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After practice yesterday, NC State head coach Dave Doeren said that his ultimate goal would be to give Senior Shadrach Thornton and Junior Matt Dayes enough carries for the both of them to cross the 1,000 yard barrier.

“The idea would be able to share the ball and still have a 1,000 yard rusher.  We’d love for those two guys to have 1,000 yards at the end of the year,” said Doeren. “They have to stay healthy to do that first of all.  If they do, we have to get them the amount of touches to make that happen.” (PI)

To put this in perspective, only 64 Division I FBS teams have ever had two players rush for over 1,000 yards in the same season.  The only team to accomplish the remarkable feat last year was Georgia Southern (Matt Breida – 1,485 & Kevin Ellison – 1,096).

Doeren knows exactly what it looks like to have two running backs rush for 1,000 yards in a season.  In 2010, while Doeren was the Defensive Coordinator for the Wisconsin Badgers, James White (1,052) and John Clay (1,012) both rushed for 1,000 yards.  They were 4 yards away from having three 1,000 yard rushers that year, with Montee Ball also rushing for 996 yards.  Here is a breakdown of the carry distribution at Wisconsin that year:

John Clay – 187 carries
Montee Ball – 163 carries
James White – 156 carries

Georgia Tech was the last ACC team to have two 1,000 yard rushers in a single season back in 2009, when Jonathan Dwyer (1,395) and James Nesbitt (1,037) accomplished the feat.

Last season, Shadrach Thornton rushed the ball 164 times, and Matt Dayes rushed for 104 times.  Both of these Wolfpack running backs have the talent and capability to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.  The question is whether or not each of them get the carries necessary.  T.A. McClendon is the last Wolfpack running back to rush for 1,000 yards back in 2002, and Doeren hopes to fill the 13-year void with two 1,000 yard rushers.

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Congrats to NC State Football’s Spring Graduates!

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Congratulations to the 7 NC State Football Players that just graduated this Spring.

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2024 Football Spring Graduates

Linebacker Devon Betty (1 year of eligibility)

Defensive End Davin Vann (1 year of eligibility)

Cornerback Aydan White (1 year of eligibility)

Offensive Guard Anthony Carter Jr. (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Matt McCabe (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Tackle Patrick Matan (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Brendan Lawson (no longer on the roster)

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NC State Football

Proposed Bill in the NC House Would Require NC State & UNC To Play One Another, as well as ECU, UNCC and App St.

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A bill has been proposed by members of the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play one another, as well as East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

According to House Bill 965, which you can read here in full, NC State and UNC would be required to play one another annually in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball. The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would also be forced to play a game annually in all three sports against either ECU, UNC-Charlotte or App St. Every six years, NC State and UNC would be required to have played a home and away game against each of the three school in all three sports.

Here’s the exact wording from the proposed bill:

Competition Required. – A high-enrollment institution shall do all of the following in each eligible sport: (1) Every academic year, play at least one home or one away game against (i) another high-enrollment institution and (ii) an eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. (2) Every six academic years, play at least one home and one away game against each eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. A high-enrollment institution shall alternate home and away games that are scheduled against the same eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution.

For glossary of terms being referenced above:

For the purposes of this bill, “High-enrollment institutions” = NC State and UNC, while “Eligible constituent institutions” = East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

It’s worth noting that NC State already has games schedule against each of these teams home-and-away in Football between now and 2031.

2025 – East Carolina (H)

2025 – @ App St.

2026 – App St. (H)

2028 – @ East Carolina

2030 – Charlotte (H)

2031 – @ Charlotte

What are your thoughts?

For more details, check out this article at WRAL.

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NC State Football

Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. will Take an Official Visit at NC State Next Week

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Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. (6’1″/195) confirmed with me that he will be taking an Official Visit to NC State next week beginning on May 7th.

After receiving an offer from NC State yesterday, it didn’t take him long to set up the visit.

Martin Jr. is familiar with NC State, because he was recruited by Wolfpack Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson before he left West Virginia to come to Raleigh. Even though he never coached him, a relationship was established.

Martin Jr.’s connections to NC State are deeper than that. Former NC State Cornerback Derrek Pitts, who is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs, is his cousin.

This past year, Martin Jr. recorded 45 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups for Akron, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. His PFF Grade was 68.9.

In 2022, he had 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. Martin Jr.’s PFF Grade was 60.9.

In 2019, as a Freshman for West Virginia, Martin Jr. earned PFF Freshman All-American honors, recording a grade of 70.6, with 50 tackles and 3 pass breakups.

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NC State Football

NC State Sits in the Top-20 in 247’s Post-Spring 2024 Preseason Poll

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247’s Brad Crawford released his Post-Spring 2024 Preseason College Football Top-25 recently, and NC State moved up 1 spot to #20.

ACC Teams in the Top-25

11. FSU

14. Miami

16. Clemson

20. NC State

24. Virginia Tech

25. Louisville

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