NC State Football 2024 expectations, key players, and path to an ACC Championship

NC State family it's time for an honest look at your sports world let's get you hooked up for pack therapy presented by First Horizon Bank here are your hosts Tim Donnelly and Wolfpack football legend Mike lennin welcome back in pack fans wolf pack fans Tim Donnelly here alongside Mike Lennon it's time for another edition of pack therapy uh but first we're going to start this off a little bit different this is our uh there's one week or one weekend until the the actual game starts uh as we're recording this seven days we're recording this on Thursday next Thursday state gets started with their uh their game against Western Carolina uh if you have a question for Mike leave them in the comments of the YouTube video right so if there's a obviously anything about his time as a wolf pack Legend but more specifically something going on with this year's uh uh football team uh leave them in the comments of this YouTube video you can listen wherever you you listen wherever you find your podcast just if you want to possibly have your question answered by Mike go ahead go ahead and uh track us down on YouTube 999 the fan pack therapy it's its whole own playlist and we will uh we'll answer them next week a few of them depending on how many we get and how good the questions are uh next week before the season gets started so there's our our little uh intro there subscribe like pass this around to all your friends get ready for football in the right way uh Mike this this entire episode is about expectations uh if you want the the nitty-gritty on the roster we kind of handled that earlier in training camp prior episode uh today it's all about where expectation should be how much do we let our imagination run away with us because you know an offseason everybody has hype so um I guess we'll start with a fill in- the blank uh blank or bust right when when it comes to NC State what is the minimum level for a successful season for you to be jacked up about what Dave Dorne puts on the field I think nine wins nine nine yeah I would I mean I don't love the term bust I don't think there's ever a true failure but I think this team is fully capable of nine wins uh 10 wins is what has been the like nine would be the glass ceiling that Dave Doran is has hit during his time uh at State I think a lot of fans would be one win more than you on and again bust just using it as a phrase not saying like you know Heads Will Roll if I would say nine wins is what I would expect 10 wins like sign me up right now if I could sign a contract that says NC State will get 10 wins this year in the regular season I will sign that contract right now how much because the the what goes into that is a lot right it's the talent on the team it's the roster it's the the schedule and a lot of the experts when you talk about NC State when I say experts I didn't mean to say it with like all of the stank in the world on it but uh right the the national Media or the the ACC media when when they talk about NC State they talk about the schedule is favorable right you have that that NC or the Tennessee game right near the beginning and Clemson other than that you you kind of Dodge the big bad bullies that that some of the other teams in the in the ACC have to face uh again with all the talent set up like this it feels like this is the year to shatter some of those glass ceilings that Dave doran's been running into yeah it's it really has been hard the past decade plus when they came out with the coastal and Atlantic division and it just felt like we kind of ended up on the short end of the stick you know when they created these divisions it was kind of when Virginia Tech was rolling it was when Miami was rolling and then as Florida State got back to who they were under Jimbo Fisher and James Winston and Lamar Jackson and then Clemson got on this run with Davos Sweeney we definitely ended up in in the wrong division but that's gone and and Point Blank that excuse is gone we we don't have to have that anymore and when you look at this schedule you know week one WatchON Carolina is really just a preseason game to get ready for the for Tennessee and then Clemson two weeks later and then after that I mean there's it's a favorable schedule for n State that's why 10 wins is definitely realistic I just wouldn't label as a bust if they don't hit that 10 10 win mark let's talk um ceilings and Floors right cuz cuz I you know obviously the the wide array of options can go from you know zero and 12 to 12-0 but realistically that's not how it is right the the cliche in Major League Baseball is everybody's going to win 60 games everybody's going to lose 60 games it's about what you do with that middle 60 that decides whether you're the best team in the league or the worst team in the league uh when you look at NC State's schedule I I think it's probably like in in our wild and craziest dreams could you go 12-0 yes I think we'll we'll know if that's a real possibility after the first month but you know I I have a really hard team time seeing this team winning you know seven is kind of the floor like is is that appropriate to look at at the floor as seven wins and you know almost you have to be above that to even get us like juices flowing at all 100% that's what I would say it' be you know if seven wins with this team with this schedule with the the honestly the culture that Dorne has created here I I I think seven wins is kind of a a given I would to say unacceptable but they're getting to the point now where that is not the standard y you look at teams like Ohio State and they're mad if they lose one game a year NC State fans the the the program itself they should be upset if all we're playing for now is just to go to a bowl game and and then 8 9 10 11 right it becomes a um a race towards the the ACC Championship uh you know I know for some reason that is the threshold that most coaches are okay talking about preseason right like don't talk about you know the national championship will happen if it happens we got to take things one day at a time but then they they turn around and go no every year we are trying to win a conference Championship which is also it's the same idea right should should go one game at a time um but Conference Championship this year wide open um how much of of this year's team and you look at all the transfers coming in you look so they don't you know have necessarily the NC State history that that some of the the returners do uh but the transfers with all of the the the returning guys Aiden white D van Etc um you know without using the the blank or bust format ACC Championship is is it uh like ACC Championship or mildly disappointed like like how much expectation is there that you win the the conference I I think there's a realistic expectation because you you know even going to Clemson week four in Death Valley if that doesn't go well there's still a realistic shot at it I don't I don't see Clemson I don't see Florida State as teams that are automatically gonna gonna win all their conference games or even just lose one I think Clemson's beatable where they could lose two games I think Florida state is beatable with DJ Ang that they could to lose two games so NCA could still get in with losing you know one one game and and if they start losing two including Clemson that becomes way more difficult but on the flip side if we beat Clemson we got a little bit more room to probably wiggle with because I imagine that would be the tiebreaker uh the the first month is wildly telling or first four games wildly telling for NC State with you mentioned Western Carolina we'll call that the the tuneup I actually like by the way that the uh Dukes Mayo classic the kickoff gives both teams a week cuz Tennessee is playing Chattanooga first and then uh States playing Western Carolina and then they still call it like the kickoff classic because it's it's you know I I don't want either team to lose because they get like a delay game penalty in the first first quarter because you know the signals weren't weren't ironed out appropriately so get your first game Jitters out of the way then that Tennessee game is huge Clemson which is their fourth game is huge uh like we're doing expectations here leading into preseason week one I almost want to revisit all of this after week four because either gasoline's going to be poured on the fire right you beat Tennessee you beat Clemson you're 4-0 12-0 becomes a possibility ACC championship becomes a possibility and you start putting your eyes on as as an outsider college football playoff you go one in one maybe you're you're you know right where we are now same expectations go 0 and2 in those two games I think we got to reevaluate and see where they looking but at the same time even at 0 and2 against those two teams it' be two and two overall if they're two and two headed into playing uh Northern Illinois they should be the favorite in in those remaining eight and then you're just watching closer to see what happens around the ACC more where you're not necessarily controlling your own destiny but I I still think at a a two and two start the season is far from over um and with with the way the ACC Championship is now set up and the way colge football playoff is expanded you just never know but at that point yeah I think 10-2 is going to be the minimum Mark to have a shot at the uh college football playoff without getting an ACC Championship here's here's the the tough part for me I think everything you've said is accurate as far as realistic expectations and uh you know what this roster could be set up to do the hard part for me is um and we don't know numbers but the collective spent a whole bunch of money this offseason right it feels like Allin right it feels like Hey we're going to go spend what we need to do to get one of the best transfer quarterbacks spend what we need to do to get one of the best transfer running backs spend what we need to do to get maybe the best transfer wide receiver Noah Rogers and other uh maybe the best tight end and Justin Jolie one of the best offensive linemen and Zeke Carell few guys on the defense um obviously the collectives and I don't agree with this and college football being the way it should but you basically just have to go ask Rich fans for money right and and you do cool events and you provide access to the players and you know there's there's other things but a lot of it is just hey if you want to see NC State win you got to give money to the collective and we can then turn that into quality players a college football playoff appearance I think it's very easy to go back to the the rich fans uh we used to call them boosters but now I guess they're just Rich fans uh and say Hey you gave us x amount of dollars last year look at how much success we had that we've never had before now give us two times that two times the success on the flip side a nine- win season you've got nine win Seasons kind of loaded up over the past however many years without those those big expenditures you know the the rich fans didn't become rich fans for nothing right they're good business people and if they spend money and don't see the return they're probably not going to spend that money so this year I don't know if it's an ACC Championship Game appearance I don't know if it's college football playoff appearance I don't know if it's Casey in seion winning the bitnik off like something I think flashy almost has to happen that everybody can point to and say this is what your money bought spend it again next off season I feel like that's what gained a lot of steam at the end of last year you know they turned that season around in the second half of the Season KC was hot they beat Carolina and the money starts coming in and you know Dave Dave makes a comment about us not being a basketball school and everyone's loving Dave and then next thing you know basketball goes on to win they Championship goes on the the final four and these fans now have a taste men's and women's all the way to the final and the B baseball goes to Omaha I mean this fan base has a a taste of winning in their mouth and they want more of it to that point you know football's got to do their part the other you know main sports at NC State did it this past year so now it's kind of on the football program to uh to be the one to deliver as well so I think you you know you bring up a great point that you do want to give these these um boost is a reason to donate and I think just the landscape now with nil it's in the past it felt like there there was classes and there was like a build up like you know when I was here it felt like the offensive line was all my age and and O'Brien kind of wanted to build up to my senior year where now it's really just kind of a retool because you know last year they brought in Brennon Armstrong to be the guy now they just bringing Grayson Mcall and I know they're very high on CJ Bailey but there's always now the option you can go elsewhere to fill in your holes where in the past you were kind of stuck with with what you had um so it it's important that it feels like every year we're we're now kind of saying this feels like the year because you can do that where in the past it wasn't always the case that this was going to be the year it was like maybe this is going to be the year in a year or two from now but we're going to get to that point I remember talking with my high school basketball coach I was in college at the time came back and I bumped into him and and he looked at me and and I was like man what happened cuz you know whatever the the program did well for a while and then didn't and he was like I'm telling you wait till you see these guys I have in sixth grade and and and he had like you know four kids because he was a Middle School PE teacher he's like sixth grade and and I remember going like that's I mean their senior year is six years away you like that's ridiculous but that's how College used to be it used to be Casey concepion is a freshman uh you'd be like all right we get we're going to recruit off of him and and and we're going to build off of that and then four years from now just wait it's really not that way and even if you know bayy does end up turning out to be the quarterback of the future uh you know his senior year you'll you'll fill in whatever holes there are his junior year whatever holes there are with transfer offensive lineman or you got to get the defense up to speed there's always going to be something to spend on and it really does make every season almost you put up like a like a disconnect from from the other Seasons which is why you know we've we've been talking for 10 12 minutes now 14 minutes and uh we really haven't brought up they won their last five regular season games last year got to the Pop-Tart bu if we did this podcast 10 years ago 20 years ago half of our expectations would be set on how they were playing in the second half of last year it really doesn't even impact yeah it's just it feels like a new team every year now and in the past you'd hear new coaches comeing in and be like wait till I get my guys and it would be you know you have a three to four year window to kind of get going and now it's every year you can go out in the portal and get your guys so it's just um it's a different ball game you're really playing year to year and you're not thinking as much into the future because one you know you got to focus on that current year and two even your good players could leave there's no saying that the that the young freshman on their team right now are going to be here next year when in the past it was kind of like you could feel pretty confident that who was a freshman was going to be a sophomore next year we're going to take a quick break here on pack therapy but when we come back we're diving into some of the players expectations who are the people that have these lofty expectations resting on their shoulders coming up next year on pack [Music] therapy back on pack therapy Tim Donnelly here with Mike Glennon uh oh as always and and and we're going to put these out pretty much uh every time you have a craving for more NC State News throughout the uh the football season uh um jumping into the the we did the team expectations before the break player expectations are a whole other Beast um first of all who are who do you see as kind of the the the Lynch pins right obviously right you need you need all 22 starters you need all 100 on on the the the roster to have success right we we can all think like a coach but who are maybe the the keystone species the the fulcrums that this whole season kind of Teeters on in your mind I got to start with a quarterback y um and I think it's honestly more about the quarterback than it is the receivers I think that like you would think the first name on mouth would be Casey concepion I don't think Casey is quite as important because they got other guys around them too so if Casey gets banged up for a game or two I don't think it's the end of the world where Grayson gets banged up you know I know they're high on CJ Bailey but I you know that that's a steeper drop off than it's going to be at at the receiver position so it starts and ends with a quarterback kind of a obvious statement but I think and then it goes to the guys up front and and Jordan Waters really I think can we get a run game going that we haven't had in the past and and take some of that pressure off of KC and the other playmakers that you know get gets them into third and manageable situations where then you can let KC win one-on-one um so on offensively I I think it starts with with the quarterback the offensive line in the Run game more than it does the receivers I I have a stat here in front me cuz I had a feeling we were going to talk about this uh so much of the you know running backs running game needs to get better and there's all of these stats along the way and I think a lot of it has been put on the running backs which is why so many so many people are excited about Jordan Waters and and Smothers behind him as incoming transfers um but starting with the offensive line I have uh States rank in in all of FBS in yards per designed Rush before contact so this is how many yards the running back usually right but a design Rush could obviously be a running back as well are getting before contact with the defense uh last year they were 95th in FBS the year before 117th the year before 97th the year before 113th year before 105th year before 119th and keep in mind there's only like 130 FBS teams so the the running backs despite the and by the way like you had a top 10 picket tackle during that time like you've had uh Chandler aala got like you've had four or five NFL draft uh offensive linemen mixed in there still the running backs are are not being given uh right we're judging them on like their yards per carry but they're being contacted almost as soon as they're touching the ball sometimes behind the line of scrimmage so the offensive line whether it's it's you know you have Belton who's another NFL guy at the left tackle Carell who's the the captain of the team named recently and an incoming transfer from Notre Dame whoever it is up there most likely all five guys are going to have to do a better job of letting the running backs get some easy yards and then you know if you pick up the hard yards after that it's just bonus yeah I think the thing that you also you know you have all these offensive linemen and there hasn't been a run game you also have a defensive mind at head coach and I've never been around a defensive minded head coach that doesn't want their offense to run the ball they want to you know control the line of scrimmage they want to run the ball effectively and not turn the ball over and I know Dave wants a good run game and it it's turned turned more into a a passing attack so uh hopefully this is finally year where they can get that run game going with the offens line and with Jordan Waters and and I'll throw this on there as well uh and this is if you're a superstitious person I am not but if you are uh grab your lucky rabbit's foot throw the salt over your shoulder knock on wood whatever you you have to do um the thing that not many people are talking about is Grayson McCall this past year missed a whole bunch of time with a concussion uh early in his career at Coastal Carolina Miss times with with concussions I believe the one last year even dealt with some time in a in a hospital stay um I want to keep that guy as protected as possible for all the reasons you said right the kind of the quarterback's the obvious and you know it's hard to be more important than the quarterback regardless of who the quarterback is but uh right having Belton protecting your Blind Side helps but I don't want him running the ball a ton I want him protected in the pocket and and I want his wide receivers getting open early which I'm confident in but that offensive line also has to make sure his jersey stays clean to make sure his availability is there cuz the concussion thing you don't want to mess with no and having him play all 12 games is going to be critical to the success of this team and to add to what Grayson brings and what should help the Run game is I think last year and the years's past the the defenses maybe haven't felt as threatened by the past game so they can load an extra player in the box where now I think you know when they go into their Scouting Report they're going to be circling KC and these receivers and they're going to want to play more cover two and uh shell defense where they're not going to have that extra hat in there where now that should help open up the Run game and you got a quarterback that you know they know that will kind of dissect you if you get two too many guys down in the box they're going to hit big plays down the field so I think having Grayson and his receivers will also help the Run game what are your expectations for the defense because uh you know we talked about this last pod my instinct is to go Tony Gibson will figure it out and just give him the utmost respect as a defensive coordinator pton Wilson's not easy to to uh replace shy battle uh is is not easy to replace opposite of Aiden white although some of the other Corners have gotten very glowing remarks out of training camp um what are your expectations for a unit that was one of the best Flatout in the country last year let alone the ACC yeah I am cautiously optimistic because of Tony Gibson but I also saw that Kansas State G the bowl game last year when they didn't have pton Wilson and it looks like a completely different defense so he's a huge void to fill I mean it's talk about an obvious statement and I think talk about key players to look for is Shawn Brown the new will linebacker that they mooved down from safety now Tony Gibson Dave Dorne they know defense they know who they needed to to fill that void and the fact that they thought well let's make a position change for this guy and bring him down I'm excited to see what what he does and they wouldn't have had a guy change positions if they weren't super confident with with how he could fill in for pton Wilson on the defense out like I think David Van has to get after the quarterback obviously Aiden white has to play great uh there's a lot of guys that that have to play well uh Shawn Brown is the one who the expectations rest on for me and it's like you said the position change I think part of that might have just been they needed someone with speed they needed someone that could get sideline to sideline and you might look at the linebacker and go well last year we had a linebacker with safety speed let's get a safety and make him a linebacker to keep that element of our defense there so Shawn Brown comes down uh kind of from the secondary down to the linebackers uh but I mentioned state name their captains recently uh Shawn Brown is one of them it's it's very predictable Davin van Grayson McCall uh then there's Zeke Carell which I was a little interested by and Shawn Brown and uh to me you're looking at Shawn Brown and and kind of going like all right we need you to to replace pton Wilson in his position and even you know I talked with uh Dave Dorne at ACC kickoff we talked about replacing pton Wilson and he went into the coach speak of you're not going to replace him with any one guy everyone's going to have to do a little bit better but then he went but obviously like his position on the field is going to be replaced by Shawn Brown so he he kind of played both sides of the fence he's going to be replacing pton Wilson he's a captain so you're almost expecting him to replace the leadership of pton Wilson uh remember one of my favorite moments of pton last year there's two actually one is the chase down against Notre Dame because it was just awesome the other is when the crowd was booing Brennan Armstrong and in that post game pton Wilson said hey I love you uh our fans are awesome but that needs to stop and that that just showed how important he was as a leader and how important he was as a player Shawn Brown's kind of stepping up into both of those and as you mentioned all while tackling a a position switch but what hon what my first thought was with finding out that he's a captain is that tells me that it must be going well like true if he wasn't playing well I don't think his teammates would have voted him a captain so um that that's very encouraging and and I think the secondary I ran into Tony Gibson I practiced the other week and he was talking about all the transfers that they had in the secondary and how he was very pleased with them so you know you mentioned shy battles gone they've loved Brandon Cay since the moment he stepped on campus to True sophomore but they're they're very high on all the transfers they got in um both the safety position and the nickel position so um those are that you know between Shawn Brown and then the transfers in the secondary that's who I'm going to be looking for the most Cay by the way espn.com like the national not a a beat reporter for for State I think it was 30 breakout players this year and and of course I know I immediately scroll through for ACC uh and and Cay from from state was one of them and it was because of the positive uh like rumors and Rumblings out of camp and and also right opposite Aiden white there's and then then that uh that that coaching staff and everything so there's a lot going in there he's you know expected to kind of pop this year which is like you mentioned something they've they've been expecting uh for a little bit uh I want to go back to to um the defensive line just a hint uh because last year right we're looking at very good defense the I want to say the the headliners were in the second level either at the secondary linebackers but that the you know Tony Gibson system is kind of strenuous on on the the defensive line as well Davin van obviously brings back a l a lot of accomplishment and and potential but uh you know I've referenced this a lot it's almost become tongue and cheek the ACCC has branded themselves as the the conference of quarterbacks uh because all of these transfers are coming in and they're so accomplished and right you add two starters in the NFL that now to the the ACC alumni and Aaron Rogers and Jared G now that you're bringing in Cal uh like how how much can this defensive line maybe without the occasional blitzing pton Wilson get after these guys and make this conference of quarterbacks uncomfortable well that's what you know they have high expectations for Davin B that's why he's you know he wears that number one because he's earned it and he is going to have to make some plays now I also think there's a lot of this defensive line is also built on doing your job and letting the linebackers and secondary play downhill so they don't need to you know try to make up for for pton Wilson being gone the scheme is the scheme and they got to you know fill the Gap that they're supposed to be in and not get out of place and try to be the hero um so for me you want to see on on third Downs them getting after the quarterback but on first and second down it's a lot of it is just about you know boring Bill belich do your job and um let the other guys make the plays and and you're right somebody in the middle like uh like Cleveland big dude and and you know you've heard every expert say it right defensive tackles you don't see the value not everybody is aware of what's going on but they're you know anchoring two blocks and and that allows everyone else to make plays um but but you know price on the outside a few others I do think need to to get after the quarterback a little bit uh especially because you know obviously States dealing with a transfer quarterback there's so many other transfer quarterbacks in in the league uh if you can rattle them you know I was uh I talked with Gino tetta the the 92 Heisman Trophy winner from Miami uh the other day on on my afternoon show and he told the story of um uh Erikson was the quarterback who he was backing up and uh when they made the switch from from uh Jimmy to to obviously Dennis Ericson maybe maybe a father-son situation there uh Erikson was out on the field with the new offense and it was like a two-minute drill or something uh rumbling Stadium getting crazy and he audibled using last year Playbook audible to a play from last year because that's what his his autopilot went to uh then that immediately you know jumped to my mind Grayson McCall cam Ward DJ young lay maybe Max Johnson at UNC we don't know yet Malik Murphy at Duke uh and we could go on and on all of these transfers starting in the ACC if I'm a defensive player if I'm a defensive lineman I want to get them rattled right I I want them thinking uh last year's language right I want them think I want like if I'm playing against NC State I want Grayson McCall making a Coastal Carolina check uh and the same is true on the other side so so the defensive line I do think while doing their job and and obviously you know Tony Gibson and Dave Doran would always say you know do your job above everything I'd want a little bit more knowing that these guys are a little vulnerable in that way yeah and on the same page but a little bit different that's I was actually thinking about Grayson McCall about how this year about him being kind of the focus is he's been a really good player but he's never stepped into Bank of America 70,000 people in an NFL stadium Tennessee fans he's used to you know I don't know what Coastal Stadium Field it's the ugly teal the spotlight is going to be a little bit bigger and you know there's going to be added pressure from the fans unfortunately we saw how they kind of handled brandan Armstrong at times last year like this is a this is another Beast there's there's definitely a difference playing at Coastal Carolina to what there is now and and same goes for other guys around the league you know you go from Washington Washington State's a bigger program but cam war going from Washington State to the U I mean the U is the U and they're going to be on on TV every week and the whole South Miami Vibe or South Florida Vibe down in Miami um so that is one another what I want to see from Grayson is kind of how does he handle being in the spotlight a little more than he was in the past what I will say is Coastal didn't didn't play in no big games right uh I I remember I think it was the co year they which by the way I think this should happen you know this is me just getting into like college football Theory at the end of the year both they and BYU had an open date may have even been Zack Wilson at BYU uh and they you know two teams canceled due to covid or whatever and they just played at the end and they were two top 25 group of five teams and it was one of the bigger games of the year like he's been in certain moments but I think it's the every week thing that is going to be new for him because you know you're not going to be able to mix in a uh you know Texas San Antonio or whoever was on their their roster it's going to be ACC ACC over and over and over and over again uh which could change expectations uh speaking of if you have any questions about the expectations for Mike or me uh for the Pod to answer uh leave those questions on our YouTube page in the comments we'll search for them before our episode next week and we will uh we'll answer some of them assuming that you guys have some good questions which I know you will uh with that subscribe everywhere you listen to your podcast tell your friends about pack therapy we're looking forward to a good season another episode next week we'll see you