With fall camps for many teams starting this week, college football is just around the corner. Preseason camp is a time for returning players to get back in the swing of things, new players to get to know their new coaches and teammates and, perhaps most importantly, attempt to find answers to questions about its roster on paper.
For an NC State football team looking to build off a break through 9-4 season that just sent a program-record seven players to the NFL via the draft, there are a number of questions that will need to be answered to determine its success this season. With the Wolfpack officially reporting for camp Thursday, let’s take a look at the five most important ones.
1. Who’s stepping up on defense? NC State is looking to replace a grand total of eight starters on defense from last season, including its entire starting defensive line, led by 2017 ACC Player of the Year and fifth overall NFL draft pick Bradley Chubb, both starting linebackers, a starting corner and its starting nickel. The only returning starter from last year’s defense is junior cornerback Nick McCloud.
The Wolfpack does have options on this side of the ball. Senior defensive end Darian Roseboro, a talented pass rusher who has racked up 13.5 sacks over three seasons in a reserve role, will get a chance to take over as the leader on the d-line with Chubb and Kentavius Street gone. Senior linebacker Germaine Pratt, a playmaker who finished fourth on last year’s team with 69 tackles despite not starting, will join Roseboro as a defensive leader.
But who’s joining them? That leaves an opening for three starting defensive linemen, a linebacker, a corner and a nickel. Redshirt junior Stephen Griffin, a transfer from Tennessee who sat out last season, is the favorite to start at nickel. Redshirt senior Maurice Trowell, a converted wide receiver, sophomore Chris Ingram and redshirt junior Vernon Grier are among the options at corner.
At linebacker, sophomore Louis Acceus is probably the favorite to line up next to Pratt. On the line, redshirt junior end James Smith-Williams, freshman end Joseph Boletepeli, senior tackle Eurndraus Bryant, freshman tackle Alim McNeill and redshirt sophomore tackle Shug Frazier should all see playing time.
Who ultimately claims these defensive roles, and how well they perform in them to back up what should be a dynamic offense will be the biggest determining factor of the Wolfpack’s level of success in 2018.
2. Does the Wolfpack finally have a reliable kicker? This has been a major issues for NC State for at least the past three years. A missed 33-yard field goal cost NC State a chance at a win at Clemson in 2016, and while a missed kick did not directly cost the Pack a game last season, Carson Wise (now graduated) and senior Kyle Bambard combined to make just 50 percent of their field-goal tries, ranking NC State 124th out of 130 teams in that regard.
The Wolfpack is lucky none of those 10 missed kicks cost the team a win, as those are crucial points on the board, especially in tight conference games. Fortunately for the Pack, it may have a savior in that regard for 2018. Head coach Dave Doeren has already named incoming freshman Chris Dunn, who made the fourth-longest field goal in North Carolina high school history at 57 yards, as the starter. Now all Dunn has to do is come in, erase three seasons of kicking woes and make those critical kicks in key moments as a first-year player. No pressure, kid.
3. Who’s running the ball? The Wolfpack is in a similar position to where it was entering last year, wondering who would replace a running back coming off a 1,000-yard season in Matt Dayes. That answer ended up being speedster Nyheim Hines, who finished second among ACC running backs with 1,112 rushing yards last season, and was directly responsible for at least three NC State wins.
So, who steps in to his shoes? Senior Reggie Gallaspy will probably get the first crack at it, but lacks the breakaway speed to be a true bell cow. The most likely answer is that offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz and running backs coach Des Kitchings will go with a platoon, using Gallaspy for early-down, between-the-tackles and goal-line work, with a trio of freshmen in Ricky Person, Nakia Robinson and Trent Pennix (with Person likely having the edge) vying to serve as the change-of-pace back and replacing some of Hines’ home run ability.
4. Can they stay healthy? This one’s obviously tough to predict, but a critical question nonetheless. NC State stayed mostly healthy last season, though injuries to Hines were a big part of late-season losses to Notre Dame, Clemson and Wake Forest.
With its losses from last year’s team, NC State has less depth this year. It needs to keep its key leaders such as redshirt senior quarterback Ryan Finley, junior wide receiver Kelvin Harmon, Pratt and Roseboro upright. An injury to a key contributor, particularly on defense with the overall lack of depth there, would be a devastating blow to the Pack’s chances at an ACC title this season.
5. Third time’s the charm? Despite the losses from last year’s team, NC State’s ultimate goal remains the same as it was to start last season: an ACC title. The Wolfpack has set its sights high, as it should. This is still a team with an NFL quarterback, a returning wide receiver corps that could be among the best in the country, three remaining starters on the offensive line and options to replace its losses on defense.
However, if the Pack wants a chance of representing the Atlantic division in Charlotte come December, one date on the schedule stands out: Oct. 20 at Clemson against the three-time defending ACC champion Tigers.
NC State has lost to Clemson by a combined 14 points in the Finley era, both in heartbreaking fashion. Last year, the Pack fell by a touchdown after leading at halftime but being outscored 14-0 in the third quarter. No Wolfpack fan needs reminding of what happened in 2016, Bambard’s infamous missed 33-yarder that would have given NC State a win at the buzzer, leading to an overtime loss. This is arguably the best Clemson team Finley and the Wolfpack will have faced in three seasons, with an offense stocked with playmakers and a defense loaded with NFL talent.
NC State has shown it is capable of playing Clemson tough, and will have to find a way to make that extra play and get over the hump this time. As it has the past two years, the road to winning the ACC Atlantic division goes through Clemson, and the Wolfpack will have to find a way to tame the Tigers for the first time since 2011 if it wants to achieve its ultimate goal of playing for the league title.
