Junior Jumichael Ramos has earned the starting role as the Wolfpack’s X receiver, which typically is the Split End receiver. Very often the X receiver is the teams’s feature receiver. Ramos had an impressive Freshman season, with 24 receptions for 352 yards and 3 touchdowns. Last season he took a major step backwards, and only had one reception in a meager 59 snaps (he played in 291 snaps as a Freshman). Ramos has a new position coach in George McDonald, and has obviously made quite an impression on him.
At this point, the starting spot as the Z receiver could go to either Junior Jonathan Alston OR Junior Bra’Lon Cherry. The Z receiver is typically the Flanker receiver, which lines up off of the line of scrimmage. Alston had 21 receptions for 224 yards and 2 touchdowns last season. Cherry had 27 receptions for 354 yards and 3 touchdowns.
True Freshman Nyheim Hines has earned the starting spot as the F receiver, which typically is the Slot Receiver. Hines is an extreme athlete that has been the most talked about playmaking receiver on the team by Dave Doeren all camp long. He primarily played as a running back for Garner High School last year (2,362 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns), but he did have 328 yards receiving and 3 touchdown receptions as well.
RS Freshman Maurice Trowell was a 3-star prospect out of Southern Durham High School. Trowell has also been in the rotation as a kick returner with Hines, Cherry and running back Matt Dayes. He caught 93 passes for 1,760 yards and 19 touchdowns as a Senior. Trowell is backing up Ramos.
Either RS Freshman Elliott Davis OR Freshman Vernon Grier could be backing up Cherry or Alston at the Z receiver slot when the Wolfpack takes the field against Troy. Davis was a 3-star prospect that was recruited to play cornerback at NC State, and redshirted last season as a cornerback. This offseason the NC State coaches decided to move Davis to the other side of the ball. This isn’t unfamiliar territory for Davis, because he played corner and wideout at Quince Orchard High School (Gathersburg, MD). Grier was a 3-star prospect out of the prestigious Mallard Creek High School in Charlotte, NC. He tallied 64 receptions for 1,158 yards and 16 touchdowns as a Senior last year.
RS Sophomore Gavin Locklear was in mix to be in the rotation of receivers last year as a walk-on before suffering a compound fracture in his leg during Summer workouts. He is back to full strength and has worked his way back into the rotation as Hines’ backup. Locklear was surprised with a scholarship earlier this month.
True Freshman Freddie Simmons is the 3rd string X receiver. Simmons was a 3-star prospect that had 49 catches for 707 yards and 13 touchdowns for Bethlehem Catholic last year (Bethlehem, PA).
RS Sophomore Ben Grazen is the 3rd string slot receiver and was awarded a scholarship this month as well. Grazen was a Safety and Running Back at Cardinal Gibbons High School (Cary, NC), but the coaches moved him to Wide Receiver in Spring drills.
NC State Football
Does the Addition of the UVA Series Equal the Elimination of NC State’s Series with App St.?
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.
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
The need for NCGA action, proposed bill from @DavidWillisNC becoming clearer https://t.co/vVskGttsT5
— Joe Giglio (@giglio_OG) May 15, 2024
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.
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.
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.