What to watch for as the NC State Wolfpack begins fall football practices this week

N.C. State posted a video on social media promoting its new Tik Tok account earlier this week.

Toward the end of the video, head coach Dave Doeren is seen standing in front of a group of players with a huge smile on his face. Doeren, entering his ninth year in Raleigh, has many reasons to be as optimistic as ever.

Standing behind Doeren in the video was running back Ricky Person Jr., linebacker Isaiah Moore, defensive end Savion Jackson and offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu. It’s this group of players — and multiple starters returning on both sides of the ball — that have many believing this could be a special year for the Wolfpack.

Coming off an 8-4 record in 2020 and a bowl appearance, N.C. State opens fall camp Wednesday, hoping to make a run at Clemson atop the Atlantic Division.

The Wolfpack was picked second behind the Tigers in the Atlantic, lofty preseason expectations for Doeren’s bunch. As the team starts working toward the season opener on Sept. 2 against USF, here are four things to keep an eye on during fall camp.

Leary’s bond with Beck

Devin Leary broke his leg after appearing in just four games a year ago. He was fully cleared in the spring and, for the second straight season, heads into camp as the No. 1 quarterback.

Last year during fall camp, Leary missed 20 practices due to COVID contact tracing. If he can stay on the field this time around and continue to grow in Tim Beck’s system, N.C. State’s offense should thrive.

“For Devin and Tim to have the relationship they now have going through a year together, finishing Tim’s sentences for him,” Doeren said. “I’m sure Devin will tell you he knows the offense at a completely different level than he did a year ago.”

Leary threw for 890 yards and eight touchdowns in 2020 before his season was cut short in October. He participated in all the spring practices, and didn’t show any lingering effects from his surgery during the spring game in April. While he was out recovering last winter, he took the time to study more film and see the game from a different perspective. Now it’s time to apply that to the practice field.

“I think there’s always stuff to take away from film,” Leary said. “I think last year before my injury there were multiple different plays or multiple different things I could have done better that I could take off of film, whether it’s within our offense or studying different defenses. I think post-injury that’s my biggest emphasis, is just trying to study defense as much as I can and prepare the best way possible.”

The transfers

The transfer portal was good to the Wolfpack this off season, as the team landed some guys who should come in and make immediate impacts.

On the defensive side of the ball, Corey Durden and Cyrus Fagan both came in from Florida State. Derrek Pitts, Jr. transferred from Marshall. Pitts, a cornerback, and Fagan, a safety, are expected to be in the secondary rotation right away. Pitts (6-1, 182) might steal a starting role at cornerback.

Durden (6-4, 310) will push C.J. Clark for the nose tackle position, replacing NFL rookie Alim McNeill, who was drafted by the Detroit Lions. On the other side of the ball, massive offensive guard Chandler Zavala (6-5, 325), a former Division II All-American at Fairmont State, could make his presence on the offensive line felt right away.

N.C. State will be looking to replace Joe Sculthorpe at guard and Zavala looks like the perfect candidate.

“We’ve brought in some transfers that are good players that were starters at their school,” Doeren said. “They want to start for us, too.”

Depth in the secondary

The battle for playing time in the secondary should be one of the most anticipated competitions in camp. Fourteen different players with real live game experience return for N.C. State.

Cornerback Shyheim Battle, nickel back Tyler Baker-Williams and safety Tanner Ingle were the mainstays a year ago. Jakeen Harris was a consistent starter down the stretch at safety. An entire herd of players, like corners Chris Ingram and Teshaun Smith and safeties Rakeim Ashford and Khalid Martin were done for the year after the second week of the season.

Ingram and Smith have been starters for the team before, and look to bounce back to regular form. Joshua Pierre-Louis, Aydan White and Cecil Powell were young players thrown into the mix because of so many injuries. Heading into camp, there’s no lack of depth on the back end.

“I think it’s one of the things I’m excited to watch is who comes out on top,” Doeren said. “It’s nice to have a rotation back there because with the pace of the offenses we play, the DBs can get tired. There’s a lot of running at that position group. So to have a rotation, to be able to jump in and out of some dime packages with extra DBs at times, it’s going to be fun. We have experience. We have some guys that are hungry to play again. Chris Ingram hasn’t played in a long time, Teshaun Smith hasn’t played in a long time. Excited for those two to be back in the mix, compete with who is coming back.”

Fagan appeared in 30 games at Florida State, while Pitts has 31 games under his belt at Marshall and West Virginia. Both of those players will be in the mix for starting spots.

True freshmen

A good sign that Doeren has built depth in Raleigh is he won’t have to rely on too many young guys playing this season. That doesn’t mean there aren’t a couple of rookies to keep an eye on at camp.

At linebacker, Jordan Poole (6-0, 222) and Caden Fordham (6-1, 214) each enrolled early and played in the spring game. Poole forced a fumble and Fordham returned an interception for a touchdown. While they probably won’t dethrone Payton Wilson, Isaiah Moore and Drake Thomas at that position, they will provide depth and could help on special teams.

Offensively, the guy to watch is quarterback Aaron McLaughlin (6-5, 230). The Georgia native also enrolled early and played in the spring game. While he did look like a true freshman at times, the former four-star prospect will battle with Ben Finley for the backup role and could be a couple of snaps away from being thrust into action.

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