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NC State Football

Ricky Person’s breakout performance was “a long time coming” for the Wolfpack

Published

6 years ago

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Ricky Person has arrived.

The freshman RB who played in the season opener vs. James Madison, but sat out the past two games with a hamstring injury, had his coming out party vs. UVA.

Person ran the ball 14 times for 108 yards (an average of 7.7 yards per carry) and broke off this big run late in the 2nd quarter.

It’s not like this wasn’t expected from Ricky Person. He was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school and was the #2 ranked RB in his entire class. He put up a massive senior season and even stole the show at the US Army All-American Bowl.

What makes this performance even more exciting is that it comes at a time when NC State was needing some answers in their ground game.

While it’s still somewhat early, senior Reggie Gallaspy and freshman Trent Pennix have both gotten their shot in the backfield and neither has really found much success. Gallaspy is averaging a pedestrian 3.4 yards per carry and Pennix is only churning out 3.1 per carry.

With Ryan Finley putting up big numbers weekly, NC State needed to find balance in their offense with a solid run game. Against UVA, Ricky Person brough that, and more.

Even former Wolfpacker and future NFL Hall of Famer Torry Holt was impressed with the young man…

For Person, this performance was personal. While he sat out with injuries over the first two weeks, he heard all the talk of how NC State couldn’t run the ball this season.

“It meant a lot for the running game to be productive. We’ve been taking a lot of criticism. Everybody trying to say we can’t run the ball. We played with a little chip on our shoulder. ‘Let’s show people we can run the ball.’” said Person after the game.

But Person didn’t take all the credit for himself…

“If it wasn’t for the offensive line, I wouldn’t have had the incredible game I had today.” he said

Even Ryan Finley couldn’t help himself from getting in on the Person hype…

“Shout out to Ricky Person.” said Finley. “That was a long time coming. It was exciting to see him break out like that. He’s really consistent. He’s a big body and runs really hard. You saw him break some tackles today, which is awesome to see. He’s physical and has some moves too. He’s a balance of both.”

While one game isn’t going to give Person a lock on the backfield duties just yet, we expect that he and Gallaspy start to be very close in total carries over the next few weeks. And if this keeps up, we believe Person could take over the lion’s share down the stretch.

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NC State Football

FAU Transfer Defensive Tackle Decarius Hawthorne is Taking an Official Visit to NC State Next Week

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8 hours ago

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May 4, 2024

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FAU Defensive Tackle Transfer Decarius Hawthorne (6’2″/295) confirmed with me that he is taking an Official Visit to NC State next week, beginning on Tuesday. Arkansas is expected to host him on Sunday.

Hawthorne entered the Portal on April 26th.

This past season, Hawthorne had 18 tackles, 7 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 12 games for the Owls. All of those numbers were career highs for Hawthorne.

ON3 ranks Hawthorne as a 3-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and the #46 Defensive Lineman in the Portal.

NC State is in desperate need for depth at Nose Tackle. They return Junior Brandon Cleveland and Redshirt Sophomore DJ Jackson, and True Freshman Justin Terrell will arrive in the Fall.

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NC State Football

Congrats to NC State Football’s Spring Graduates!

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1 day ago

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May 3, 2024

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Congratulations to the 7 NC State Football Players that just graduated this Spring.

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2024 Football Spring Graduates

Linebacker Devon Betty (1 year of eligibility)

Defensive End Davin Vann (1 year of eligibility)

Cornerback Aydan White (1 year of eligibility)

Offensive Guard Anthony Carter Jr. (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Matt McCabe (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Tackle Patrick Matan (2 years of eligibility)

Offensive Lineman Brendan Lawson (no longer on the roster)

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NC State Football

Proposed Bill in the NC House Would Require NC State & UNC To Play One Another, as well as ECU, UNCC and App St.

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1 day ago

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May 3, 2024

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A bill has been proposed by members of the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play one another, as well as East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

According to House Bill 965, which you can read here in full, NC State and UNC would be required to play one another annually in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball. The Wolfpack and the Tar Heels would also be forced to play a game annually in all three sports against either ECU, UNC-Charlotte or App St. Every six years, NC State and UNC would be required to have played a home and away game against each of the three school in all three sports.

Here’s the exact wording from the proposed bill:

Competition Required. – A high-enrollment institution shall do all of the following in each eligible sport: (1) Every academic year, play at least one home or one away game against (i) another high-enrollment institution and (ii) an eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. (2) Every six academic years, play at least one home and one away game against each eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution. A high-enrollment institution shall alternate home and away games that are scheduled against the same eligible constituent institution that is not a high-enrollment institution.

For glossary of terms being referenced above:

For the purposes of this bill, “High-enrollment institutions” = NC State and UNC, while “Eligible constituent institutions” = East Carolina, UNC Charlotte and Appalachian State.

It’s worth noting that NC State already has games schedule against each of these teams home-and-away in Football between now and 2031.

2025 – East Carolina (H)

2025 – @ App St.

2026 – App St. (H)

2028 – @ East Carolina

2030 – Charlotte (H)

2031 – @ Charlotte

What are your thoughts?

For more details, check out this article at WRAL.

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NC State Football

Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. will Take an Official Visit at NC State Next Week

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2 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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Akron Safety Kerry Martin Jr. (6’1″/195) confirmed with me that he will be taking an Official Visit to NC State next week beginning on May 7th.

After receiving an offer from NC State yesterday, it didn’t take him long to set up the visit.

Martin Jr. is familiar with NC State, because he was recruited by Wolfpack Defensive Coordinator Tony Gibson before he left West Virginia to come to Raleigh. Even though he never coached him, a relationship was established.

Martin Jr.’s connections to NC State are deeper than that. Former NC State Cornerback Derrek Pitts, who is currently a member of the Tampa Bay Bucs, is his cousin.

This past year, Martin Jr. recorded 45 tackles, 2 interceptions and 6 pass breakups for Akron, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. His PFF Grade was 68.9.

In 2022, he had 53 tackles, 1 interception and 1 pass breakup, starting in 9 of the 11 games he played in. Martin Jr.’s PFF Grade was 60.9.

In 2019, as a Freshman for West Virginia, Martin Jr. earned PFF Freshman All-American honors, recording a grade of 70.6, with 50 tackles and 3 pass breakups.

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