Senior Safety Tanner Ingle played in all 12 football games for NC State last year, compared to the six games he was able to play in 2020. In 2020, Ingle was ejected from 3 games due to targeting penalties, and dealt with a hamstring injury throughout much of the year. What did a healthy and fully present Ingle do for the Pack in 2021? Ingle earned 1st Team All-ACC honors, and earned Preseason All-ACC honors heading into 2022.
When asked after practice yesterday about the difference Ingle makes on the field, NC State head coach Dave Doeren had this to say:
“Tanner is different. He triggers differently than a lot of people on the back end. He sees things. His vision and ability to diagnose plays and react is unique. Having him out there, especially in the run game, makes a big difference. He can get from 12 yards from the line of scrimmage to the ball in a hurry. Even though he’s in a pass-coverage position at times and they’re not counting him, he can show up and be an extra hat.” (Link)
In all of my years of watching NC State football, Ingle stands out as one of the hardest hitting and instinctual defensive players to wear the Red and White. Ingle is a Senior leader of the Wolfpack secondary this season, which for once is getting praise. CBSSports ranked NC State’s secondary as the 4th best in the nation heading into 2022, and Ingle is a big reason why.
“The ACC is stacked with quality quarterbacks and high-flying offenses, so the Wolfpack may not finish with the nation’s most statistically dominant passing defense. But you won’t find a unit better equipped to handle the challenge than this NC State group anchored by seniors Tanner Ingle, Derrek Pitts Jr., Cyrus Fagan and Tyler Baker-WIlliams.” (CBS)
Ingle was on the field more than any other Wolfpack defender in 2021. There’s a reason why.
Prior to the announcement, NC State already had their non-conference slate booked for both of those seasons.
As a result of the addition of the Virginia series, a previously scheduled non-conference game from each season would need to be dropped. While it hasn’t been officially announced by the school, Joe Giglio and David Glenn seem to think that the series with Appalachian State is going to be dropped.
State swaps out a home-and-home with App State for one with Virginia
Given the ACC’s stance on road G5 games, that was going to happen
NC STATE BACKS OUT OF FOOTBALL SERIES WITH APPALACHIAN STATE…. David Glenn Weighs in on Required #NCPOL Scheduling Bill per UNC, NC STATE, ECU, CHARLOTTE AND APP https://t.co/5sfWzmRa93 via @YouTube
— NORTH CAROLINA SPORTS NETWORK (@TheNCSportsNet) May 16, 2024
It would make the most sense, considering the Mountaineers were the only opponent the Wolfpack was scheduled to play in both 2025 and 2026. It would also make sense, considering the fact that ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips isn’t a fan of ACC teams playing Group of 5 schools on the road.
I will tell you this much. The Mountaineer faithful certainly believe NC State is dropping the series with App State, and it just takes a little scrolling on X (formerly Twitter) to get a read on their feelings on the situation.
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.
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.