The rise of the NC State football program was on full display at the team’s Pro Day Monday. The Close-King Indoor Practice Facility was filled with NC State seniors and players who opted to turn pro early, showcasing themselves in drills and tests for a variety of NFL head coaches, scouts, coordinators, general managers and other personnel. With the Pack having as many as eight draft hopefuls, the talent head coach Dave Doeren and his staff have cultivated and the culture this team has built are evident.
Defensive linemen Bradley Chubb, B.J. Hill, Kentavius Street and Justin Jones, running back Nyheim Hines, all-purpose back Jaylen Samuels, offensive linemen Will Richardson and Tony Adams, linebackers Jerod Fernandez and Airius Moore, defensive backs Mike Stevens and Shawn Boone and tight end Cole Cook were among those present Monday. Doeren was there as well and was able to see the rewards start to come in for players who have put so much hard work into his program.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to showcase four to five years of really hard work,” Doeren said. “It’s something they’ve earned. It’s a great audience [with] so many NFL teams and head coaches and scouting departments present because of the body of work these guys have created. We tell them all when they get here, it’s a resume they have to write. These guys have done a great job, not just with their play, but the way they’ve gone about it and the way they’ve carried themselves and what they represent on and off the field for us. It’s fun to see them. [I’m] going to miss them, seeing them all together like that, just so happy for those guys to have a day like this.”
Though the Pack will miss all of these players moving on to pro football, they leave the program in good hands after reversing its fortunes over the past four years, from going 3-9 without an ACC win in year one for Doeren to going 9-4 with six conference wins, the most since 1994, in 2017.
One player the Pack will miss in particular is Chubb, who won the Bronko Nagurski Award as the nation’s best defensive player in a season that saw him break the NC State career records for sacks and tackles for loss. Chubb, however, felt confident that he and his fellow departees built a foundation for sustainable success.
“It’s a huge step for the program,” Chubb said. “We came in here a year before; I know my class wanted to come in here and change the culture, and I feel like we did that towards the end of our careers. Where the program is now is definitely fun to see.”
To see the progress of NC State, one need look no further than who Doeren was chatting with before the drills and tests began. There in Close-King was legendary New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, who came to look at possible additions to a perennial Super Bowl contender in this year’s draft. Belichick ran the final drill of the day for the defensive linemen.
“That’s big time,” Samuels said. “Bill Belichick, one of the GOATs. It’s huge. To see him out here, that just goes to show what kind of talent we have at NC State.”
What made the day even more special for the soon-to-be NC State NFL alumni was the opportunity to experience it with their former teammates.
Chubb’s numbers and performance in his career speak for themselves. He’s already established himself as a top-10 (or higher) pick come April and did not need to come to Pro Day to improve his stock. However, he wanted to go through drills one more time with the players he suited up alongside for four years at NC State.
“I just wanted to do this with my teammates that I started this journey with,” Chubb said. “Just come out here and do one last thing with them and have fun with it.”
As much as these players have shaped the program he’s built, Doeren also gets to take pride in knowing that he helped shape these football players for this next stage of their lives and playing careers.
“It’s very rewarding,” Doeren said. “Our culture, we talk about really un-entitling people, teaching them the value of earning what you’re going to get because that’s how life is. No one gives you anything. I think these guys bought into that early in their career, and now they’re getting to reap the benefits. For me it’s like a proud dad, just standing there watching people that you look at like your sons and seeing them really take advantage of their skillset and the opportunity they have. Opportunities aren’t given; they’re earned. These guys have earned a great one.”
While none of the players that were present at Pro Day will suit up for NC State again, and many of them will move on to one of 32 possible destinations in football’s best league, the legacy that they left behind will continue to shape this program for years to come.
“I love it,” Richardson said. “Coming in with this group of guys, when we first came in, it was just a whole different type of culture. Seniors didn’t talk to younger guys that much; younger guys really didn’t associate with the seniors. Now, we’re putting the younger guys under our wings and bringing them in with us so we can keep the culture going, keep up the strong lifting and going hard in the weight room. Every day, coming in with that good mindset to practice, ‘I’m going to get better no matter what.’ […] We always use the saying ‘iron sharpens iron.’ We always try to go about it like that.”
Sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Harmon mimes taking photos of senior halfback Jaylen Samuels after Samuels' second touchdown of the day. The Wolfpack lost a 38-31 heartbreaker in the final seconds to Clemson on Saturday, Nov. 4 in Carter-Finley Stadium.
