NC State Football
Jaylen Samuels is the Greatest Tight End in ACC History
I know…I know.
I just put NC State’s Jaylen Samuels in a box. I gave him a specific position title.
But what’s a guy supposed to do?
And I’m not pulling this out of nowhere.
Samuels was a Semifinalist (1 of 7) for the Mackey Award this year, which is given out annually to the nations best tight end.
I am building my argument for Samuels being the best tight end in ACC history off the fact that he has the most receptions by a player in that position in the history of the league.
1) Jaylen Samuels, NC State – 195
2) Cam Serigne, Wake Forest – 165
3) Heath Miller, Virginia – 144
4) John Henry Mills, Wake Forest – 142
5) Frank Wycheck, Maryland – 134
Samuels actually leads all tight ends in the nation in receptions this season.
He also leads all tight ends in the nation this season in yards after the catch.
Back to my point…JaySam being the best tight end in ACC history. Not only does he have the most recetpions by a tight end in conference history, but he also ranks 2nd in receiving yards and 4th in touchdown receptions (and could finish 1st after the bowl game).
ACC Receiving Yards By a Tight End
1) Cam Serigne, Wake Forest – 1,963
2) Jaylen Samuels, NC State – 1,805
2) Eric Ebron, UNC – 1,805
4) Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech – 1,747
5) John Henry Mills, Wake Forest – 1,735
ACC Touchdown Receptions by a Tight End
1) Heath Miller, Virginia – 20
1) Bucky Hodges, Virginia Tech – 20
1) Cam Serigne, Wake Forest – 20
4) Jaylen Samuels, NC State – 19
5) Nick O’Leary, FSU – 17
First off, let’s give credit where credit is due. Wake Forest’s Cam Serigne is a freaking boss, and makes a valid argument for being the best tight end in ACC history as well.
Having Samuels and Serigne in the league at the same time, historically speaking, is rather astounding.
With that being said, Serigne is great, but there has never been tight end in the ACC like Jaylen Samuels. Period.
Samuels also has 1,087 career rushing yards (6.2 yards per carry), and 27 career rushing touchdowns. His 46 career touchdowns ranks 11th in ACC history.
If you want to call Jaylen Samuels a tight end, he just might be the best the ACC has ever seen.
CBS Sports released their Top-25 Power 4 Coaches in College Football, and NC State’s Dave Doeren came in at #16. Heading into last season, he went into the season ranked #25.
16) Dave Doeren: The NC State coach finally gets some overdue credit. He’s always hovered around the bottom of our top 25 or just outside it, and now he finds himself firmly entrenched in it thanks to all the changes at the top. Coaches who take mid-tier programs and overachieve never get enough credit, in my estimation, and the consistency Doeren has established at NC State — where he spent most of his time in a division with Clemson and Florida State — is one of the most impressive things any coach in the country has done. I’m glad to see Doeren getting closer to the top 15. 2023 rank: 25 (+9) (CBS Sports)
Numerous CBS Sports’ analysts voted in the poll, and Tom Fornelli actually ranked Doeren #8.
ACC Coaches that made the Top-25
3. Dabo Swinney (Clemson)
8. Mike Norvell (FSU)
16. Dave Doeren (NC State)
19. Jeff Brohm (Louisville)
Kickoff time and TV Channel details have been revealed for NC State and Tennessee’s game in the Duke Mayo Classic in Week 2 of next season.
The game will be a primetime game on Saturday 7th, at 7:30pm on ABC.
This game has the makings to be a Top-25 matchup.
Here’s a look at some of the Way-Too-Early Preseason rankings for the Wolfpack and the Volunteers:
Action Network: NC State #24/Tennessee #17
ON3: NC State #22/Tennessee #15
247: NC State #21/Tennessee #11
ESPN: NC State #17/Tennessee #15
DraftKings released their way-too-early odds for the game, and Tennessee is currently a 5.5-point favorite.
Here’s the deal, as NC State fans, if we want to be a big time Football program, NC State fans need to gobble up tickets to this game. Let’s do our part and make sure that Bank of America Stadium is painted RED. Buy Tickets HERE.
NC State announced this morning that the Wolfpack and UVA will play in a home-and-home non-conference series, with the game in 2025 being in Raleigh, and the game in 2026 being in Charlottesville.
To reiterate, despite the fact that both teams are in the ACC, these games are considered non-conference games, and won’t count toward conference records. This is similar to what UNC and Wake Forest did a few years back.
Here’s what’s interesting about the addition of these games in 2025 and 2026. Prior to the announcement, NC State already had 4 non-conference games scheduled for both years.
It would be my assumption that one of the previously scheduled non-conference games for each season will not take place now.
Here’s a look at NC State’s 2024 Transfer Class Rankings after the commitment of Ohio St. Safety Transfer Ja’Had Carter yesterday.
The Wolfpack’s class. is still ranked 7th nationally by ON3.
Over at 247Sports, NC State’s 2024 class stayed put at #18, but over at Rivals the class jumped up 4 spots, landing at #24.
NC State’s 2024 Transfer Class
Ohio St. S Ja’Had Carter
Akron S Kerry Martin Jr.
Colorado NT Chazz Wallace
Auburn S Donovan Kaufman
Oklahoma RB Daylan Smothers
Villanova CB Devon Marshall
Ohio State WR Noah Rogers
Duke RB Jordan Waters
Maryland DB Tamarcus Cooley
Maryland CB Corey Coley Jr.
UCONN TE Justin Joly
Coastal Carolina QB Grayson McCall
Wake Forest WR Wesley Grimes
Notre Dame C Zeke Correll
Missouri OL Valen Erickson