Intrigue swirls around Kay Yow Spring Game
2019 Kay Yow Spring Game
When/where: 1 p.m. Saturday at Carter-Finley Stadium
Weather: High of 74 degrees, low of 55 and cloudy.
Price: Free, but donations will be taken at all open gates for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund. The gates open at 12 p.m.
Roster: Available here
Three themes to watch — offense
1. All eyes will be on quarterbacks Matthew McKay, Bailey Hockman and Devin Leary, the three main contenders for the starting job.
McKay, a redshirt sophomore, is the lone NCSU quarterback to have played in a college game before — logging 39 snaps in six contests last year — but all three candidates have impressive prep credentials. McKay was young for his grade, and after redshirting and maturing, he’s a sturdy 6-4 and 210 pounds. The former three-star recruit brings a mobile dimension to the offense and has the most experience with the playbook.
Leary, a redshirt freshman, ran the scout team last year after entering college as a Rivals.com four-star prospect with glittering prep credentials from Sicklerville (N.J.) Timber Creek. The righty threw for 9,672 yards and 117 touchdowns in high school, both of which are New Jersey state records, and was rated as the nation's No. 240 overall prospect and No. 9 pro-style quarterback by Rivals.
Hockman, a left-handed redshirt sophomore, originally verbally committed to Georgia, but signed with Florida State and left the Seminoles program after redshirting in 2017. He threw for 203 yards and a touchdown in the 2018 FSU spring game, and was Rivals' No. 15 pro-style quarterback in the class of 2017.
2. The spring game can be hit or miss on rushing the football, and NC State will be trying out a new left tackle and center at times — and the preseason favorites to emerge at each position, fifth-year senior tackle Tyrone Riley and redshirt sophomore interior lineman Grant Gibson are both out for the game. It still will be fun to see if early enrollee freshman running back Zonovan Knight, who goes by the nickname “Bam,” can create some open-field magic.
The 6-0, 188-pounder has home-run speed and finished his senior year at Bailey (N.C.) Southern Nash with 2,054 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns. He averaged an astonishing 16.6 yards per carry. The Rivals four-star recruit's ability to find a seam and turn on the jets could get unleashed at any moment Saturday.
3. Breaking in a quarterback would have been much easier if junior wide receivers Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers came back. However, with the 1,000-yard receivers off to the NFL a year early, some new pass catchers have to fill the void. Junior wide receiver Emeka Emezie has been a textbook example of a player who could keep getting better year after year.
Emezie jumped from 13 catches for 163 yards and a touchdown during his freshman year to 53 catches for 616 yards and five scores last season. He could flirt with reaching 1,000 yards in 2019. Emezie has a chance to fill the role of Harmon, but he’ll need help from redshirt sophomore slot receiver Thayer Thomas and redshirt junior C.J. Riley.
Three themes to watch — defense
1. The Wolfpack broke in numerous new names on defense last year, but now have a veteran group that hopes to improve upon the 24.9 points allowed per game in 2018.
NCSU head coach Dave Doeren said linebacker, safety and nickel were three of the four deepest position groups on his team this spring. Safety has a returning starter in fifth-year senior Jarius Morehead, and fellow senior Tim Kidd-Glass is a former starter. NC State had sophomore Tanner Ingle and fifth-year senior Stephen Griffin split the nickel starts last year, and Ingle has now been moved to safety.
Morehead is the leader of the secondary and will finish his career a three-year starter. He was second on the team last year with 81 tackles, had a team-best three interceptions and broke up four more passes. The next step for Morehead is to become an All-ACC caliber player.
2. NC State needs a pass rusher (or two) on the edge, and while the spring game is not really an ideal setting to judge who will rack up the sacks next fall due to the quarterbacks not getting hit, it can still show who has a burst. Redshirt sophomore defensive ends Xavier Lyas and Ibrahim Kante could take center stage Saturday, along with redshirt freshman defensive end Joseph Boletepeli.
Kante played the most last year and earned one start, tallying 13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble. The rangy 6-4, 235-pound Lyas flashed an impressive burst in getting 2.5 sacks — two against Florida State — in his six games played.
3. NC State cornerbacks senior Nick McCloud and junior Chris Ingram both return as starters, but this could be the season where the Wolfpack could have four players that are good enough to start. Fans will get a chance to see that depth Saturday, with McCloud out.
Sophomore Teshaun Smith acquitted himself quite well in starting two games and playing on defense in the final eight contests, while redshirt freshman Taiyon Palmer underwent a season-ending surgery last year. However, neither Palmer or Smith will be playing Saturday.
Those absences could open the door for senior Kishawn Miller or redshirt freshman Malik Dunlap at cornerback. Freshman Shyheim Battle of Rocky Mount (N.C.) High could also get an extended look.
Three players to watch — offense
WR Devin Carter, redshirt freshman: Spring games are built for young players to showcase what they can do and Carter could be a perfect example Saturday. The 6-4, 209-pounder brings tremendous size to the position, and he’ll be in contention for a key role in the offense with key wideouts Harmon, Meyers and Stephen Louis gone.
Carter played in four games last year, catching one pass for 11 yards, but the Wolfpack wanted to make sure he preserved his redshirt season. Carter put up impressive numbers in high school at Clayton (N.C.) High. He caught 55 passes for 1,073 yards and 17 touchdowns his senior year, finishing as a Rivals.com three-star prospect and earning a spot in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
OT Emanuel McGirt, fifth-year senior: NC State tackles Justin Witt and Tyrone Riley are both going to miss Saturday's game, opening the door for McGirt to get a heavy workload. The former Rivals four-star and top-200 prospect has battled through injuries, but is hopefully finally healthy and in shape.
The 6-6, 300-pounder has mostly worked at left tackle, where he's expected to battle Riley for the starting gig. The former Durham (N.C.) Hillside product underwent knee surgery in 2016 and battled injuries in 2017. He has played 41 snaps in 10 games during his career at NCSU.
RB Trent Pennix, redshirt freshman: The 6-2, 225-pound Pennix was a local star at Raleigh Sanderson High. The Rivals three-star prospect will have the chance to become NCSU’s short-yardage pounder this season, with Reggie Gallaspy moving on. In addition to the graduation of Gallaspy, who ran for 1,091 yards and 18 scores last year, sophomore Ricky Person is out this spring with an injury, so it’s Pennix’s time to shine.
Pennix played in four games last year but was still able to take advantage of the new redshirt rules. He rushed 22 times for 68 yards and caught five passes for 74 yards and a score, including a 56-yard reception from Thomas on a trick play.
Three players to watch — defense/special teams
S Tanner Ingle, sophomore: The Orlando, Fla., native was thrown into the fire last year after Griffin was injured during fall camp. Ingle started the first seven games at nickel, and finished with 44 tackles, three tackles for loss, one sack, two forced fumbles and one pass broken up.
The 5-10, 186-pounder proved to be a big hitter, but teams picked on him in pass coverage. NC State elected to switch him to safety this spring, and fans will get to see how he has adjusted to his new position Saturday.
DT Alim McNeill, sophomore: The 6-2, 299-pound McNeill is being counted upon to be a star for the Wolfpack this fall. McNeill, who played at Raleigh Sanderson High with Pennix and was a Rivals250 prospect, was able to start against Wake Forest and appeared in all 13 contests last season.
He was credited with 24 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three passes broken up and one forced fumble, which occurred against East Carolina. The former Rivals four-star recruit played linebacker in high school, but flashed the long-range potential where he could be a future NFL Draft prospect up front. He is working this spring at the nose tackle spot.
P Mackenzie Morgan, redshirt sophomore: Spring games can be hit or miss when it comes to special teams action, but Morgan’s ability to boom the ball will be under a microscope. The 6-2, 215-pounder is 24 years old and from Perth, Australia. Punters from Australia have become all the rage in college football.
Morgan had previous knee injuries on each leg after playing Australian Rules Football and was planning to be a plumber at one point, but enrolled at Swinbourne University of Technology and had ProKick Australia tell the NC State coaches about him. He arrived in Raleigh in Aug. 2018, and redshirted last year.
Players who will not participate
Danny Blakeman, defensive tackle
Marquise Braxton, fullback
C.J. Clark, defensive tackle
Charles Fletcher, guard
Gabe Gonzalez, offensive tackle
Nick McCloud, cornerback
Larrell Murchison, defensive tackle
Taiyon Palmer, cornerback
Ricky Person, running back
Damontay Rhem, running back
Tyrone Riley, offensive tackle
Teshaun Smith, cornerback
Jalynn Strickland, offensive tackle
Payton Wilson, linebacker
Justin Witt, offensive tackle
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