NC State 2024 Offensive Line Preview

In this post, I’ll be previewing the NC State Offense was we approach the 2024 season opener this Thursday night against Western Carolina.

Starters

Left Tackle – Redshirt Senior Anthony Belton (6’6″/356)

Left Guard – Redshirt Junior Anthony Carter Jr. (6’3″/315)

Center – Redshirt Senior Zeke Correll (6’3″/310)

Right Guard – Redshirt Senior Timothy McCkay (6’4″/321)

Right Tackle – Redshirt Sophomore Jacarrius Peak (6’4″/298)

The Wolfpack returns a ton of experience on the O-Line in 2024. Belton and McKay started all 13 games for NC State last year, and Correll started every game for Notre Dame. Carter Jr. started in 12 of the 13 games. Peak started the last 6 games of the season at Right Tackle.

2023 PFF Grades

Belton – 65.9

Peak – 64.5

Correll – 62.0

McKay – 57.6

Carter Jr. – 56.5

Belton earned 3rd Team All-ACC honors last season, and is projected to be a 1st Round NFL Draft pick next Spring.  He spent his first two seasons in the JUCO ranks, playing for Georgia Military Academy. The fact that the former 3-Star High School prospect, who went the JUCO route, is being considered a possible 1st round pick next year, is a testament to his hard work, and the developmental work of the Wolfpack coaching staff.

Correll transferred in from Notre Dame this offseason, and due to injury, he wasn’t able to play in the Spring. Despite that fact, he found a way to lead from the back, without pads on. Even though he’s only been here for a little while, his teammates voted for him to be one of their four captains.

He was a multi-year starter for the Irish, starting in 30 of the 41 games he played in. Out of high school, he was a consensus 4-star prospect, with 247Sports ranking him as the #81 overall player nationally in the 2019 recruiting class.

His strength lies in pass protection, recording a grade of 78.0 according to ProFootballFocus, which was 2nd on the team

Carter Jr. did start in 12 of 13 games last year, but his PFF Grade was the lowest of any of the starters last year (56.5). Doeren has indicated that Carter Jr. is healthy after recovering from offseason surgery, and has had a good Fall Camp.

McKay started the first 7 games last year at Right Tackle, but moved to Right Guard against Clemson, and remained there the rest of the year. Guard is a more natural position for McKay, and it’s good to see him get to work there the whole offseason, preparing him for consistency. McKay has started 22 games heading into 2024.

Peak was also destined to be a stud. ON3 rated him as a 4-Star prospect coming out of High School, the #164 overall player nationally, the #14 Offensive Tackle and the #17 player in the state of Georgia. He might be undersized, but Peak might be the most talented player on the Wolfpack Offensive Line.

2nd String O-Line 

Left Tackle – Redshirt Freshman Rico Jackson (6’6″/323)

Left Guard – Redshirt Senior Dawson Jaramillo (6’5″/300)

Center – Redshirt Sophomore Rylan Vann (6’1″/297)

Right Guard – Redshirt Sophomore Val Erickson (6’4″/316)

Right Tackle – Redshirt Junior Patrick Matan (6’4″/316)

Jaramillo is definitely the most experienced of the 2nd string, playing 409 career snaps at Oregon before transferring to NC State before the 2023 season. Prior to last season, he unfortunately suffered a season ending knee injury, but the NCAA granted him an extra year of eligibility. On the 1st day of camp, Jaramillo was the 2nd string Center. At Oregon, he played all over the Offensive Line, making him a Swiss Army Knife for the Pack. Coming out of High School, ESPN ranked him as the #1 player in the state of Oregon, and the #127 overall player nationally in the 2018 recruiting class.

While Carter Jr. is the returning starter, if he waivers at all, it would be interesting to see if Jaramillo or Erickson stepped in. Also, in a situation where Zeke Correll wasn’t available, I wonder if Vann would be the first person out, or if Jaramillo would move over from Guard.

Erickson transferred in from Missouri this offseason.

3rd String

Left Tackle – Redshirt Freshman Darion Rivers (6’6″/308)

Left Guard – Redshirt Freshman Kamen Smith (6’5″/323)

Both Rivers and Smith are young, but extremely talented. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them challenge anyone on the 2nd string.

Make sure to check out our other position group previews:

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends