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Savion Jackson Needs to Prove He Deserves the #9

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2 years ago

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Back in June, it was announced that Junior Defensive End Savion Jackson was being honored with the #9 jersey, replacing the #90 he wore his first three seasons in Raleigh.

The #9 isn’t a number anyone just gets to select as their number of choice. It is a number at NC State that the coach honors a player with. It is a number at NC State that carries a legacy.

The #9 was worn by consensus All-American Defensive Ends Mario Williams and Bradley Chubb after him.

When Chubb was honored with the privilege of wearing the heralded #9 jersey that Mario Williams wore, he had just come off a Sophomore campaign in which he 10.5 tackles for loss and 5 sacks.

Before wearing the #9 in a game, Wolfpack Head Coach Dave Doeren required that Chubb call Williams to discuss with him what it meant to wear the #9 at NC State.

Whether it was being honored by his coach, the conversation with Mario, or some sort of magic with the #9, Chubb broke out as a Junior, tallying 21 tackles for loss and 10 sacks as a Junior. He followed that up with 23 more tackles for loss and 10 sacks as a Senior, earning consensus All-American honors, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award, as well as the Nagurski Trophy as a Senior.

Jackson had asked to wear the coveted #9 earlier in his career at NC State, but Doeren informed him that he wasn’t ready. With that being said, Doeren believes that he is now, but he did require Jackson to call Chubb before putting the jersey on.

Last time Doeren put the #9 on a player, he put it on Chubb, and his instincts proved to be brilliant.

Are Doeren’s instincts going to strike gold two times in a row?

Only time will tell. Jackson was a much more highly sought after prospect out of high school than Chubb. Coming out of Clayton High School right down the road, Jackson was a 4-star recruit, ranked by ESPN as the #50 overall player in the 2019 recruiting class.

With that being said, Jackson hasn’t put up numbers anywhere close to what Chubb did his Sophomore season. In 2021, Jackson had 1.5 tackles for loss and 0 sacks in 9 games. Those numbers don’t scream potential legacy.

To be fair, Jackson is playing in a 3-3-5 defensive scheme, which isn’t one where the Defensive End is as likely to end up in the backfield. In a 3-3-5, the defensive line more often that not sets up the linebackers to pad the stat sheet. Chubb on the other hand played in a 4-3 scheme, setting him up to be the primary pass rusher in the Wolfpack defense.

I’m a believer in Dave Doeren and his staff’s ability to develop talent. I’m also a believer in Director of Strength and Conditioning Dantonio Burnette’s ability to transform a player’s body. Jackson has putt on 25 pounds since arriving at NC State.

There are many things interesting about the Wolfpack heading into the 2022 season, but whether or not Jackson lives up to the number on his jersey is one of the most interesting in my book.

Jackson needs to produce on the field what Doeren has seen in him to deserve the #9.

 

 

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Football

Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?

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2 days ago

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May 17, 2024

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Earlier this week it was announced that NC State and Virginia would play one another in a home-and-home series, with the Wolfpack hosting in 2025, and the Cavaliers hosting in 2026.

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.

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.

This situation brings to mind the bill that has been proposed in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would force NC State and UNC to play App St., ECU and UNC Charlotte in Football, Men’s Basketball and Women’s Basketball.

If the addition of UVA means the elimination of App St. on NC State’s schedule, what are your thoughts? Share in the comments.

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NC State Football

CBS Sports Ranks Dave Doeren as 1 of the Top-20 Coaches in College Football

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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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)

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NC State Football

NC State vs. Tennessee Kickoff Time & TV Network Revealed

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3 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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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.

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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.

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NC State Football

NC State and UVA Agree to Home-and-Home Non-Conference Games

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4 days ago

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May 15, 2024

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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.

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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.

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