NC State released their Depth Chart for the season opening football game against East Carolina this Saturday.

Here’s a look at the Offensive side of the ball followed by a breakdown.

Left Tackle

Graduate Senior Emanuel McGirt Jr. will start the first game of his collegiate career this Saturday at Left Tackle. McGirt saw 27 snaps last season in 7 contests. You have to respect McGirt’s perseverance to sit in this position in his final year. McGirt sits in the drivers seat primarily because Graduate Senior Tyrone Riley will miss the entire season due to injury. Doeren said in his press conference today that they will fight to get him a sixth year.

True Freshman Ikem Ekwonu out of Charlotte has impressed since stepping on campus, and will backup McGirt in the season opener.

Left Guard

While Redshirt Junior Joe Sculthorpe was the 6th man of the Wolfpack Offensive Line in 2018, he was one of the best in the ACC. Sculthorpe is the 5th highest graded returning Power-5 lineman, and earned 1st Team Preseason All-ACC honors from ProFootballFocus. While playing 572 snaps last season, Sculthorpe only started 2 games: Marshall at Left Guard and East Carolina at Right Guard

Redshirt Sophomore Bryson Speas will backup Sculthorpe in the season opener. Speas saw action from the line of scrimmage in 7 games in 2018, totaling 57 snaps.

Center

Redshirt Sophomore Grant Gibson was the starting Center in the Spring Game, and he is heading into week 1 as well. Gibson started last season as a Defensive Tackle, but was moved to the other side of the line the week of the postponed West Virginia game. In 2018, Gibson saw action from the line of scrimmage in 5 games, totaling 37 snaps (11 on defense in Week 1, and 26 on offense in 4 other contests).

True Freshman Dylan McMahon out of Georgia will backup Gibson in Week 1. If Gibson gets injured, or doesn’t perform well, Sculthorpe could move to Center.

Right Guard 

Junior Joshua Fedd-Jackson was the Wolfpack’s starter at Right Guard in 2018, and he has claimed that spot once again heading into 2019. In 692 plays last year, Fedd-Jackson didn’t allow a single sack, and tallied 34 knockdown blocks.

Redshirt Sophomore Liam Ryan earned a scholarship last night, and he will enter Week 1 on the 2-Deep, sharing the backup role with Redshirt Junior Justin Chase, who hasn’t seen the field the past two years.

Right Tackle

Redshirt Justin Witt will return in 2019 as the starter at Right Tackle. Witt played 800 snaps last season, which is the highest total of any returning player on the roster. In 2018, Witt allowed 3 sacks, and compiled 28 knockdown blocks.

True Freshman Timothy McKay is one of the youngest players on the Wolfpack roster, but he bullied his way to sharing the backup role behind Witt with Redshirt Freshman Derrick Eason. Eason came to NC State as a Defensive End, but switched to the Offensive side of the ball heading into 2019.

Tight End

Technically, NC State doesn’t list a starting Tight End heading into Week 1. This is fitting in some ways, because the Wolfpack runs two Tight Ends most of the time, so having an “OR” between Redshirt Junior Dylan Autenrieth and Redshirt Junior Cary Angeline makes perfect sense. Having an “OR” between them and Redshirt Junior Dylan Parham shows how much the staff also thinks of Parham.

Redshirt Junior Dylan Autenrieth started 8 games last year at Tight End, and is a pivotal component of the Wolfpack’s rushing attack. When he was on the field, NC State averaged 52 more yards per game on the ground. Autenrieth was named a Captain last night, and is the only non-Senior captain. He saw the most snaps at Tight End last year, seeing 396 plays from the line of scrimmage.

Redshirt Junior Cary Angeline missed the first two games of 2018 due to Transfer rules, but had 9 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown in 11 games the rest of the way. While Autenrieth is the blocking specialist, Angeline is considered the receiving specialist at the position. With a new Quarterback at the helm, I expect Angeline to have a break out year, being looked at early and often.

Redshirt Junior Dylan Parham came to NC State as a Quarterback and was moved to Tight End in the summer of 2017. Parham missed most of last season due to injury, so the “OR” by his name points to how well he has bounced back.

Wide Receiver “X”

Redshirt Junior C.J. Riley is the fastest player on the team (3.39 laser), and has to quickly fill the shoes of Kelvin Harmon (now on the Redskins). Riley had 28 receptions for 315 yards and 2 touchdowns (386 plays) in 2018.

Two Redshirt Freshman will backup Riley heading into Week 1: Devin Carter and Jasiah Provillon. Carter played in 4 games last year, picking up a single reception for 11 yards in the ECU game, but was allowed to redshirt under the new rules. Provillon saw action in the final two games of last year.

Wide Receiver “Z”

Junior Emeka Emezie is the returning “Z” receiver, starting 12 out of 13 games last season, much of the time in the place of an injured Stephen Louis. The #3 was worn by impact players last year (Kelvin Harmon and Germaine Pratt), and Emezie will look to continue the tradition in 2019. In 2018, Emezie ranked 3rd on the team with 53 receptions for 616 yards, and his 5 touchdowns ranked 2nd.

Redshirt Sophomore Max Fisher saw action from the line of scrimmage in 4 games last year, for a cumulative of 20 plays. Fisher doesn’t have a career reception to his name, but has turned heads in camp, and will back up Emezie in Week 1.

Wide Receiver “Y” (Slot)

Redshirt Sophomore Thayer Thomas started two games for an injured Jakobi Meyers last year (now on the Patriots), but made an impact all year long in a reserve role. His 34 receptions in 2018 ranked 4th on the squad.

At one point, it might have been assumed that Thomas’ hold on the starting role was a lock, but Graduate Transfer Tabari Hines had something to say about that, with a big “OR” sitting in between their names. Hines played his first three seasons at Wake Forest, before transferring to Oregon. At Oregon last year, Hines only played in 4 games due to injury, and redshirted the season. Hines chose to come back to the ACC for his final year of eligibility, where he had a lot of success in Carter-Finley Stadium in the past.

True Freshman Keyon Lesane will backup Thomas and Hines, but has been one of the hottest names in Fall Camp. Lesane seems like a player that will be very difficult to keep off of the field.

Quarterback

Redshirt Sophomore Matt McKay is listed as the starting signal caller heading into Week 1, which really isn’t a shock. McKay is heading into his 3rd year in the program, which gives him an edge. McKay ran with the 1’s in the Kay Yow Spring Game, and he will get the first shot to do so in Week 1. I think it’s often forgotten that McKay was rated as a 4-Star prospect by ESPN coming out of high school.

Even though McKay earned the starting job, I expect Redshirt Sophomore and Redshirt Freshman Devin Leary to see action on Saturday. Hockman is listed as McKay’s backup, with Leary serving as the 3rd string quarterback. Both quarterbacks were also 4-star prospects coming out of high school.

Hockman could end up being another successful transfer quarterback for Dave Doeren (aka Ryan Finley and Jacoby Brissett), transferring from Florida State last Fall. Though Hockman has been a college football player longer, Leary has been in the Wolfpack program longer.

Running Back

It looks like the Coaching Staff has plans to use a Running Back By Committee to start the year, which was somewhat of the expectation. They put that concept on paper by putting an “OR” between every running back on the depth chart.

Sophomore Ricky Person might have been assumed to be a lock at the starting job, but he has had trouble staying healthy ever since arriving in Raleigh (and in high school as well). When healthy, Person is a very talented and dangerous running back, rushing for 471 yards (4.2 yards per carry) and 2 touchdowns in 2018.

With that being said, Freshman Zonovan Knight has been the talk of Fall Camp. He was the darling of the Spring Game, and the buzz hasn’t stopped. Knight was named to the FWAA Freshman All-American Watch List.

Redshirt Freshman Trent Pennix has added speed to his game, running a 4.40 laser 40-yard dash this offseason.

True Freshman Jordan Houston has been one of the most common names flowing out of Doeren’s mouth during camp.