NC State is opening fall camp Wednesday and the Wolfpack enter the season picked fourth in the ACC.
The Wolfpack return plenty of experienced players and former starters, but will have some fine-tuning to do this month.
Here is a look at five fall camp battles to watch:
1. NC State doesn’t have many major positional battles, but a pecking order needs to be developed at wide receiver.
The Wolfpack brought in 28-year-old Rice graduate transfer Bradley Rozner, and he’ll need to be the No. 1 receiver. He caught 44 passes for 876 yards and 10 touchdowns last year.
Senior Keyon Lesane figures to be in the mix and is the top returning receiver with 31 receptions for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Then it gets murky.
Freshman Kevin Concepcion, sophomore Terrell Timmons, Clemson transfer Dacori Collins and redshirt sophomore Julian Gray will all be battling to get reps.
2. NC State has a nice problem to have at the two safety spots and nickel — too many solid candidates.
Whether NCSU has any all-conference type of players remains to be seen, but junior Devan Boykin can play free safety and nickel, senior Jakeen Harris can play both safety spots and Old Dominion graduate transfer Robert Kennedy has experience at nickel.
Redshirt sophomore Sean Brown and junior college transfer Bishop Fitzgerald both could be starters at safety in due time. It could take a few games to sort it out, but the Wolfpack are in a position of strength in the secondary.
3. It isn’t often the backup nose tackle spot is a key issue, but NC State will be going with three young class of 2022 signees to help fill the void.
Starting nose tackle C.J. Clark was able to stay healthy at defensive end last year, but had a serious injury in 2021. That is why sophomore Brandon Cleveland, also moved from defensive end, and redshirt freshmen Davin Jackson and Nick Campbell will need to grow up fast and supply depth. NC State usually plays 6-7 defensive linemen a game.
4. NC State has some options at backup cornerback, but it remains to be seen how they’ll fair if thrown into the fire at some point.
Senior Teshaun Smith brings experience and great length at 6-3, and has overcome his past injuries. Freshman Brandon Cisse and redshirt sophomore Terrente Hinton both arrived for spring practice and showed they belonged. Hinton is a unique quarterback with terrific size, but the jump from junior college to the ACC is never easy.
The backup cornerbacks will also be expected to be key contributors on special teams.
5. When NC State landed Western Kentucky graduate transfer Brayden Narveson to be the kicker, it seemed like a wrap at the time.
NC State coach Dave Doeren made it clear during the spring that the kicking battle between Narveson and redshirt junior Collin Smith would continue into fall camp.
Narveson has made 53 of 68 field goals and all 158 extra points. He has gone 3-of-8 on field goals of 50-plus yards with a long of 53.
Smith made a 40-yard field goal last year and handled the kickoff duties. He’s expected to kickoff again this fall.
It would still be surprising if Narveson isn’t the kicker against Connecticut, but the special teams coaches will be tracking the field goals all camp.
Positional previews
Quarterbacks | Running backs | Wide receivers | Tight ends | Offensive line
Defensive line | Linebackers | Cornerbacks | Safeties/nickel | Special teams
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