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True Freshman Kyle Bambard has big shoes to fill this season as the place kicker at NC State, but the shoes are his to fill.  The shoes were worn the past four years by Niklas Sade, who had the responsibility of taking on the role as the teams place kicker as a true freshman as well.  Sade went on to become NC State’s all-time career leader in field goals made (55), PAT’s (167), and total points scored (332).

After Saturday’s scrimmage, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren said that Bambard had established himself as the starter in that role.

“You kind of expect some hiccups along the way, because he’s young.  In the Spring he struggled, and I told our staff not to be concerned about it yet.  I told them to give him the summer to get used to kicking in the conditions that he will be in during the Fall, and then evaluate how he’s doing in the Fall,” said Doeren. “He’s been outstanding in camp.  We’ve just got to let him progress, and remind ourselves constantly that he hasn’t played college football yet.  That doesn’t mean that we have low expectations.  He’s a really good kicker.  We’re excited about his future.”

Bambard was the #9 kicker nationally coming out of high school according to Chris Kohl, and ESPN ranked him 12th, but he is far from a cookie cutter place kicker.  He was also an All-State quarterback in Michigan at Walled Lake Western High School.  As a Senior, Bambard completed 112-of 188 passes (60%) for 1,721 yards with 21 touchdowns, and only 5 interceptions.  He also rushed for 1,458 yards (9.7 yards per carry) and 14 touchdowns.  The fact that Bambard was more than a kicker was very attractive to Doeren and his staff.

“We saw him at a national kicking camp a couple of years ago.  There were 20-30 Division-1 type kickers there.  He was one of the best ones that day, and we just liked his demeanor,” said Doeren. “You could tell with him being a quarterback that he was pretty savvy.  Sometimes kickers can get caught up in the pressure.  The fact that was more than a kicker, and an all-around athlete was appealing.  He runs around a 4.65 40-yard dash.  He’s a really good athlete.  He’s an extremely strong kid in the weight room.  We had to back him off on the weights, because he loves lifting.”

Bambard signed his letter of intent back in 2014, but enrolled in classes this past January.  He took this route because NC State signed him as a “grayshirt.”  Basically a “grayshirt” is when an athlete delays his enrollment at his future college so that his eligibility/scholarship clock will not start ticking until he arrives on campus during the second semester of the year.  Technically, Bambard picked up his scholarship in 2015, and actually counts to the 2015 recruiting class number.

In NC State’s two scrimmages the past two Saturdays, Bambard connected on two 53-yard field goals, a 46-yarder, and a 43-yarder.  The Wolfpack are depending on Bambard to fill some awfully big shoes, but his head coach has shown confidence in him early.

Dave Doeren Talks to Media After Last Scrimmage

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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