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Vonwolf: Enough with the “NC State Disrespect”, Unless You’re Talking about Leary

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Look, I’m just going to get this out there now, before I go any further…Devin Leary is not the best QB in college football. But…the man is being wronged by at least not being in the conversation.

Enough of the Overall “NC State Disrespect” Narrative

There is a big difference between being an underdog and being disrespected.

I love when State is the underdog. It gets me going knowing that this scrappy school from Raleigh, over the last two to three years, has accepted that mentality but then made huge strides forward across multiple sports. We winnin’ more than we losin’, folks. I love that we have to claw for every inch because there is nothing that brings State fans together, quite like being on the underdog bandwagon.

But enough of this damn disrespect talk. Why the hell do we care so much about AP polls when they mean NOTHING. It’s purely a way for dozens of writers across the country to feel like they matter. Some throw out some crazy shit, just so that they can get eyeballs on them. It’s not about teams and football, it’s about getting their opinion some clicky clicks. Enough of feeling that we weren’t ranked high enough or we weren’t the favorites for games. I’m actually very happy with how CFP has gone. We need to understand we have two loses in a down year for the ACC. We beat Wake Forest, UNC and Pitt? Then we can talk about where we really need to be. Middle of the preverbal contenders pack is exactly were we deserve to be.

I understand it’s fun to play the underdog card…but I’m nauseated by the “disrespect” card. You know who has disrespected this football team the most? Our own offensive play calling.

Leary is the Dude

All that to say, Leary deserves better. Gill is doing his thing, we’ve had multiple guys gaining weekly honors, but Leary has been an after thought all damn year. The most recent and biggest snub, was the release of the semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award (Nation’s best QB);

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ll save you the time to tell you, there were four ACC QBs: Armstrong (UVA), Hartman (WF), Howell (UNC) and Pickett (Pitt). Not on the list is the nation’s 7th most and top ACC touchdown thrower. Not on the list is the dude with three INTs, where two of them were end of half Hail Mary’s (Just think about that…if we just didn’t go for those throws, Leary would have a ratio of 25-1…Good Lawd). Or the fact that State is a top-20 team that has had primetime games to watch.

  • “Well it’s because NC State doesn’t have a strong strength of schedule!” – Nope, State actually has the hardest SOS out of those QB semifinalist and ranked 33rd hardest in the country.
  • “Well, it’s because he’s putting up numbers against sub-division schools!”Nope, Leary’s three best games, where he had four TD’s a piece, were against Clemson, Louisville and FSU. 
  • “Well, State has a WR core that bail him out constantly!”Nope, and you wanna know something crazy. Look directly at these last two games; Eight touchdowns thrown to six different receivers. Booya
  • “Well when you don’t have a defense, you have to chuck the ball!”Nope and you could argue we’re so conservative on offense because we know 28 points will get it done with this defense we have. I don’t want to imagine it, but let’s say we had any number of defenses that just love to give up an average of 34 points a game (looking at you, you bum a*s UNC crew)…can you imagine the numbers Leary would have?!
  • “Well you have a backfield duo of Knight and Person that do all the work!” – Nope and if you’ve watched any of the last month of games, it’s been more than sad. Leary has single-handedly gotten State wins. Leary has been a part of the last 13 offensive touchdowns by the Wolfpack. The touchdown streak technically ends going back to the BC game when the defense scooped and scored. 

Part of the Davey O’Brien Award is stats…in fact like 99% of it is. Because if you would have looked for one second at the pocket presence, the calming effect he has and the team’s offensive MVP by a mile, Leary would be on that semifinalist list.

I’m tired of hearing that State, as a team is disrespected, when we’ve been more than accurately judged. But in Leary’s case, the anger is legit.

Passionate State fan that just wants to win...something...like anything...

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NC State Football

Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston Signs with Marshall

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Former NC State Running Back Jordan Houston has officially transferred to Marshall for his final year of eligibility. NC State played Marshall this past season, but Houston didn’t play against the Thundering Herd, because he had already opted to redshirt the remainder of the season.

After playing in three games this past season, Houston opted to redshirt the remainder of the season (despite the fact that he was the starter at the time), giving him the ability to transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Houston played in 51 games for NC State over 5 years on the field, rushing for 1,392 yards (4.3 yards per carry) and 6 touchdowns. He also caught 60 passes for 398 yards and 1 touchdown.

Houston was a 3-Star prospect in NC State’s 2019 recruiting class out of Flint High School in Oakton, Virginia.

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NC State Football

Philip Rivers will Finally be Enshrined in the NC State Hall of Fame in April

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Wolfpack legend Philip Rivers will finally be inducted into the NC State Hall of Fame on April 20th!

Rivers was elected into the Hall of Fame back in 2013 (2nd year of the NC State Hall of Fame), but he has deferred his enshrinement over the years due to time constraints.

 

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Rivers pretty much owns every NC State record for Quarterbacks, and still has the most Career Passing Yards and Passes Completed in ACC history, and he ranks 3rd in Touchdown Passes. Rivers was the ACC Rookie of the Year in 2000, and the ACC Player of the Year in 2003.

You can buy your tickets here.

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NC State Football

DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship

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When NC State’s DJ Burns was giving his acceptance speech after receiving the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP Award, Burns had the following quote to say when asked what he wanted to say to the fans.

“I’m going to keep it real simple. Thank you to the ones who’ve been consistent throughout the ride, and welcome back everybody else.”

Burns’ words struck a chord.

Throughout much of this season, it was embarrassing to see all the empty seats in PNC Arena.

As the Wolfpack lost 7 of their final 9 regular season games, it was clear that this team wasn’t just losing games, but they were also losing much of the fanbase.

It’s clear from Burns’ words that the empty seats were noticed, and so were the words of fans online.

NC State finished the regular season 10th, and much of the fanbase was frustrated, and rightfully so.

But, frustrated doesn’t have to mean giving up.

‘Never giving up’ is kind of supposed to be NC State’s thing.

The words of Jimmy V reverberate throughout the history of NC State basketball.

This team didn’t always put W’s in the Win column this season, and it wasn’t always an easy watch, but never for a moment were these players not playing as hard as they could for their school, one another, and their coach.

They never gave up.

Fans have a right to be frustrated, but you can still show up for a team, even when they struggle, because that’s what loyal fans do. When players wear a jersey with NC State across the chest, and they don’t give up, their fans shouldn’t either.

NC State fans aren’t known to be fair weather fans. Let’s not get in the business of leading our players to think we are.

But, like Burns said, whether you’ve been along for the ride all season or not, it’s time to hop on.

 

 

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NC State Football

WATCH: PackInsider’s 2023 Sean Brown Highlight Reel

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This past season was a breakout season for Junior Safety, now turned Linebacker, Sean Brown.

This past season, Brown started in 11 of the 13 games that he played in, and ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (66) and pass breakups (5). He also had 5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble. Brown’s PFF Grade of 63.7 ranked 13th on the team. His Tackling Grade of 86.6 ranked 2nd on the team behind Payton Wilson.

As you will notice in our Highlight Reel ABOVE, Brown lived in the box, and is a very ferocious tackler. He will fit right in at Linebacker next year for the Wolfpack.

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