NC State Football: Who is Running Back Demie Sumo?

As expected, Junior Running Back Jordan Houston is the starting Running Back for the first game of the 2022 season. He has waited his turn and deserves his shot. While the name Houston isn’t as popular in the mind of an NC State Football fan as Person or Knight, Wolfpack fans know who Jordan Houston is. He’s run the ball 163 times over the past 3 seasons.

But who is this Running Back 2nd on the Depth Chart behind Houston? Who is Sophomore Demie Sumo-Karngbaye?

Sumo was a 3-Star prospect out of Willingboro High School (Willingboro, New Jersey), who chose NC State over offers from Temple, Northern Illinois and others.

As a Junior at Willingboro, Sumo rushed for 648 yards on 65 carries (10.0 yards per carry) and 11 touchdowns. He also caught 21 receptions for 430 yards and 8 touchdowns. Sumo totaled 1,321 all-purpose yards in 2019. On defense, Sumo had 53 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions.

Look at those stats and watch that film and tell me that’s a 3-star prospect. This kid has vision and speed. He’s elusive, but runs with power. He runs routes better than many receivers, because he also played wide receiver, and possesses good hands. Having played Safety on defense, he possesses he can read defenses.

What didn’t help Sumo in the star and ranking world, was the fact that Willingboro only played 3 games his Senior season due to Covid-19.

After watching that film, now consider the fact that Sumo has added 20 pounds of muscle since arriving in Raleigh, standing 6’0″ and weighing 210.

Nicknamed the “Slimey Shark,” the buzz surrounding Sumo has been too much for me not to believe NC State sneakily has something special in the New Jersey native.

I’m a big Jordan Houston fan, and have been since he was a Freshman, but I don’t foresee him being a workhorse averaging 15-19 carries per game like Reggie Gallaspy, Nyheim Hines or Matt Dayes. I expect the running game in 2022 to be a 2-headed monster.

I’ll throw this out there…don’t be surprised if Sumo leads the team in rushing yards for the Wolfpack at seasons end.