Who is returning, leaving (so far) for NC State football in 2023?
RALEIGH – There have already been some pleasant surprises for NC State football this offseason.
Despite finishing with a disappointing 8-5 record and ending the 2022 season with a lackluster 16-12 loss to Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl, the Wolfpack have grabbed some key pieces from the transfer portal, retained one of its best defenders and now look to add a big name quarterback.
On Dec. 31, NC State received a New Year's Eve present as linebacker Payton Wilson announced he’d return for a fifth season. The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Wilson finished the season with 82 tackles, including 12.5 for a loss and 4.5 sacks. His retention will be a boon for a defense that lost two other starters from its linebacking core in Isaiah Moore and Drake Thomas, who left early to declare for the NFL Draft.
The next day, tight end Trent Pennix announced he would return for a sixth season. After fracturing his left scapula during the season-opener against East Carolina, Pennix returned to action on Oct. 27 against Virginia Tech but was hampered by his injury throughout the season.
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Quarterback quandary for NC State
But who will be throwing passes to Pennix in 2023? With preseason ACC player of the year Devin Leary off to Kentucky, NC State is left with true freshman MJ Morris and third-year freshman Ben Finley at quarterback. Ben Finley threw the ball 48 times, completing 22 passes for 269 yards and two interceptions, in the Mayo Bowl loss after leading the Wolfpack to a double-overtime win over UNC in the regular-season finale.
Morris missed the last four games of the season with a lower-body injury. He practiced ahead of the bowl game and had planned to split time with Ben Finley in Charlotte. He even took part in warmups before coach Dave Doeren pulled the plug on his return.
NC State might be closing in on another option under center, as well.
Former Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong visited Raleigh this week. He reconnected with his old offensive coordinator, Robert Anae, who was hired in December to take over the Wolfpack’s offense after Tim Beck left to lead Coastal Carolina.
Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns in 2021 under Anae. After Anae departed for Syracuse last season, Armstrong's production dipped significantly, completing only 54% of his passes with seven touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
Incoming players from the transfer portal
Armstrong also brought Virginia offensive lineman Logan Taylor with him on his campus visit. The 6-foot-6, 300-pound tackle would be an important addition for a Wolfpack offensive line that lost two all-ACC standouts in center Grant Gibson, guard Chandler Zavala as well as guard Bryson Speas.
Gone is the ACC all-time points leader in kicker Chris Dunn, the winner of this year’s Lou Groza Award, but NC State has already found his replacement in the portal in Western Kentucky transfer Brayden Narveson.
Narveson began his career at Iowa State and spent the past three seasons at Western Kentucky where he was 32-for-36 on kicks inside 40 yards and 16-for-20 on attempts between 40-49 yards.
NC State previously added Clemson wide receiver Decari Collins from the transfer portal, and the Wolfpack have also added Cincinnati edge rusher Noah Potter, Old Dominion safety Robert Kennedy and offensive tackle Dawson Jaramillo.
Who's left NC State in the transfer portal
There have also been some notable departures via the transfer portal, most notably wide receiver Devin Carter. Carter committed to Penn State on Jan. 2, ending a productive five-year stint in Raleigh.
He started 41 games and made 49 appearances, hauling in 118 receptions for 1,906 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 16.2 yards per catch with the Wolfpack.
Carter finished his 2022 season with 25 catches for 406 yards and two touchdowns. He went out on a high with the Wolfpack, securing six catches for 130 yards and a score in a win over rival UNC. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound target was most productive in 2021, finishing 31 catches for 556 yards and six touchdowns.
Other key losses include defensive lineman Joshua Harris (Ole Miss), defensive back Joshua Pierre-Louis (undecided), DE Claude Larkins (undecided) and defensive back Jaylen Frazier (undecided).
“It’s a great group of young men that I got to coach,” Doeren said after the loss to Maryland. “I’m going to miss them. A lot.”
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State football 2023: Who's here, who's left, and who could arrive?
