NC State football kicked off its 2021 fall camp Wednesday with a morning practice session that was open to the media.

The Wolfpack had strong energy as it took the practice field to begin the new season, and the workouts provided a first glance at what the depth chart looks like less than a month away from the opener against South Florida on Sept. 2.

For some players, Wednesday marked the first return to practice in quite some time. Senior corner Chris Ingram and junior corner Teshaun Smith were two notables back on the field after extended absences. Ingram sat out last season to recover from a knee injury, and Smith has been very limited over the past two seasons due to multiple injuries.

“It was really fun to see some of the players that have been out for a while,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “Chris Ingram and Teshaun Smith, those two guys have been out for a long time. Having them back on the grass was really a heartfelt thing. I'm happy for them, you know. I can't really give you too much without watching the tape and not having pads on, but there's good energy, there's a lot of carryover and it's exciting to be back into the season.”

Over the next four weeks between now and the season opener, the competition will be strong for playing time this fall.

Fall camp typically brings out competition for roles in the two-deep of the depth chart, but that’s even more amplified this year with an enlarged roster size due to the NCAA’s free year of eligibility that was granted to fall athletes last season.

“For most of us that have super seniors, you're gonna have guys that might have played,” Doeren said. “Not even just freshmen, but also sophomores are in that same situation. A good example is us with Emeka Emezie and CJ Riley, we didn't expect to have those two guys for another year. Now the receiver room is a little heavy because of that.

“We have some really talented guys fighting to get on the field that may not, and that's okay. If they got to redshirt, play in four games and learn from some veteran players, that's not a bad thing for us to have that situation.”

“Sometimes younger guys think they know everything,” Doeren continued in a later response. “Then they have regret for not taking advantage of a learning moment like that. It's definitely something we're hopeful that they get a lot out of while they're standing and watching which is hard. I mean these guys are all used to playing every snap in high school, so if they're not getting those reps, hopefully, they're getting them mentally.”

High expectations entering the season also contribute to the competitive feeling around the practice facilities.

NC State is coming off of an 8-4 season that included a program-record seven ACC wins. The Wolfpack has now won at least eight games in three of the last four seasons, but the team believes it has the depth this year to take the next step.

“These guys have really high goals for this football team, so it's easy to hold on to little things,” Doeren said. “This isn't last year's team, obviously, every year is new, but you can learn from things that happened. We won five one-possession games and lost two. So in those one-possession games, there are details and little things that you can hold them accountable for because they add up.

“It's a hungry team and it's competitive. There are some guys trying to get on the field versus other guys that are also really good, and they can't have a down day and keep their job.”

While competition battles exist up-and-down the depth chart for roles in the two-deep, Doeren has his eye on three different position battles for starting jobs this fall.

“The corner spot with Chris and Teshaun coming back with Shyheim Battle and Aydan White, there's a lot of competition there in that room,” Doeren said. “I’m definitely staring at that one. There's competition for the right tackle job, watching that and the guard position. On our D-line, we rotate, but who's going to be out there first? There are some good players in that room right now, and they're all in a battle for time. Those are the three positions that stick out.”

Redshirt junior Bryson Speas was at right tackle and redshirt sophomore Derrick Eason was at right guard with the first-team offensive line unit Wednesday. The first-team defensive line unit featured redshirt freshman CJ Clark at nose tackle with fifth-year senior Daniel Joseph and sophomore Savion Jackson at the ends.

Of course, everything is subject to change between now and Sept. 2.

——

• 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