Connect with us

NC State Football

Ricky Person’s breakout performance was “a long time coming” for the Wolfpack

Published

6 years ago

on

Ricky Person has arrived.

The freshman RB who played in the season opener vs. James Madison, but sat out the past two games with a hamstring injury, had his coming out party vs. UVA.

Person ran the ball 14 times for 108 yards (an average of 7.7 yards per carry) and broke off this big run late in the 2nd quarter.

It’s not like this wasn’t expected from Ricky Person. He was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school and was the #2 ranked RB in his entire class. He put up a massive senior season and even stole the show at the US Army All-American Bowl.

What makes this performance even more exciting is that it comes at a time when NC State was needing some answers in their ground game.

While it’s still somewhat early, senior Reggie Gallaspy and freshman Trent Pennix have both gotten their shot in the backfield and neither has really found much success. Gallaspy is averaging a pedestrian 3.4 yards per carry and Pennix is only churning out 3.1 per carry.

With Ryan Finley putting up big numbers weekly, NC State needed to find balance in their offense with a solid run game. Against UVA, Ricky Person brough that, and more.

Even former Wolfpacker and future NFL Hall of Famer Torry Holt was impressed with the young man…

For Person, this performance was personal. While he sat out with injuries over the first two weeks, he heard all the talk of how NC State couldn’t run the ball this season.

“It meant a lot for the running game to be productive. We’ve been taking a lot of criticism. Everybody trying to say we can’t run the ball. We played with a little chip on our shoulder. ‘Let’s show people we can run the ball.’” said Person after the game.

But Person didn’t take all the credit for himself…

“If it wasn’t for the offensive line, I wouldn’t have had the incredible game I had today.” he said

Even Ryan Finley couldn’t help himself from getting in on the Person hype…

“Shout out to Ricky Person.” said Finley. “That was a long time coming. It was exciting to see him break out like that. He’s really consistent. He’s a big body and runs really hard. You saw him break some tackles today, which is awesome to see. He’s physical and has some moves too. He’s a balance of both.”

While one game isn’t going to give Person a lock on the backfield duties just yet, we expect that he and Gallaspy start to be very close in total carries over the next few weeks. And if this keeps up, we believe Person could take over the lion’s share down the stretch.

Related Topics:
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Football

WATCH QB Grayson McCall’s Tape from the 2024 NC State Spring Game

Published

7 hours ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

NC State will have a new Quarterback in 2024 in Coastal Carolina Transfer Grayson McCall. A few weeks back, McCall looked sharp in the 2024 Spring Game, completing 16 of his 20 pass attempts for 205 yards and a touchdown. McCall was accuracy and composure were evident in his first time playing in Carter-Finley Stadium.

Check out McCall’s tape from the Spring Game.

 

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State Legend QB Roman Gabriel Passes Away at the Age of 83

Published

4 days ago

on

April 20, 2024

By

NC State legend Quarterback Roman Gabriel has passed away at the age of 83.

Gabriel’s Accolades

  • 2 time ACC Player of the Year (1960 & 1961)
  • 2 time 1st Team All-American (1960 & 1961)
  • 2 time 1st Team All-ACC (1960 & 1961)
  • 1st ACC QB to throw for 1,000 yards in a season
  • Left NC State with 22 school records and 9 ACC records
  • #1 pick in the AFL and #2 pick in the NFL
  • 16-year NFL career with the Rams & Eagles
  • 4 time Pro Bowler
  • NFL MVP in 1969
  • Led the NFL in Passing Yards in 1973
  • Led the NFL in Touchdown Passes in 1969 & 1973
  • Inaugural member of the NC State Hall of Fame
  • Ranks 1st all-time in Rams history in Touchdown Passes & 3rd in Passing Yards
  • First player to have their jersey number retired at NC State, on January 20, 1962.

Praying for the Gabriel family!

Continue Reading

NC State Baseball

NC State has Dominated UNC in Athletics in 2023-24

Published

4 days ago

on

April 20, 2024

By

After NC State clinched a series victory over UNC last night in Baseball, I thought it would be a good time to relish in how the Wolfpack has dominated the Tar Heels Athletic Program as a whole in 2023-24.

The Wolfpack Baseball team has won the first two games in the series against the Tar Heels, clinching a series victory over UNC for the first time since 2021. It marks the first time NC State has won a series against the Tar Heels in Raleigh since 2016.

NC State defeated UNC in Volleyball 3-1, winning in Chapel Hill for the first time in 25 years. The Tar Heels had won the last 5 matches against the Wolfpack.

The Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels 39-20 in Football in Carter-Finley Stadium. It marked the 3rd consecutive win over UNC.

NC State lost both regular season games to UNC in Men’s Basketball, but when it mattered most, the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game 84-76, winning their first title since 1987.

The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team lost to their rival in Chapel Hill, but defeated UNC 63-59 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 5 of the last 7 against UNC.

In Gymnastics, NC State defeated UNC 196.725-194.925 in Raleigh. This marked the 3rd straight victory for the Wolfpack over the Tar Heels.

NC State’s Men & Women’s Swimming & Diving teams both beat UNC. The Men won 258-93, and the Women won 196-157.

The Wolfpack Wrestling team defeated UNC 33-6 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 11 straight Duals against the Tar Heels.

The NC State Men’s Tennis team defeated UNC 4-0, winning against their rival in back-to-back years.

The Wolfpack Women’s Tennis team has defeated the Tar Heels 4-3 on two occasions thus far this season, and will face their rival again today.

The Cross Country teams didn’t have individual meets against UNC, but the Women obviously beat them, because they won the ACC Championship. The Men didn’t, finishing 8th in the Conference, with the Tar Heels finishing 1st.

The only other NC State athletic team that didn’t taste victory against UNC this year was the Women’s Soccer team, losing 0-4 in Raleigh.

Of course, each of these NC State athletic teams has much higher goals than just beating their rival, but there’s no denying how sweet it is to beat the Tar Heels.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

WATCH: Hollywood Smothers Leads NC State in Rushing at the Spring Game

Published

6 days ago

on

April 18, 2024

By

Redshirt Freshman Hollywood Smothers seemingly was the 3rd string Running Back in NC State’s 2024 Spring Game a few weeks back, but at the end of the game, he had more rushing yards than any other back.

Smothers rushed the ball 8 times for 75 yards. He possesses explosive speed, as well as excellent vision.

Check out Pack Insider’s Tape of Smothers from the Spring Game.





Continue Reading