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NC State Football

NC State Suffers a Gut-wrenching Loss to Wake Forest, 30-24

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6 years ago

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NC State let the chance of a truly special season slip through their hands in Winston-Salem tonight, falling to their in-state rivals Wake Forest 24-30.

With 1:51 left on the clock, true freshman receiver Emeka Emezie caught a 10-yard pass, and looked to be heading into the endzone, before Wake Forest’s Demetrius Kemp knocked the ball out of his hands literally inches in front of the goal line, and the ball was recovered by the Demon Deacons in the endzone. He tried to extend the ball across the line, which ended up being a freshman mistake. Had he just tucked the ball, he probably would have ended up in the endzone. Even if he didn’t, NC State would have had a first down on the 1-yard line.

For a split second, it seemed like a dream come true. After B.J. Hill blocked Wake Forest’s PAT, the Wolfpack was going to win by one point at the end of the game.

Yes, the Pack forced Wake to punt after this, and Ryan Finley ultimately threw an interception at the end of regulation, but everyone will remember the play that should have been.

(For what it’s worth, the fact that an ESPNU game doesn’t have a pylon camera is STUPID. This is 2017. RIDICULOUS.)

But this wasn’t all about one play. Don’t you dare hang this loss solely on Emezie.

NC State had more total yards than Wake Forest (502-334). They won the time of possession battle (41:07-18:53). The Wolfpack was 14-23 on 3rd down and 3-4 on 4th down.

And they lost.

There are a variety of reasons, but one stat line that can mark out all of the above is the fact that NC State turned the ball over 3 times, which was uncharacteristic for this 2017 squad.

There were the dropped passes by Harmon.

There was Finley missing on a wide open Emezie at the end of the first half that could have gone for 6.

There was Defensive Coordinator’s strange decision to start true freshman Chris Ingram at Nickel, and move Shawn Boone (who had been starting all year at Nickel) to Safety. Why he chose to make this personnel change in this game on the road, I do not know. The result was disastrous. Ingram was picked on something fierce, and Wake Forest scored at least 14 points at his expense.

Then there was the factor that you can’t control, and that is Nyheim Hines missing pretty much the entire second half due to concussion protocol.

Really, NC State dominated the second half, but they have an L to show for it.

With the numbers the offense put up, they should have put more points on the board. Period.

You can’t drop passes. You can’t miss open receivers. You can’t make rookie mistakes.

What separated this game from being spectacular for NC State wasn’t a few more spectacular plays, but just a few more normally executed ones.

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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.

NC State Football

NC State’s Current 2024 Football Scholarship Breakdown

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1 hour ago

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April 26, 2024

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Here’s a look at NC State’s current Football scholarship breakdown.

Offense

Quarterback 
Redshirt Senior Grayson McCall
Redshirt Freshman Lex Thomas
4-Star Freshman Cedrick Bailey

Transferred Out: MJ Morris
Transferred In: Grayson McCall

Running Back
Redshirt Senior Jordan Waters
Redshirt Senior Running Back Demarcus Jones
Redshirt Junior Jordan Poole
Sophomore Kendrick Raphael
Redshirt Freshman Daylan Smothers
3-Star Freshman Jayden Scott
3-Star Freshman Isiah Jones

Transferred Out: Jordan Houston, Michael Allen, & Delbert Mimms III
Transferred In: Jordan Waters & Daylan Smothers

Wide Receiver
Redshirt Junior Jalen Coit
Redshirt Junior Jakolbe Baldwin
Redshirt Junior Dacari Collins
Junior Wesley Grimes
Sophomore Kevin Concepcion
Redshirt Freshman Noah Rogers
4-Star Freshman Jonathan Paylor
4-Star Freshman Terrell Anderson
4-Star Freshman Keenan Jackson
4-Star Wide Receiver Jimmar Boston
3-Star Freshman Christian Zachary

Transferred Out – Porter Rooks, Anthony Smith, Terrell Timmons, Josh Crabtree, Christopher Scott & Julian Gray
Transferred In – Wesley Grimes

Tight End
Junior Justin Joly
Junior Dante Daniels (JUCO Addition)
Sophomore Juice Vereen

Transferred Out – Christopher Toudle, Cedd Seabrough & Fred Seabrough
Transferred In – Justin Joly

Offensive Line
Redshirt Senior Dawson Jaramillo
Redshirt Senior Timothy McKay
Redshirt Senior Anthony Belton
Redshirt Senior Zeke Correll
Redshirt Junior Sean Hill
Redshirt Junior Anthony Carter Jr.
Redshirt Junior Matt McCabe
Redshirt Junior Patrick Matan
Redshirt Sophomore Rylan Vann
Redshirt Sophomore Jacarrius Peak
Redshirt Sophomore Valen Erickson
Redshirt Freshman Obadiah Obasayui
Redshirt Freshman Kamen Smith
Redshirt Freshman Darion Rivers
Redshirt Freshman Rico Jackson
4-Star Freshman Tyler West
3-Star Freshman Robby Martin
3-Star Freshman Trent Mitchell

Transferred out: Lyndon Cooper & Jaleel Davis
Transferred In: Zeke Correll & Valen Erickson

Defense

Defensive Line
Senior Defensive End Davin Vann
Redshirt Senior Defensive End Noah Potter
Redshirt Senior Defensive End Red Hibbler
Redshirt Junior Defensive End Travali Price
Junior Nose Tackle Brandon Cleveland
Redshirt Sophomore Nose Tackle DJ Jackson
Redshirt Freshman Defensive End Isaiah Shirley
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Chase Bond
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Justin Terrell
3-Star Freshman Defensive Lineman Joshua Alexander-Felton

Transferred Out: Nose Tackles C.J. Clark & Nick Campbell

Linebackers

Redshirt Senior Devon Betty
Redshirt Junior Sean Brown
Redshirt Junior Caden Fordham
Redshirt Junior Jayland Parker
Junior Wyatt Wright (JUCO Addition)
Redshirt Freshman Kelvon McBride
Redshirt Freshman Kamal Bonner
4-Star Freshman Elijah Davis
3-Star Freshman Cannon Lewis
3-Star Freshman Zane Williams
3-Star Freshman Joshua Ofor

Transferred Out: LB’s Daejuan Thompson & Torren Wright

Defensive Backs

Senior Cornerback Aydan White
Senior Defensive Back Corey Coley Jr.
Senior Safety Devan Boykin
Senior Safety Bishop Fitzgerald
Senior Safety Donovan Kaufman
Junior Cornerback Devon Marshall
Junior Cornerback Rente Hinton
Redshirt Sophomore Cornerback Jackson Vick
Redshirt Sophomore Defensive Back Isaiah Crowell
Sophomore Cornerback Brandon Cisse
Redshirt Freshman Defensive Back Tamarcus Cooley
Redshirt Freshman Safety Zack Myers
Redshirt Freshman Safety Daemon Fagan
4-Star Freshman Safety Ronnie Royal III
4-Star Freshman Cornerback Asaad Brown
3-Star Freshman Cornerback Jivan Baly
3-Star Freshman Safety Brody Barnhardt

Transferred Out: Safety Jakeen Harris, Defensive Back Nate Evans, Defensive Back Darius Edmundson, Nickel Cecil Powell
Transferred In: Tamarcus Cooley, Corey Coley Jr., Devon Marshall & Donovan Kaufman

Specialist

Redshirt Junior Caden Noonkester

That’s 81 players on scholarship, with 4 available.

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NC State Football

A Look at NC State’s Draft Picks Year-by-Year

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4 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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NC State didn’t have any players drafted in the 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft last night, but I expect Linebacker Payton Wilson to hear his name called tonight.

Heading into the draft, NC State ranked 10th in NFL Draft Picks according to the ACC Media Guide.

Under Dave Doeren’s watch, 24 players have been taken in the NFL Draft.

Here’s a look at NC State’s NFL Draft Picks year-by-year.

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NC State Football

Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley Decommits from NC State

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12 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley (6’5″/242) announced tonight that he is decommitting from NC State.

Back on February 26th, Riley verbally committed to NC State. Players out of the Transfer Portal don’t sign a National Letter of Intent like players out of high school, making it easier for them to change their mind.

247Sports and ESPN both ranked Riley as a Top-300 4-Star prospect in the 2020 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #229 overall player nationally in the 2020 class, the #14 Outside Linebacker, and the #10 player in the state of Alabama.

In 2020 and 2021, Riley played in 22 total games (2 starts), playing in 160 snaps, tallying 23 tackles. In 2022, Riley broke out, starting in 7 of the 11 games, ranking 2nd on the team in tackles, with 65.

This past season, Riley played in 13 games, but only started in 1. He had 32 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. His PFF grade of 66.7 was the highest of his career.

Over 4 seasons, Riley played in 46 games (10 starts) for Auburn, tallying 948 snaps.

In my mind, there was a good chance that Riley was going to earn the starting role at the SAM Linebacker position at NC State, with Sean Brown at the WILL and Caden Fordham at the MIKE.

Unless NC State grabs a Linebacker out of the Portal now, I would expect Redshirt Freshman Kelvon McBride to be at the starting SAM position at the beginning of Fall Camp.

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NC State Football

ON3: NC State’s Dave Doeren is 1 of the Top-25 Best Coaches in College Football

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19 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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ON3’s Jesse Simonton ranked the Top-25 College Football Coaches heading into the 2024 season, and NC State’s Dave Doeren ranks 23rd.

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Here’s what Simonton had to say about Doeren:

23. Dave Doeren, NC State

Doeren became the Wolfpack’s all-time winningest head coach last season, overcoming all manors of offensive ineptitude to win eight games for the fourth straight season. He still hasn’t busted through the glass ceiling and taken NC State to an ACC Championship, but the Wolfpack have legitimate conference title hopes in 2024 with the offseason work Doeren has done via the portal (quarterback Grayson McCall, tailbacks Jordan Waters and Hollywood Smothers and receivers Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes). 

In 11 seasons in Raleigh, Doeren’s program has been steadily consistent and has become a model for development (17 NFL Draft picks since 2018) and strength and conditioning. (ON3)

ACC Coaches in the Top-25

6. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

7. Mike Norvell (FSU)

20. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

23. Dave Doeren (NC State)

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