Notebook: Special teams sparks Wolfpack in second half
The NC State offense became dormant in the second half, but one of the other legs of the football tripod made up the difference in a 34-23 win over Ball State on Saturday.
NC State had five first downs and 104 yards of total offense in the second half, but the meager output was offset by redshirt sophomore Thayer Thomas returning a punt 76 yards for a touchdown, and redshirt sophomore wide receiver Max Fisher blocking a punt in the fourth quarter that led to redshirt sophomore Matthew McKay taking in a quarterback draw three yards for a touchdown.
Thomas said the amazing part of his punt return is the Wolfpack only had 10 players on the field. He felt good that people could see his 4.5-second 40-yard dash speed.
"I wanted to take the next step and actually return one for a touchdown," Thomas said about his goals coming into this season. "The punter did an unusual kick and sort of rugby kicked it. He never did that on film.
"It was low and didn't have a lot of hang time. I knew I'd have an opportunity to return it."
The two big touchdowns were the only points NC State scored in the second half, but it proved to be more than enough. The Thomas punt return gave the Wolfpack a commanding 27-7 lead with 13:03 left in the third quarter.
“We did some really good things with our punt return unit,” NCSU head coach Dave Doeren said. “I thought it sparked our football team in the second half.”
The special teams performance helped make up for the momentum-turning blocked punt that West Virginia had last week to help pull off the victory over the Pack. NCSU's only gaffe Saturday was not fielding an onside kick smoothly, allowing Ball State to gain possession. Freshman kick returner Keyon Lesane also learned a valuable lesson when he fumbled a kick and then tried to return it, but he at least still got the ball out to the 22-yard line.
Otherwise, tight end coach and special teams coordinator Todd Goebbel had a lot of positives in the victory.
“It was great redemption for Coach Goebbel’s units,” Doeren said. “I’m proud of those guys.”
The offense, meanwhile, will hope for a similar bounce back next week. McKay finished 1-of-8 passing for one passing yard in the second half.
"We just have to find a way to get into rhythm," McKay said. "If we play with tempo, if we do that, we can be unstoppable."
Quarterback Bailey Hockman Gets Worked In Early
NC State redshirt sophomore Bailey Hockman was slated to play one series in the second quarter just to get his feet wet. He came in with 13:56 left in the first half and had a nice 20-yard scramble. But when he tried to get the ball to fifth-year senior wide receiver Tabari Hines, Hines couldn’t pull in the catch and the deflection led to Ball State's Ray Wilborn getting the interception, which was the first of the young season for the Wolfpack offense.
McKay came back in the next series, but not because Hockman was getting benched. He was only going to get one first-half series no matter the end result. Doeren wanted to see Hockman in a game situation that didn’t include mop-up duty.
“I was glad we were able to get Bailey into the game,” Doeren said. “We had planned on that all week. Regardless of what happened on his drive, Matt was going to go back in.”
After his return, McKay's first drive back he completed a pair of passes and rushed for four yards, but the ground game sparked a touchdown and 13-7 lead. McKay’s next series featured him going 5-of-6 passing for 64 yards, and he capped it with a five-yard touchdown run for the 20-7 lead.
McKay didn’t think he was extra amped up or angry over not playing a series, but his play on the field helped jumpstart the NC State offense.
“I was very motivated, but then I was motivated throughout the whole game coming off a loss,” said McKay, who finished with 175 passing yards. "I had the same mindset going into the game. It started clicking when I came back in. It was the same mindset, so nothing really changed."
Doeren pointed out that redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Leary also had a good week of practice. He wants the backups to be ready to go in case McKay gets injured.
“It helps in any event we have an injury, it is not the first time a guy has to go out there,” Doeren said.
Running Back Zonovan Knight Gets Dinged Up
The Wolfpack took possession with 9:47 left in the second quarter and freshman running back Zonovan Knight was able to rip off a 16-yard run on the second play of the drive that resulted in the Wolfpack’s first touchdown of the game.
Knight wasn’t seen again and finished with eight carries for 36 yards.
“We are missing a lot of guys, and Bam [Knight] went out with a hamstring,” Doeren said.
NC State turned to freshman running back Jordan Houston a little bit more, especially in the second half. He had six carries for 55 yards to complement sophomore Ricky Person Jr. going for 17 rushes for 71 yards and a touchdown.
“Jordan is quick and has great change of pace,” Doeren said. “I thought Ricky ran hard, but he was a little high on the short-yardage run. He got a lot of yards after contact today. He ran tough.”
Redshirt freshman Trent Pennix was relegated to special teams, where he had trouble fielding the line drive onside kick. Pennix might get called upon a little bit more at running back if Knight’s injury leads to any kind of inactivity against Florida State next week.
Doeren continues to be a little dismayed at NC State’s rush offense in short-yardage situations. The team went for it on fourth-and-one and came up inches short after a replay review.
“We have to be better right there,” Doeren said. “We can’t get tackled for less than one yard ever when we put a goal-line formation out there. It gives me something to be mad about tonight and tomorrow.”
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