More speed figures from Wolfpack football

NC State strength and conditioning coordinator Dantonio "Thunder" Burnette last week released the fastest 10 velocities measured by Catapult GPS Tracking System on the team.

But there were 19 additional players who all clocked faster than 20 miles per hour. Here is a breakdown by position, with quarterbacks and linemen not represented among the speedsters.

It turns out that a running back just missed the 10 fastest, but it may have surprised some which one.

Although sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight gets credit for his explosive, big-play capabilities, it was junior Ricky Person Jr. that had the 11th-best MPH over the summer at 21.4. Knight was not far behind, registering 21.2 MPH himself.

Redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix, who is being cross-trained at H-back, and sophomore Jordan Houston, who may see time at receiver this fall, also were over 20 MPH. Pennix was at 20.6 and Houston was 20.2

Unsurprisingly, there were quite a few receivers to make the group of 19 other players over 20 MPH but not in the top 10 overall, topped by redshirt junior Thayer Thomas at 21.3.

Thomas is expected to be joined in the starting unit by two more from the group in senior Emeka Emezie (20.1) and redshirt sophomore Devin Carter (21.0). In high school, Carter was hand-timed at 4.495 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a Shrine Bowl combine.

Five more wide receivers made the cut: freshman Chris Scott Jr. (21.1), freshman Jalen Coit (20.8), sixth-year senior C.J. Riley (20.7), freshman Josh Crabtree (20.5) and freshman Porter Rooks (20.4).

NC State made a concentrated effort to add speed to its receiving corps, notably in the 2020 and 2021 classes, and it's paying off. Scott in particular was noted for his speed in high school and has the fastest 100 (10.79 seconds) and 200 (21.83 seconds) meter high school times of anyone on the roster.

Crabtree registered a good 40 time at NC State's summer camp prior to his senior year, stopping the watches at 4.59 seconds. Scott, Coit, Crabtree and Rooks were among the five receivers signed in 2020, along with Anthony Smith, who made the top 10 with his speed of 21.9 MPH.

Riley had at one point the fastest 40-yard dash time on the roster, and it appears he has regained much of that speed after his second ACL tear surgery sidelined him for almost all of 2019.

Pennix was not the only NC State player that could line up at tight end to make the list. Freshman Andrew Jayne was at 20.2 MPH. You may be asking, who is Jayne?

He played minor league baseball for the Baltimore Orioles after graduating from Terry Sanford High in Fayetteville, N.C., but he decided to give it up after two years and walked on at NC State. In high school, Jayne was a standout receiver who caught 55 passes for 1,145 yards and 13 scores as a senior.

Now Jayne is a 6-foot-6, 232-pound tight end running over 20 MPH.

Three linebackers were in the top 10, and then another made the 20 MPH club.

Redshirt junior Isaiah Moore was right at 20.0 MPH, helping give NC State one of the fastest linebacker units in the ACC, if not the country. Redshirt junior Payton Wilson tied for fastest player on the team at 22.3 MPH, and junior Vi Jones (21.6) and freshman Jordan Poole (21.5) cracked the top 10.

Senior Chris Ingram's return to the field after missing the final half of the 2019 season and then all of 2020 with a knee injury is a potential feel-good story this fall. If his time is any indication, he has regained the strength in his knee. He was clocked at 20.5 MPH.

Ingram is one of four corners overall at over 20-plus MPH, joining redshirt junior Derrek Pitts Jr. (21.9), freshman Nehki Meredith (22.3, tied with Wilson for fastest on team) and freshman Aydan White (21.7), who were all in the top 10. Overall, it looks to be one of the Pack's fastest cornerbacks room in years.

One of the reasons why NC State coaches are glad to see redshirt freshmen Jalen Frazier and Khalid Martin and sophomore Rakeim Ashford all healthy again is getting their speed on the field.

Ashford, who was lost for the season in week two last year, was the fastest of that group at 21.3 MPH. Frazier, who missed last year due to an ACL injury, was 21.2 MPH. Martin, who suffered a scary neck injury the same week as Ashford was lost for the year, is back and running 21.1 MPH.

Clocking at 20.0 MPH was freshman Devan Boykin, who was a standout multi-sport athlete in high school that was timed at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash at a Shrine Bowl combine.

Four safeties/nickels were in the top 10 — junior Tanner Ingle (21.5), junior Tyler Baker-Williams (21.6), senior Cyrus Fagan (21.7) and sophomore Jakeen Harris (21.8). Thus collectively when combined with the corners there is no denying what the fastest position group is on the team.

——

• 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