Yesterday, the Atlanta Hawks announced that they have signed former NC State Point Guard Jarkel Joiner to their Training Camp Roster.

Joiner went undrafted earlier this year, just like his buddy Terquavion Smith. Smith went on to sign a 2-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. Joiner played for the Hawks Summer League team, and it looks like Atlanta has liked what they have seen.

I’m sure the likelihood of Joiner making the final roster is low, but he now puts himself in a position where a 2-way contract is a possibility, and so is being added to the College Park Skyhawks, the Hawks G-League team.

Last season Joiner earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors playing for the Wolfpack.

Former NC State Running Back Zonovan Knight has been called up from the Practice Squad to join the Detroit Lions’ 53-man roster.

 

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Knight is being called up because the status of Detroit’s starting Running Back David Montgomery is unknown, after suffering a thigh bruise in last weeks game.

Last year, Knight had 85 carries for 300 yards, scoring one touchdown in 7 games, after being called up from the Jets’ Practice Squad.

Dave Doeren’s ability to send players from NC State to the NFL during his tenure has been truly impressive. There are 18 former Wolfpack players on NFL 53-man rosters heading into Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season.

Players on active NFL rosters
Alabama 57
Georgia 49
Ohio St 48
LSU 43
Michigan 38
Clemson 37
Florida 35
Notre Dame, Penn St 34
Oklahoma 32
Texas 30
Iowa 29
USC, Washington 27
Auburn 26
Oregon 25
Stanford 24
Ole Miss, Texas A&M 23
UCLA 22
South Carolina, Tennessee, Wisconsin 21
Miami 20
Pitt, TCU 19
Cincinnati, NC State, Virginia Tech 18
Kentucky 17
Florida St, Illinois, Michigan St, North Carolina 16
Arkansas, BYU, Maryland, Mississippi St, Nebraska, Utah 15
Houston, Minnesota, Oklahoma St 14
Baylor, Boston College, Missouri, Purdue 13
Cal, Kansas State, Northwestern, UCF, Wake Forest 12
Iowa State, Memphis, San Diego St 11
Boise St, Duke, Louisville, Oregon St 10
via NCAA

(Tweet)

17 of the 18 former NC State players on NFL rosters played under Doeren. It’s noteworthy which teams NC State is ahead of in these rankings. There are more former Wolfpack players on NFL rosters right now than players from UNC and Florida State.

Below, we will look at which former NC State football players have a chance to move up in the school record books in the 2023 NFL season.

Passing

Russell Wilson could catch Phillip Rivers on two possible categories in 2023. If he records one more game winning drive, he will pass Rivers for the most by a former NC State Quarterback in the NFL. If he leads Denver to three 4th quarter comebacks, he will pass Rivers in that category as well.

Rushing

If Wilson rushes for 4 touchdowns, which he has only done twice in his career (both times were with his first three years in the NFL), he will tie Roman Gabriel for the 3rd most rushing touchdowns by a former NC State player in the NFL.

Receiving

If Jakobi Meyers has 60 receptions, which he has done in the past 2 seasons, he will pass Koren Robinson, moving into 5th place. It’s also pretty much a guarantee that he will pass Ted Brown in career receiving yards, moving into 6th place in school history. If Meyers picks up 2 touchdown receptions, he moves into 9th. If he snags 5, he moves into 8th.

Tackles

If Linebacker Germaine Pratt matched his 99 tackles from last year, he would pass Mario Williams, Jesse Campbell and Ray Agnew, moving into 7th place.

Sacks

It seems very likely that Linebacker Bradley Chubb will finish the year with at least 4 sacks, which would move him past Darwin Walker and Willie Young, giving him sole possession of 3rd place in NC State history.