NC State football’s offense got off to a red-hot start in its week three showdown with VMI. The red-and-white shined in its get-right game versus the VMI Keydets with four offensive touchdowns, a pick-six and a special teams touchdown. The offense also had season highs in passing and rushing.
Quarterback
The Pack had a strong performance from graduate quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Armstrong completed 27 of his 32 passes for 264 yards while connecting with graduate wide receiver Bradley Rozner for a touchdown. Armstrong’s longest pass through the air was a 64-yard hookup with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Julian Gray.
Armstrong easily had his best day with the red-and-white. He completed 84.4% of his passes and averaged 8.3 yards a pass. The Virginia transfer will look to follow up his performance against his former team Friday on the road in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Grade: A
Running backs
The Pack displayed a successful rushing attack versus VMI and rushed for a season high of 234 yards. Freshman running back Kendrick Raphael led the team in rushing and totaled 85 yards on 16 carries.
Redshirt junior running back Delbert Mimms III rushed for a season high of 35 yards while also punching in a pair of rushing touchdowns. The rushing barrage by the Wolfpack was capped off with a fourth-quarter touchdown by redshirt junior running back Demarcus Jones II, his first of the season and his college career.
Grade: A+
Wide receivers
The red-and-white recorded a season high of 264 yards in the blowout win versus VMI. One of the Pack’s biggest plays came when Gray hauled in a 64-yard pass from Armstrong. The 16-yard touchdown to Rozner capped NC State’s scoring in the first quarter and marked Rozner’s second touchdown catch of the year. Freshman receiver Kevin Concepcion led the Pack in receiving yards with his 62-yard, seven reception day.
Grade: B+
Tight ends
Despite the Pack primarily using a three-receiver set offensively, senior tight end Trent Pennix was the only tight end to contribute in the passing game. Pennix caught four passes for 17 yards.
Grade: N/A
Offensive line
The offensive line was strong in the contest and allowed just a single sack. The line consistently gave quarterback Brennan Armstrong a clean pocket and opened up gaps for the running backs. The unit cleaned up their pass protection and Armstrong was allowed to deliver the ball with minimal pressure.
Grade: A
Player spotlight
Gray was dubbed the ACC Special Teams Player of the Week due to his impressive special teams play. The Charlotte native shined by housing an 82-yard kickoff return in the third quarter, putting NC State up 38-7. Gray was also prevalent in the passing game — the red-and-white’s longest passing play of the season was his 64-yard chunk play in the second offensive drive of the game.
Julian Gray and the rest of the Pack look to start strong in conference play this Friday, Sept. 22 on the road against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville at 7:30 p.m.
