The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER S pring has come and gone for NC State football. Fifteen practices culminated with the annual Kay Yow Spring Game April 7 on a chilly, rainy afternoon that only grew worse when the wind started picking up after the scrimmage started. With the less than ideal conditions, the game was shortened via a running clock starting in the second quarter, but the lim- ited number of fans braving the elements and the media observing above in the more comfortable press box saw glimpses of what lies ahead for NC State football. Here are five storylines that emerged from the spring: ■ New-Look Defensive Line As NC State defensive lineman after de- fensive lineman heard their names called during the NFL Draft, it was a reminder that the Wolfpack has to replace all of those players. Head coach Dave Doeren acknowledged that NC State may not have the name rec- ognition along its front four, but he is op- timistic that the new-look unit will hold up well. "We are going to have a good rotation and depth at the position," Doeren said. The most recognizable player will be Darian Roseboro, a senior who was a prized recruit in the 2015 class. Roseboro, a one-time Michigan commit, has 13.5 ca- reer sacks. "The other defensive end across from Darian is [redshirt junior] James Smith- Williams, who is competing with a bunch of different guys," Doeren added. "That's going to be what the summer and fall camp are going to be about." On the interior, senior Eurndraus Bryant has never started a game but has played in 38 and has 7.5 career tackles for loss (including three sacks). Alongside him, redshirt sophomore Shug Frazier flashed his potential during his rookie season and assisted on a sack in the Hyundai Sun Bowl win over Arizona State. However, both Bryant and Frazier missed most or all of spring with inju- ries, allowing former junior college All- American Larrell Murchison and four-star signee Grant Gibson to log most of the reps. Murchison, a redshirt junior, and Gib- son, a redshirt freshman, will be joined in the rotation battle by incoming newcomers like junior college transfer Val Martin and prized four-star signee Alim McNeill. Martin, who will be a redshirt sopho- more, has three years to play three for the Wolfpack after he arrives from Iowa Western Community College. McNeill was rated as the No. 249 overall player in the country in the 2018 class by Rivals. com. Doeren noted McNeill is pushing 300 pounds on his 6-2 frame. ■ New Faces On Defense The front four unit was not the only group that started exclusively seniors last season. Both starting linebackers — Jerod Fernandez and Airius Moore — are gone. Despite that, there is enthusiasm building over the potential replacements. Fifth-year senior Germaine Pratt actually finished fourth on the team with 69 tackles last season, two more than starter Moore. It was Pratt's first season playing linebacker after he made the switch from safety, and he shined in the Kay Yow Spring Game with four tackles and 2.5 stops for loss. Starting next to Pratt was promising sophomore Louis Acceus, who had six solo tackles in the spring game. That was second on the team to another exciting linebacker from the 2017 recruiting class in redshirt freshman Isaiah Moore, who finished with a scrimmage-high 10 tackles (eight solo). Acceus was the New Jersey Defensive Player of the Year and a second-team USA Today All-American coming out of St. Jo- seph Regional High in Montvale, N.J. Ac- ceus, Pratt, Moore and sophomore Raven Saunders, who had six tackles (two for loss) in the spring scrimmage, have up- graded the athleticism in the linebacker corps. "They've made a lot of plays this spring and are twitchy guys," Doeren said. "They are good blitzers. We might have to come up with different ways to get to the quarter- back if we can't use a true four-man rush." NC State also needed to find a new nickel back after last year's starter Shawn Boone exhausted his eligibility, and it ap- pears to have found him in redshirt junior Stephen Griffin. A transfer from Tennessee, he started one game as a sophomore for the Volun- teers before leaving the program. Griffin is a Charlotte native that Rivals rated as the No. 45 safety nationally coming out of South Mecklenburg High in the 2015 class. He had two tackles and broke up one pass in the spring game. ■ New Running Backs When Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samu- els heard their names called at the NFL Draft, that was the final goodbye from NC State for a pair that accounted for 273 car- ries for 1,516 yards and 24 rushing touch- downs last season. That is a lot of produc- tion to replace. The top returner is senior Reggie Gal- laspy, a former four-star recruit from the 2014 class who rushed 117 times for 505 yards and seven scores during last season, finishing second in both carries and rush- ing yards behind Hines' 197 runs for 1,112 yards. Gallaspy has a goal of being the third straight running back to gain 1,000 yards in a season for the Pack, joining Hines and Matthew Dayes from 2016. However, Gal- laspy missed the spring while recovering from offseason surgery. "He needs to have a really good summer to be in tip-top shape to be in there as much as he can," Doeren noted. Also limited during the spring was touted early enrollee Ricky Person, who was rated as the No. 85 overall player nationally by Rivals.com. Person was recovering from wrist surgery. That opened the door for redshirt junior Damontay Rhem and redshirt freshmen Erin Collins and Nakia Robinson to get ex- tended auditions. During the spring game, Robinson led the way with nine rushes for 87 yards and a score. Rhem, a walk-on transfer from UNC Pembroke, had 13 rushes for 36 yards and Collins added 12 runs for 40 yards. "I don't know yet if one guy will emerge. It's too early to say," Doeren said. "I don't have a preference. We just want to give our best players the ball as much as we can." SPRING STORYLINES Five Key Situations That Were Addressed Senior defensive end Darian Roseboro, who has compiled 13.5 career sacks, will anchor the Wolfpack's new-look front four in 2018. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN