NC State football post-mortem: ‘Run it back’ Pack to make some real noise in 2022

As the 2021-22 college football season comes to a close, it’s time to look back on the No. 20 NC State football team’s 9-3 (6-2 ACC) campaign. The Wolfpack made a splash in 2020, and the 2021-22 squad proved that was no fluke.

Nothing is ever easy or by-the-book for NC State. Though it looked impressive early to start the year, losing to Mississippi State in the uncompetitive fashion it did shellshocked the team and its fans. It also began a storyline which would dominate the season, as at different points redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson, graduate safety Cyrus Fagan, redshirt freshman defensive tackle C.J. Clark, graduate left guard Chandler Zavala, redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore and sophomore defensive end Savion Jackson suffered season-ending injuries.

Despite this, the team ripped off four straight wins after losing to the Bulldogs, including a 27-21 overtime upset over the Clemson Tigers which was a long time coming. Easily the biggest win of head coach Dave Doeren’s tenure, the victory silenced a narrative that the ninth-year head man couldn’t win the big game. Then, in its last regular season game, Doeren finally got one over on Mack Brown via a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback led by senior receiver Emeka Emezie, who scored two straight touchdowns to shock the Tar Heels in the waning moments of an instant classic.

While losses to Miami and No. 15 Wake Forest derailed its ACC Championship hopes, the team showed a ton of heart throughout the year. 

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary took a huge step forward, leading the offense with 3,433 passing yards and 37 total touchdowns on a nearly 66% completion percentage. Though the running game struggled mightily as the season went on, Leary was exactly what the offense needed him to be, which is a testament to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck’s ability.

On the defensive side, the team showed off its depth time and time again, with graduate defensive tackle Cory Durden and sophomore linebacker Drake Thomas especially putting up incredible performances despite injuries among their position groups. Along with junior safety Tanner Ingle, they led a top tier defense, and each of them was rewarded with first team All-ACC honors.

If any individual assistant proved their worth this year, it was defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson. The Broyles Award contender’s defense ranked No. 14 nationally in scoring defense, No. 5 in third-down defense and No. 14 in interceptions as the second-best unit in the ACC. His position group was the heart and soul of the defense, as Wilson, Moore and Thomas established themselves as a top linebacking corps — each of them capable of competing for the mantle of top ACC defensive player.

The best player on the team, though, played in the trenches. Sophomore tackle Ikem Ekwonu was a force on the left side of the line, and the Outland trophy winner and consensus All-American will find himself handsomely paid come the 2022 NFL draft. Despite his presence, though, the offensive line as a whole had a down year.

NC State’s rushing offense ranked second to last in the ACC, 99th in the country, and that’s with two of the best backs in the conference in sophomore Zonovan Knight and junior Ricky Person Jr. Both of them are headed to the NFL draft, which is a definite cause of concern.

The Wolfpack does not lose too many starters, all things considered, but the losses are piling up in certain areas. The 2022-23 running back room, led by sophomore Jordan Houston and freshman Demie Sumo, will have a lot to prove, as will the offensive line, which loses Ekwonu and Zavala, whose medical waiver was denied by the NCAA. The left side of the line was its strong point, and now redshirt junior center Grant Gibson is the lone standout remaining.

At wide receiver, senior Emeka Emezie is the lone departure. Behind him, sophomore Keyon Lesane showed decent playmaking ability during the season, and position coach Joker Phillips’ Maryland transfer Darryl Jones may also compete for the job. Whoever takes over has huge shoes to fill. 

On special teams, losing punter Trenton Gill to the NFL is also a heavy loss, but one the coaching staff must’ve seen coming. With the top punter in the ACC gone, Towson’s Sean McDonough transferred to Raleigh. McDonough averaged just over 41 yards per punt, a mark that would’ve been middle of the pack in the ACC, but special teams coach Todd Goebbel will likely get the best out of him. 

Nearly everyone else is coming back, though. “Run it back” has become the mantra for this team, even without the UCLA fiasco which ended the 2021 season. The defense is stacked across the board, while the special teams unit looks to reload at punter and the offense is more of a work in progress. If O-line coach John Garrison can score a transfer lineman or two to shore up his unit, and if Sumo lives up to the hype the coaches have for him, next year’s squad could be special.

NC State will begin the 2022-23 season as a clear contender for the ACC title, and its schedule is much more manageable than even this year’s. Texas Tech will provide a nonconference test for the Wolfpack, but the Red Raiders will do so in Raleigh. The team travels to Clemson, but it does so as the first game in ACC of the year — the best time to play the Tigers, who will still be led by D.J. Uiagalelei, and who will be without Brent Venables. It draws a rebuilding Virginia Tech as its other Coastal foe, and it gets Wake Forest at home. UNC went 6-7 with its best quarterback in program history, and now he’s gone. The ACC is once again between the Wolfpack and Wake Forest, and the Demon Deacons just lost one of their best players to the portal.

Three losses should be the floor for this team, and should the offense shore up its deficiencies, that number could drop to one. Next year isn’t “the” year by any stretch, but it’s going to provide NC State its best chance yet to do something special.