NC State Wolfpack 2018 Football Preview
Opening Statement: After dropping the season opener in 2017 to South Carolina in a game that they should have won, NC State ripped off 6 straight wins, and it looked as if they would finally make a push in the overall ACC race. They then fell off the rails a bit, and finished just 3-3, although they did win their final 2 games, including a Sun Bowl win over Arizona State. The simple matter of fact about the 2018 edition of Wolfpack football is that they don't have the same expectations coming in, and they should not. A defense that was just awful against the pass (ranked 103rd nationally) returns just 2 starters, and returns just 6 starters on offense. Dave Doren needs to find a way to push the Pack over the top, but this may not be the year that he does.
Breakdown Offense: The Pack got big news when QB Ryan Finley decided to return as a senior this fall. Finley passed for 3518 yards, and averaged 270.6 yards per game, while completing 65.1% of his passes, and tossing just 6 INTs. With numbers so big across the board, it then confuses the mind when you figure that he tossed just 17 TD passes. If NC State is going to win 9 games again, they will need him to amp up the scoring ability, because that defense will need it. The primary backup from last season, Jalan McClendon, took a grad transfer to Baylor, so experience is non-existent behind Finley. There was hope that freshman Devin Leary would be able to redshirt, but that is in jeopardy now.
Nyheim Hines is off to the NFL, so the Pack has to find a replacement for the rusher who led the team with 1112 yards. Reggie Gallaspy has got to show that he is taking this seriously, as he has been known not to condition himself, and he has a problem staying on the field, as injuries have taken hold. Rickey Person, a freshman, should get some serious reps this fall, and Will Eason is back as well, but the depth here is really at issue.
Stephen Louis and Kelvin Harmon are both back at WR. Harmon was the team leader last fall with 69 receptions for 1017 yards and 4 scores, while averaging 14.74 yards per catch. Louis caught 37 passes for 583 yards and 2 scores, while averaging 15.76 yards per catch. He missed one game last season. Jakobi Meyers is also back after catching 63 passes for 727 yards and 5 scores, while averaging 11.54 yards per grab. CJ Riley, Emeka Emezie, and Maurice Trowell are the depth here, Riley and Emezie caught 22 combined passes last fall.
Dylan Autenreith is the starter at TE, but did not catch a ball as a freshman last fall. Cary Angeline, a sophomore, will push him in the fall.
Tyler Jones (LT), Terronne Prescod (LG), and Garrett Bradbury (C) all return to start on the line, but the right side needs to be retooled. Joshua Fedd-Jackson (RG) and Justin Witt (RT), both sophomores, are penciled in heading into the fall. Joe Sculthorpe, a RS freshman, could push Fedd-Jackson. Phillip Walton will back up the OT spots, but depth at OG and C is not great.
Breakdown Defense: The entire defensive line and LB starting group need to be replaced this fall. Darian Roseboro is the best of the group, and will start at DE. He totaled 7 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 2 PBUs, and 4 QB hurries. James Smith-Williams will likely be pegged to start at the opposite DE spot. He finished with 1.5 TFLs, but did block a kick last fall. Deonte Holden is the backup.
Eurndraus Bryant and Shug Frazier are penciled in at DT. They combined for 3 TFLs last fall, and are still quite raw, which is bad news, considering that Bryant is a senior. Grant Gibson, a RS freshman, is the depth here, so depth is not great overall.
Louis Acceus and Germaine Pratt are slated to start at LB. Pratt did start some last fall, and totaled 69 tackles. He totaled 5.5 TFLs, and added 2 PBUs. Acceus had minimal numbers, and will be a sophomore this fall. Brock Miller is the only real reserve, and may push Acceus for time. Depth is incredibly thin after that.
The Pack plays nickel defense most of the time, but only 2 of 5 starters return. Nick McCloud is back at CB. He finished with 7 PBUs last fall, and totaled 34 tackles with one INT. Jarius Morehead also returns at SS. Morehead finished with 4 PBUs, and was effective as a blitzer as we,, as he created 3 QB hurries. He also finished 2nd on the team with 80 tackles on the season.
Maurice Trowell is slated to start at CB opposite McCloud as a senior. Stephen Griffin, a transfer from Tennessee is penciled in at NB, while Dexter Wright is the starting FS heading into fall camp. Wright played in 9 games as a junior last season. Chris Ingram will provide depth at NB and CB, while Tim Kidd-Glass could create competition for the FS job with Wright. Isaiah Stallings provides some depth at SS.
Breakdown Special Teams: The Wolfpack kicking game was a mess last season, and they are hitting the reboot button. Look for Christopher Dunn, a freshman, to come in and take the job in camp.
AJ Cole III is back at P this fall, and is one of the best in the ACC and in the nation, after averaging 43.67 yards per punt last fall.
The return game is in a massive state of flux heading into the fall, as both Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels are both gone. The Pack needs new bodies in both the KR and PR game.
Final Analysis: The Wolfpack may have very well missed an open window to push Clemson last season. The Pack has some serious tools back in the passing game, but the run game is not in great shape as of this moment, and the defense is in a total state of flux. It would be easy to see the Pack heading back to a bowl game, but that push to upset and move over Clemson last season ended with a 38-31 loss, and a loss to Wake Forest a couple of weeks later slammed that window shut. Look for NC State to take a small step back this fall, as they try to fix a defense that is full of holes in every area.
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