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Former Pack catcher could be next in line for St. Louis Cardinals

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The St. Louis Cardinals haven’t had to worry about catcher for nearly 15 years.

Yadier Molina, their current catcher came up in 2004 and has since put together what many believe is a Hall of Fame career. However, at 35 it’s time that the Cards start looking to the future.

It was thought for a few years now that former 2nd round pick out of high school, Carson Kelly, would be the heir apparent as the team’s backstop when Molina retires. But in short stints with the big league club over the past three seasons, Kelly has faltered. He is batting an abysmal .150 with no home runs in his first 107 at-bats and is 2-25 in his most recent stint.

Meanwhile, former NC State catcher Andrew Knizer is tearing up the minors and is knocking at the door. He batted.333 in 27 games with the Springfield Cardinals (AA), and also boasted an on-base percentage of .412 and an OPS of .878.

On May 17th he was promoted to AAA. And what has he done since the promotion?

You guessed it. He’s continued to rake.

Knizer is batting a clean .315 in his first 165 ABs with the AAA Memphis Redbirts. He has a .388 OBP, 2 homers and 23 RBIs. That performance prompted CBS to write this note about him earlier this month:

Knizner had received a callup to the Redbirds in mid-May after Yadier Molina and Carson Kelly both went down with injuries at the big-league level. He’s subsequently proven worthy of the promotion on his own merits. The young backstop has exceeded the impressive .324 average he’d generated with Double-A Springfield, and he’s come within striking distance of the .412 on-base percentage and .467 slugging percentage that made up the remainder of his line. Knizner has been impressive with the bat at every professional stop thus far, and even though Molina presently blocks his path to the big leagues, it isn’t inconceivable that he could eventually surpass Kelly as the veteran’s heir apparent.

You read that right. There is thought that Knizer could dethrone Kelly as the Cardinal’s catcher of the future if he keeps this up. The same kid they thought would have to either get traded or change positions to get his opportunity in the bigs is now one step away from achieving his dream.

We’ll keep a close eye on Knizer over the next few months, as it’s likely he will get promoted to the bigs in Septemeber when rosters expand (if not before).

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Pack in the Pros

T-Wolves Sign Former NC State Forward TJ Warren for Remainder of the Season

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Back during the first week of March, former All-ACC NC State Forward TJ Warren signed a 10-day contract with the Minnesota Timberwolves. After finding success as a scoring option off the bench, the T-Wolves signed him to another 10-day contract.

With only 11 games remaining in the regular season, Minnesota went ahead and signed him for the rest of regular season yesterday.

In the 7 games Warren has played for the T-Wolves, he has averaged 4.1 points per game in 14.0 minutes of play, shooting 47.8% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

Warren has not played in Minnesota’s past two games, but he has a chance to prove his worth once again tonight in the T-Wolves matchup vs. the Pistons. As things currently stand, Minnesota sits in 3rd place in the Western Conference.

Here’s a look at the former ACC Player of the Year’s stats over 10 seasons.

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines Signs 1-Year Deal With Cleveland

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Former NC State All-American Nyheim Hines has signed a 1-year deal with the Cleveland Browns worth up to $3.5 million.

Maybe Cleveland will use Hines to his full potential. If you’re not using him as a Swiss Army Knife in the passing game, you’re wasting an opportunity.

The former All-ACC Running Back Hines missed all of last season due to a torn ACL he suffered in a boating accident.

This will be Hines’ 7th season in the NFL.

When you look at what former NC State players have done in the NFL, Hines ranks in the Top-10 in Rushing and Receiving.

His 1,015 rushing yards ranks 7th in school history and his 10 rushing touchdowns rank 9th. Hines’ 240 receptions rank 8th and his 1,778 receiving yards rank 10th.

In the return game, he’s one of the best to represent NC State in the NFL as well. His 1,015 punt return yards ranks 2nd in school history and his 817 kickoff return yards rank 6th. Hines’ 2 punts returned for TD’s ranks 3rd, and his 2 kickoffs taken to the house ranks 1st.

 

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett Signs 1-Year Deal with Pats

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Former NC State Quarterback Jacoby Brissett is signing a 1-year deal with the New England Patriots, rejoining the team that drafted him in the 3rd Round back in 2016.

The deal is worth $8 million.

After the Pats traded away Quarterback Mac Jones to the Jaguars yesterday, it’s abundantly clear what they are planning to do with the 3rd pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After winning a Super Bowl in his lone season in New England in 2016, Brissett went on to spend 4 seasons in Indy, before spending the next 3 seasons in 3 different cities: Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

Brissett has had a great career as a backup Quarterback through 8 seasons in the NFL, playing in 79 games (starting 48), throwing for 10,574 yards and 51 touchdowns, with 23 interceptions, and a QB Rating of 85.3.

Brissett ranks 5th in NC State history in career passing yards and touchdowns, and 3rd in QB Rating by a former Wolfpack player in the NFL.

Prior to making a dime from New England in 2024, Brissett has made $50.9 million through his first 8 seasons in the league.

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones Signs with Arizona

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Former NC State Defensive Tackle Justin Jones (2014-17) has signed a 3-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals.

The deal is worth a total of $30.1 million, with $19.75 million guaranteed.

Jones spent the past two seasons in Chicago, where he started in every game, recording 101 tackles, 22 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.

In 2018, Jones was taken in the 3rd round by the Chargers. After playing in 15 games as a reserve as a rookie, Jones started for the Bolts for the next 3 years before signing with the Bears.

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