Young, versatile talent on display in NC State's low-scoring spring game
RALEIGH, N.C. -- There was a lot of optimism surrounding North Carolina State football after a bowl win over Central Florida in December.
But the optimism should be cautious -- for now.
A year ago nearly to the day, Florida transfer quarterback Jacoby Brissett made his sparkling debut in the NC State spring game. It was a pivotal occurrence for Year 2 of the Dave Doeren era.
The offense's gaudy spring-game performance didn't accurately predict the up-and-down season ahead, just like Saturday's shakier and more defensive-dominated version won't be a harbinger of anything for 2015.
NC State's offense was somewhat limited on Saturday, a 16-3 win for the Red Team, and it showed.
Brissett, the returning starter, completd 13 of 32 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown for Red. He helmed the first-team offense against the second-team defense, but was working with a depleted unit. Johnathan Alston and tight end David Grinnage were held out of the scrimmage.
"There's a lot of guys who weren't out there, and that makes a difference. But I thought during the spring, the small number of players we had, they took a ton of reps," Doeren said of the receiving corps.
"(Junior) Bra'Lon Cherry is finally healthy and he had some opportunities today. We didn't get the ball to him. We need to do a better job there, obviously. But I'm not concerned about it. We'll get everybody back. We'll have three signees that'll be here in a month that'll help as well."
Last year, freshman Bo Hines -- an early enrollee -- was the star of the spring game, alongside Brissett. And for the regular season, Hines led the Wolfpack with 45 receptions for 616 yards ... but opted to transfer to Yale back in December.
So Brissett will have to find a new favorite target in a relatively new group of receivers. The only available wideout on Saturday who caught a pass last season -- or any year -- was Cherry, who had 27 catches for 354 yards.
Sophomore Ben Grazen, who played one snap last year, led all wideouts with five catches for 41 yards in the spring game.
"As a quarterback, the main thing is you want to get that bond with the receivers. That's what I think coming in with new guys, that's the main focus right now is to make sure that me and the receivers and everybody that'll be going out there to catch passes are on the same page," Brissett said.
The coaching staff understands their limited options at wide receiver. They've spent a lot of time incorporating some of their best athletes into the passing attack, like Grinnage or even backs Shadrach Thornton and Matt Dayes.
Dayes finished with 98 all-purpose yards in the spring game, which was par for the course -- 10-15 touches per game nearly evenly split between rushes and receptions. But there were other sources of entertainment on Saturday, as well.
Jaylen Samuels isn't exactly a new toy. He came on strong as a freshman last season, catching six balls for 96 yards (16.0 per reception) and rushing 15 times for 143 yards (9.5 per carry). At 5-11 and 236 pounds, he's a bruiser with speed -- and hard to tackle in open space.
Right now he's listed as a fullback. On Saturday, Samuels barreled over teammates to rack up 28 yards on three rushes (9.3 per) and then caught three passes for 65 yards (including a 50-yarder).
Guys like Samuels, Dayes, and even Grinnage can be lined up in a lot of different ways with their versatile skill sets, and more or less can make up for NC State not having a ton of wide receivers.
"Jaylen can play so many positions. He can play tailback if we put him back there. Matt Dayes is a versatile guy. We know what we have in some of those guys, trying to do some things with other guys. When we throw the ball out to (Thornton) in the flat, he gets 15 yards. You kind of know what you have," Doeren said.
Freshman early enrollee Reggie Gallaspy II finished with 131 yards on 21 carries. Add him in with incoming freshman tailback Nyheim Hines, one of the top players in the state, plus Thornton and Dayes and even Samuels, and that's a versatile backfield that can do a lot of different things.
NC State knows it's going to have to deal with some increased expectations this season. But the hard-working Wolfpack are ready to meet the challenge.
"We've got different pieces everywhere and we're still trying to find players to put in the best position possible. Just go out there and be the best you can be and execute the plan and stay the course," Brissett said. "It's going to be a long season and a long summer of training. Now, we've just got to come out with the right attitude."
