The one rookie penciled in as a starter on the NC State football depth chart that was released Monday is redshirt freshman defensive end Joseph Boletepeli. It’s quite an accomplishment for the Raleigh native who a year ago was wondering what exactly this “process” was that everyone was talking about.

Boletepeli came to NC State as a fairly heralded pickup. He spent three years at Millbrook High before finishing at Heritage High in nearby Wake Forest, N.C., and along the way he picked up over a dozen Power Five offers. He made official visits to Maryland and Michigan State prior to picking the Wolfpack.

And like most newcomers, Boletepeli arrived at NC State fully intent on making an immediate contribution. Instead he redshirted, although he did take advantage of the new rule that allowed players to play up to four games without using a year of eligibility.

During that time, he said that he learned that the college level is far more complex than high school.

“You think you know everything coming in based off high school because you have so much success, and once you get to the next level it’s really detailed-oriented,” Boletepeli said. “It has kind of taken just now to get the grasp of that.”

Even leading up to the opening game against East Carolina Saturday, Boletepeli is still making strides. Defensive line coach Kevin Patrick noted that the youngster was one of the players called out for a strong practice on Wednesday.

“He did a phenomenal job,” Patrick noted. “He’s really putting his game together. … He’s been doing a tremendous job of growing every day. I am very proud of him.”

Boletepeli noted he has made a complete transformation both physically and mentally. He has put his faith in strength coach Dantonio “Thunder” Burnette, trusting Burnette’s staff to exclusively handle his workout regimen to the point where he will not do lifting on his own on the side.

“I can show you a picture from when I first came to last summer to now,” Boletepeli said. “When I saw my body picture I was like, ‘Wow, Thunder did me right.’”

Perhaps more importantly, though, is buying into that so-called process.

“Coming in I was kind of iffy about the process,” he admitted. “I didn’t know what the process meant. I felt the process was more towards the physical aspect of football, but now that I have learned about the process, it’s mental.”

That might explain why Boletepeli is not content with winning a starting job. He sees bigger things ahead.

“I want to make plays,” he said. “I want to contribute to the team. This is the first stepping stone.”

Redshirt junior Val Martin isn’t often thought of during the rundown of defensive linemen on the NC State football team.

Martin is hoping to change that after getting listed as the first-team nose tackle ahead of sophomore Alim McNeill. The move wasn’t too shocking because Martin also was the starter in the Kay Yow Spring Game April 6.

The Marietta, Ga., product has a lower profile than most players on the team because he first attended Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, Iowa, which is just outside of Omaha, Neb. He had six assists in 66 snaps over four games played last year in his debut season with the Wolfpack.

“I’m blessed because I came here and I had a slow start in adjusting from junior college to ACC and Division I football,” Martin said. “I was given an opportunity to work against some great players like [former NCSU center] Garrett Bradbury. I think it will prepare me for a great year we’ll have as a team [this season].”

The 6-2, 297-pound Martin playing in just four games wasn’t due to trying to redshirt him last year. He had already redshirted at Iowa Western in 2016 and came to NC State with three years of eligibility remaining. That amount of action wasn't ideal, but did give him a taste of what is to come.

“You get your feet wet,” Martin said. “You take that offseason and you know what you need to work on. Next year, you handle business.”

Most players who end up in junior college have a back story on how they ended up there, and Martin is no different. He attended Lithonia (Ga.) Martin Luther King High his freshman year, then Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler High his sophomore year before finishing his last two years at Marietta (Ga.) High. He had fallen behind academically along the way and thus needed to attend junior college.

Another interesting dynamic was he also didn’t play football until he made the move to Marietta. He was a shot put and discus standout in track and field and concentrated on that — eventually finishing in the top eight in the state in both events — and then he started playing football his junior year. To this day, he loves the thrill of a day-long track meet.

“The energy is all great, and I finished fifth in the discus and eighth in shot put [at state] my senior year,” Martin said.

A few colleges discovered Martin while he was at a junior college — Florida Atlantic was first to offer, and then Washington State, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky and Minnesota entered the picture — but NC State defensive line coach Kevin Patrick came on strong toward the latter half of his recruitment.

“I just liked the [NCSU] culture,” Martin said. “I loved the area and it’s more city-like. The Wolfpack speaks for itself — strong and steady.”

Learning from Patrick and then getting a nice blueprint on making the transition from junior college defensive tackle to the ACC from teammate Larrell Murchison, a former Louisburg (N.C.) College transfer, proved beneficial. Martin and Murchison were roommates last year, during which Murchison broke out as a full-time starter.

Martin has also been able to feed off Patrick’s energy, which has eased the transition as well.

“It’s just great working with him and have him coach me,” Martin said.

Patrick had one superstar junior college defensive end at South Florida, Jason Pierre-Paul, who went on to accumulate 71 sacks in nine NFL seasons (2010-18). Patrick pointed out that Pierre-Paul is the exception to the rule with JuCo transfers, and most need some time.

Patrick thinks both Martin and Murchison, who redshirted in 2017, have shown what a little patience can achieve.

“Amazing [jump from] Val and Murch, you look at them from day one when they first got here; the work they have put in has just been remarkable,” Patrick said. “They are allowing themselves to be coached, getting out of their own way, doing the little things right.

“We coach all these guys the same, but at some point in time the players have to take it and run with it. Val has done a phenomenal job with that. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Martin knows that after attending five schools since 2012, he has found a home at NC State. Now, he hopes to establish himself, starting with East Carolina on Saturday.

“A lot of people will be like, ‘Who is this JuCo guy? Where did No. 56 come from?’” Martin said. “That is okay. I’ll play with a chip on my shoulder.”

East Carolina sophomore quarterback Holton Ahlers still has a ways to go in his development. For instance, last year in 10 games, he only completed 48.3 percent of his passes.

But the raw ability is there, and Ahlers on more than one occasion flashed it. During a four-game stretch against Tulane, Memphis, No. 10 Central Florida and Connecticut, Ahlers threw for 1,457 yards with 10 touchdowns and just two picks, and ran for an additional 323 yards and a score.

All while playing as a true freshman.

Watching from a distance was NC State. The Wolfpack though did not get a chance to see Ahlers in person because he missed last season’s regular-season finale between the two teams with an injury, but the coach who led NC State’s dogged efforts to land Ahlers coming out of D.H. Conley High in Greenville was not surprised by what he is now seeing.

NC State running backs coach and co-offensive coordinator Des Kitchings was the recruiting coordinator at NC State at the time. Ahlers narrowed his choices to East Carolina and the Wolfpack before picking ECU, but otherwise Kitchings only has fond memories of Ahlers' recruitment.

“He was one of those guys you enjoyed recruiting because he was a football guy,” Kitchings remembered. “He played some baseball, grew up in a sports family, and he just loved ball. I’m not surprised of the success he’s having.”

Kitchings still remembers watching Ahlers play in a game in person, during which he became sold on Ahlers’ potential.

“He was playing defense, he ran down on kickoff, he was throwing the ball,” Kitchings noted. “He was a tough, competitive kid.”

——

• 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