Christmas comes in August for head coach Dave Doeren because that is when his NC State football squad can start practicing.
Preseason camp began Friday morning for the 2019 edition of the Wolfpack as it begins work towards an Aug. 31 noon opener against East Carolina.
“We didn’t sign up as coaches to sit behind a desk,” Doeren said. “This is a good day — to be back on the grass.”
While Doeren surveyed the practice fields, he doesn’t see a lot of older players, specifically seniors. There’s only 11 on the roster, but he does see talent and potential.
“It is a youthful roster filled with really good football players in those freshman and sophomore classes, and … like I told them [Thursday night] we need some 18 year olds to play like they are 20 this year. We’ll see where it goes,” said Doeren, adding that true freshman running back Jordan Houston was a standout in the opening practice.
Naturally the attention will be focused on the quarterbacks for most of the next four weeks. Redshirt sophomores Matt McKay and Bailey Hockman, the latter a transfer from Florida State, and redshirt freshman Devin Leary are competing for the starting quarterback job.
Doeren, unsurprisingly, is nowhere close to naming a starter, but he insisted that he would not “hide it” from the media and fans.
“When I know, I’ll tell you I know,” he noted.
Doeren did say that Hockman has shown he has learned more of the offense since spring. Hockman arrived in Raleigh in January.
“Matt’s comfortable, he [was] comfortable last year,” Doeren said. “Bailey looks like he’s making strides since the spring. Devin is the same where he was. We got lots of reps we got to get.
“Today was day one install against vanilla defense, so there’s a long way to go.”
Defensively, Doeren is hoping that a pair of fifth-year seniors on the defensive line in end James Smith-Williams and tackle Larrell Muchison could be the next to find themselves on the NFL Draft stage like the four Pack defensive linemen did in the 2018 draft.
“Larrell and James have put themselves in places if they have productive seasons to be just like those guys to have opportunities to play,” Doeren said. “They are going to test well: they can run, they’re strong. It’s about putting together a body of work now that helps them down the road, and there are some good young guys.
“I think Xavier Lyas, him and Joseph Boletepeli I say are our two most improved guys on the defensive end, so excited for them.”
Lyas is a redshirt sophomore and Boletepeli a redshirt freshman.
On the other side of the line, NC State has to replace first-round draft choice and consensus All-American Garrett Bradbury at center. Redshirt junior Joe Sculthorpe got the first crack it Friday, but that’s a fluid situation Doeren stressed. Redshirt sophomore Grant Gibson could also be in the mix at center, in which case Sculthorpe would slide over to guard.
Fifth-year seniors Emanuel McGirt Jr. and Tyrone Riley are also in a battle to start at left tackle.
“That’s not set,” Doeren said. “We’re going to see who our best five are, whether it is Joe at center or Joe at guard and Grant at center, that’ll play itself out, and Tyrone and McGirt. … Joe is an experienced guy. He looked up to Garrett. I know if he ends up being our center, he’ll take a lot of pride in that role, as will Grant if it’s him.”
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