Hakim Jones doesn’t take his role as a leader lightly. He knows how important it is, because he was blessed to have good leaders take him under their wing when he was a young buck at NC State.

“It’s a great honor. When I came in we had a lot of guys like that…guys like Markus Kuhn, J.R. Sweezy and Earl Wolff,” said Jones. “They were the old guys back then, and it’s an honor to be in that role now. It’s an honor for everyone on the team to be looking at me as that role model they should be molding themselves after.”

He realizes that he has to continue to become a more aggressive leader, but he also realizes that he must continue to carry himself as a leader as well.

“I just have to continue to push everyone, even harder than I’ve been doing. They’ve been with me a couple of years now,” said Jones. “They’re all looking up to me and following what I do. I just have to make sure I’m doing everything right and go in the right direction at all times.”

Much of what a leader does doesn’t even happen on the football field. How a player lives off the field directly impacts the player they are on the field. The former players that led Jones brought him into their circles, and now he is doing the same.

“They made sure I did the right thing and hung around the right people. Whenever they went some where, they called me to make sure I was with them. They wanted to make sure I didn’t hang around the wrong crowd and get in trouble,” said Jones. “That’s what I try to do with a lot of the young guys, especially the guys from hard backgrounds. They can easily fall into the wrong crowd, like the people they are used to following. I try to put them with me so they can go the right route.”

It’s always an honor to be a leader, but it’s much more fun when the crew you lead is really good. Jones feels like he is a leader of one of the best secondaries he’s seen.

“They should expect big things. We’re a huge secondary. We’re all fast, strong, and physical. It’s going to be one of the best secondaries I’ve seen in awhile.”

Jones has played in all 38 games that he has suited up for the Wolfpack. His 80 tackles last year was good for the team lead. While 70% of the Wolfpack team are freahmen and sophomores, Jones is leading the most experienced secondary in the ACC, and according to him, the most talented.

NC State Football

CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

Published

13 hours ago

May 16, 2024

Matthew Bradham

CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

NC State Football

NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Matthew Bradham

Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2024

Matthew Bradham

NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.