is very strong." WRESTLING ADDS HUGE COMMITMENT The NC State wrestling staff under sixth-year head coach Pat Popolizio has earned a reputation as one of the best recruiting staffs in the country. That status was enhanced at the end of October when 170-pounder Trent Hidlay announced via Twitter he would join the Pack. The younger brother of NCSU redshirt freshman 157-pounder Hayden Hidlay is now the highest-ranked grappler in an outstanding class, checking in at No. 15 on FloWrestling's big board of seniors (all weights). He is currently ranked No. 1 on the website's listing of prep 170 pounders (all grades) and becomes the fourth top-100 pledge of the class, joining No. 53 Jakob Camacho, No. 80 Jarrett Trombley and No. 89 Tyler Barnes. The only other programs with a top-20 pledge and more than four in the website's top 100 are Big Ten powerhouses Penn State and Ohio State (six each). According to InterMat, Hidlay is ranked No. 25 in the senior class (all weights), while Trombley checks in at No. 54, Camacho No. 60, Barnes No. 85 and Matt Grippi No. 87. Hidlay, a two-time finalist in Pennsylvania's (arguably the best prep wrestling state in the country) big-school division and the 2017 champion at 170 pounds with a career record of 111-14, is also an accomplished grap - pler on the national level and was the Junior Nationals runner-up in both freestyle and Greco-Roman in Fargo, N.D., this past summer. He could've gone anywhere in the country, including the traditionally dominant Iowa program, but chose NC State — and not just because it would reunite him with his brother. "If [Hayden] wasn't there, I'd still be all in on NC State," he told PAPowerWrestling.com. "It's just a plus that he was there. … I wanted to be with the things they're going to do in the future and to make history at NC State." ■ Red And White Notebook Senior H-back Jaylen Samuels was tabbed a midseason All-American by Athlon, the Associ- ated Press, ESPN.com, Rivals.com, SI.com and Sporting News. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN