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‘Fearless’ Freshman Keyon Lesane Earns Starting Kickoff Returner Job

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A smart coach finds a way to get the ball in the hands of a play maker, no matter their level of experience. Some players will find their way onto the field, with the ball in their hands, no matter where they sit on the depth chart.

True Freshman Keyon Lesane is that type of player.

He enters Week 1 of the 2019 season third on the depth chart at Slot Receiver, behind Redshirt Sophomore Thayer Thomas and Graduate Senior Tabari Hines, who have an “OR” between their names.

Whether or not he moves up the chart at Slot Receiver this year is unknown, but what is known, is that head coach Dave Doeren found a way to get the ball in his hands in Week 1 by naming him the starter at Kick Returner.

“He consistently made plays with the ball in his hands. He’s a fearless guy. He likes contact, he’ll tell you he likes running the football, probably more than catching it. And as a returner, he’s one of those guys that will just go. Some guys dance, he will hit it. And so it’s nice to have a guy like that that’ll run through. And it’s just about the plays he’s made. You saw it in the spring game. He gives us a guy that can do some things after he touches it. He’s fearless.” Doeren said at his weekly press conference.

Lesane did a little bit of it all at Butler High School (Matthews, North Carolina). He played wide receiver, inside and outside. He ran the ball, picking more touchdowns on the ground than through the air as a Senior (6-4). He returned punts and kickoffs. He played defensive back.

Lesane plays the game with a chip on his shoulder, and maybe that’s because he was so underrated in high school.

#42 in NC – ESPN
#44 in NC – Rivals
#54 in NC – 247 Sports

Throughout Fall Camp, Lesane’s teammates and coaches have been buzzing about him.

On Saturday, Lesane has the opportunity to spread that buzz all throughout the stands at Carter-Finley Stadium.

Photo Credit

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.

As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.

It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.

I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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NC State Football

CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.

16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)

Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.

ACC Coaches that made the Top-25

3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)

8. Mike Norvell (FSU)

16. Dave Doeren (NC State)

19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)

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NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.

The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.

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This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.

Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:

Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17

ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15

247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11

ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15

DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.

Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.

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NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.

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To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.

Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.

It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.

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