With the bye upon us, The Wolfpacker will use this week to re-examine the first five games of the year, during which NC State went 4-1, rose into the top 25 of the polls and won its conference opener over then-No. 9 Clemson at home.

We start with our superlatives on the offensive side of the football.

There are several worthy candidates to choose from — among the more notables sophomore running back Zonovan Knight is on pace for over 1,000 rushing yards this year and redshirt sophomore quarterback Devin Leary has completed over two-third of his pass attempts for 1,283 yards and 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions.

Our choice however goes to an offensive lineman, typically one of the least visible positions on offense. However, it is hard not to notice the work of sophomore left tackle ikem Ekwonu, especially as more and more NFL Draft gurus have been breaking down his tape and singing his praises on Twitter.

Pro Football Focus (PFF) has given Ekwonu a grade of 93.7 on offense this year. Among Football Bowl Subdivision (FSB) players with at least 100 snaps, no offensive lineman has graded higher nationally. Ekwonu similarly has the best run blocking grade of 94.0.

His pass protection score of 84.3 ranks just outside the top 25 at tied for 27th. According to PFF, in 203 passing plays, Ekwonu has not allowed a sack or a hit on the quarterback, and he’s given up just three hurries and three pass rushes.

The last NC State player to win the Jacobs Blocking Trophy for the ACC’s Outstanding Blocker was Jim Ritcher in 1979. Ekwonu has a strong case for ending that drought with a similar second half of the year.

There are three players on the offense that have caught multiple touchdowns through five games. The first two are among the usual suspects — redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas and redshirt sophomore wideout Devin Carter.

However, raise your hand if you redshirt freshman tight end Christopher Toudle, a converted receiver, being the third.

While much of the preseason talk was centered around the intrigue of redshirt junior and former running back Trent Pennix's move to H-back, it was the switch of Toudle to the position that has surprised.

Toudle has seven receptions for 63 yards and two scores in five games, catching a pass in all but the Mississippi State loss thus far.

There were high expectations for fifth-year senior guard Chandler Zavala when he arrived from Fairmont State, where the grad transfer was once an honorable mention Division II All-American and talked about as a small-school NFL Draft candidate.

But he still had to prove he could make the transition.

Thus far, among players on the Wolfpack roster that have played in all five games, Zavala has the fifth highest overall grade on offense according to PFF at 70.8. He has really stood out in PFF’s eyes in pass protection, where only Ekwonu has a higher score for the Pack than Zavala’s 79.6.

For this category, we restricted it to players who would have been either a true freshman or redshirt freshman under normal circumstances in 2021. The NCAA froze eligibility in 2020, so some freshmen or redshirt freshman on the roster would normally be sophomores or redshirt sophomore.

That dramatically reduces the field of candidates, and truthfully the only choice could really be receiver Julian Gray, who has played in three games thus far and has three catches for 18 yards.

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