Connect with us

NC State Football

PFF: Breaking Down NC State’s Top 10 Offensive & Defensive Players

Published

on

ProFootballFocus broke down NC State’s highest graded offensive and defensive players for the 2017 season this week.

PFF gives their grades by grading every player on how they play on every single play

Who was NC State highest graded offensive player in 2017? Ryan Finley? Nyheim Hines? Jaylen Samuels? Kelvin Harmon?

Nope.

Junior Offensive Tackle Will Richardson. In fact, Richardson had the highest grade on the PFF All-ACC 1st Team not named Lamar Jackson. He earned 2nd Team All-American PFF honors as well. Wolfpack fans can only hope that Richardson returns for his Senior season.

Three out of the Top 5 graded offensive players are members of the Band of Brothers, the Wolfpack offensive line. Adams is a Senior, but Richardson and Jones are both Juniors.

Don’t get me wrong here. I love Nyheim Hines and Jaylen Samuels, but without the superb offensive line in front of them, they wouldn’t have the numbers they have. Someone give Offensive Line coach Dwayne Ledford a raise NOW!

Finally, even though Finley didn’t have the numbers in the second half of the season, that he did in the first, he still finished with an ELITE grade for the season. In fact, Finley finished the season with the 5th highest grade of any quarterback in the nation.

Is anyone surprised that Bradley Chubb finished with the highest grade of anyone on NC State’s defense? Of course not. Todd McShay said that Chubb was a COMPLETE football player this week, and the grades prove it. He earned an ELITE grade in Run Defense and the Pass Rush.

Ladies and gentelmen, expect Germaine Pratt to be the face of NC State’s defense in 2018. As a backup linebacker, he earned the 2nd best grade on the Wolfpack defense behind Chubb. To be in the blue, earning an ELITE grade as a backup linebacker, is astounding.

Props to Linebacker Jerod Fernandez for having the best season of his career as a Senior. Sophomore Safety Jarius Morehead showed great promise for the future, and these numbers show what we all know…BJ Hill is sneaky good, and always has been.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

NC State Football

NC State CB Shyheim Battle Receives Invitation to Jets Rookie Mini Camp

Published

on

NC State Cornerback Shyheim Battle has received an invitation from the New York Jets to participate in their Rookie Mini Camp.

Battle had 1 year of eligibility remaining, but declared for the NFL Draft on January 3rd.

He finished this past year as the most experienced player on the Wolfpack’s defense, starting in 41 of the 51 games he has played in dating back to 2019. In a rarity in this day-and-age, Battle was a 4-year starter at the Cornerback position for NC State. He graduated with a degree in Communications.

In his final season in Red and White, Battle had 46 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups and 1 fumble recovery. His PFF Grade of 70.6 was the 7th best on the Wolfpack defense.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State DB Robert Kennedy III Signs Undrafted Free Agent Deal with the Bolts

Published

on

NC State Nickel Robert Kennedy III has signed an Undrafted Free Agent Deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Kennedy III won’t be without a friend. He will be joined by Defensive End Savion Jackson, who also signed an Undrafted Free Agent deal.

Kennedy started for the Wolfpack in every single game this season at Nickelback, tallying 31 tackles, 2 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.

His ProFootballFocus grade for the season is 79.7, which is the 2nd highest grade on the Wolfpack defense, and the highest grade of all the Safeties that came out of the Transfer Portal last year.

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State PK Brayden Narveson Signs Undrafted Free Agent Deal with the Titans

Published

on

NC State Place Kicker Brayden Narveson has signed an Undrafted Free Agent Deal with the Tennessee Titans.

In his one season in Raleigh, Narveson made 18 of his 23 Field Goal attempts for the Wolfpack, and made all 38 Extra Point attempts. Narveson made some history in his one season at NC State, kicking a 57-yard Field Goal against Duke, breaking the school record for the longest Field Goal.

Narveson ranked 4th in the ACC in Field Goals attempted (23), and 5th in Field Goals made (18) this season. He ranked 9th in conference in scoring (7.1 points per game).

Continue Reading

NC State Football

NC State Tight End Trent Pennix Signs Undrafted Free Agent Deal with the Colts

Published

on

NC State Tight End Trent Pennix has signed an Undrafted Free Agent deal with the Indianapolis Colts.

In his final year in Raleigh, Pennix had 15 receptions for 190 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also rushed the ball 2 times for 67 yards and a touchdown.

Pennix arrived at NC State as a Running Back out of Sanderson High School in Raleigh.

Continue Reading