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Derrick Eason’s Selflessness Impressed Doeren

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5 years ago

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NC State head coach Dave Doeren spoke of the selflessness of Redshirt Freshman Derrick Eason in yesterday’s weekly press conference. When a coach watches a player make a sacrifice for the sake of the team, they swell up with pride.

The depth of the Wolfpack Offensive Line took a serious blow this offseason. Kendall Brown is no longer with the team. Jalynn Strickland is still on scholarship at NC State, but is no longer on the football team due to medical hardship. Graduate Redshirt Senior Tyrone Riley, who was expected to start at Left Tackle, will miss the entirety of the 2019 season due to injury.

While Doeren is extremely excited about the True Freshman offensive Lineman (3 of them are on the Week 1 2-Deep Depth Chart), the attrition at the position group raised concern.

Here’s where the sacrifice of Eason comes in.

Eason was a 3-Star Defensive End prospect that ultimately chose the Wolfpack over the Fighting Irish. He played last season on the EDGE, seeing action in 3 games (3 plays from the line of scrimmage), which means he was able to maintain his Redshirt season.

This offseason, Eason moved to Defensive Tackle, and there was a lot of buzz surrounding how well he was adjusting to the middle.

When the need was presented to Eason, he was willing to switch to Offensive Tackle, if it was what was best for the team. Eason is listed as a backup to Justin Witt at Right Tackle, along with True Freshman Timothy McKay, on this weeks Depth Chart.

“I’m proud of Derrick for doing it, because it’s a selfless thing. You know, really, it’s about our depth. We feel like with Josh Harris and CJ Clark, two of the guys we signed, who are going to be available here soon, that we have depth inside (defensive line) that’s going to be coming back to the roster. Whereas on the O-line we don’t.

And so Derrick played O-line in high school. He was pretty good at it, and he’s a big long guy. He was willing to help the football team. And obviously, if it’s a thing that doesn’t work out, we know we can move him back, but it gives us the ability to have another player there.” Doeren said at his weekly press conference

Eason has many years ahead of him in Raleigh, and only time will tell whether or not he ends up staying on the Offensive Line. What is easy to know, is the fact that sacrifices like this make a team better, and draw them closer together.

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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.

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NC State Football

Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley Decommits from NC State

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7 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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14 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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NC State has Produced 19 1st Round NFL Draft Picks

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23 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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The 1st round of the 2024 NFL Draft will begin this evening at 8pm on ABC, ESPN and NFL Network. NC State has had 19 players drafted in the 1st round.

NC State ranks 8th in ACC history in 1st Round Picks.

Three of the Wolfpack’s 1st Round Picks have come under Dave Doeren’s watch, which ranks 2nd all-time in school history. Chuck Amato had 5 players drafted in the 1st round, which is the most ever under a coach at NC State.

Chuck Amato – 5
Dave Doeren – 3
Mike O’Cain – 2
Dick Sheridan – 2
Bo Rein – 2
Earle Edwards – 2

While most projections don’t have Wolfpack Linebacker Payton Wilson going in the 1st round tonight, a few do. Wilson was invited to attend the NFL Draft, but he will be tuning in from his home in Hillsborough. We’ll have to tune in tonight to see if Wilson hears his name called on the 1st night of the 2024 NFL Draft.

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

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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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.

 

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