Tuesday marked the first day of fall practices for NC State Wolfpack football in one of the most uncertain times in college athletics history. The COVID-19 pandemic casts a gloomy shadow over what is typically one of the brightest days in football: the opening of preseason camp when optimism is at its peak.

No question looms larger than the basic one: is there even going to be a football season to prepare for? However, in strictly football-related issues, there are some that eighth-year NC State head coach Dave Doeren faces.

Here are five notable ones:

Before you can begin to dissect and break down a roster, you need to know who is on the roster. The reality of players opting out this season is real. Virginia Tech (cornerback Caleb Farley) and Minnesota (receiver Rashod Bateman) have already lost two likely high NFL Draft picks after both decided they would skip this season and focus instead on training straight up to the draft.

Others are likely to have health-related issues. Washington State receiver Kassidy Woods made headlines with how his opt out was handled, but perhaps lost in the back-and-forth with Washington State administrators was Woods revealing he is not going to play because he has sickle cell trait.

For a reminder, here is a rundown of just some of the significant injuries that cost players a significant portion of last season:

• Wide receiver C.J. Riley, the best athlete in the 2019 receiving corps, did not make it through the opener before he tore his ACL.

• Top returning rusher Ricky Person Jr. missed five-plus games.

• Projected starting left tackle Tyrone Riley missed the season, and the returning starter at right tackle, Justin Witt, missed the final seven contests.

• Starting tight end Dylan Autenrieth was lost for the season during week three. Top reserve Dylan Parham was injured for the final five weeks of the year.

• The leader of the defense and seventh-round NFL Draft pick James Smith-Williams, a defensive end, missed five games and left prematurely in two more with various injuries.

• Linebacker Louis Acceus, who would have likely been the leading tackler on the team, missed the final four games.

• By the end of the season, arguably four of the top five corners on the preseason roster were on the sidelines and injured, including starters Chris Ingram (missed six games) and Nick McCloud (10 games) and the top option for replacing them in Teshaun Smith (six games). Top reserve Taiyon Palmer would have moved into a starting role had he too not been hurt during week five.

Of that entire group, McCloud and Smith-Williams are now gone, but the rest remain on the roster. How ready will they be?

Last season’s problems can partly be boiled down to two issues: the injuries and the quarterback struggles.

Three different signal-callers took turns starting for NC State. The only one to win a game against a Power Five opponent was Bailey Hockman, and that was a 16-10 defensive struggle that the Pack won over Syracuse. Hockman is back, but it is redshirt sophomore Devin Leary, a former four-star signing and Elite 11 quarterback prospect, who is the heavy favorite to be the starter.

How much Leary progresses and potentially stabilizes the quarterback position under new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tim Beck will be a significant determining factor in how the theoretical year will play out.

Speaking of Beck, he admitted in an interview with The Wolfpacker in June that the team was able to get in “quite a bit” of the base offense in the five spring practices it did hold, but it was not able to get into the situational aspects of the attack.

Beck is charged with rebuilding the NC State offense after it finished 11th out of 14 ACC teams last season in total yards and 12th in scoring.

The delay of the season until at least the week after Labor Day while also keeping in place the regular start time of practices offer Beck an opportunity to quickly play catchup in installing his offense, making up for the lost time in the spring. The same can be said for new defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Tony Gibson, although the changes on the defense may not be as big an overhaul.

Every preseason camp, someone tends to emerge as a breakout performer. NC State could use some this fall. The defensive line in particular may be poised for that. A quartet of highly rated signees in the 2019 class are well positioned to make a quick impact after three of them redshirted (C.J. Clark, Terrell Dawkins and Joshua Harris) and the fourth, Savion Jackson, played limited snaps as a reserve in eight games.

Perhaps it’ll be a freshman like early enrollee Porter Rooks, a four-star addition who might be able to add some playmaking skills to the receiver corps.

Maybe it’ll be a sleeper in the class, like another early enrollee in defensive back Devan Boykin, who earned strong reviews in the limited spring practices that were had.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook