NC State Wolfpack football is pushing ahead with preseason camp in anticipation of a potential season this fall starting around Sept. 12.

With that in mind, here are the status of the position battles, starting with the offense.

NC State head coach Dave Doeren, entering his eighth year at the helm, has already announced that the job is redshirt sophomore Devin Leary’s to lose. Leary started the final five games of last season and played in eight contests overall. He threw for 1,219 yards with eight touchdowns and five picks, but will look to improve on his 48.1-percent completion percentage while aiming for his first win as a starter.

Redshirt junior Bailey Hockman is Leary’s leading potential challenger for the job. He started NC State’s lone ACC win in 2019, a victory over Syracuse, and overall played in seven contests. Hockman completed 54 of 97 passes (55.7 percent) for 546 yards and one score but also had four picks.

Two other rookies are in the equation: redshirt freshman Ty Evans and true freshman Ben Finley, the latter of whom enrolled early and participated in the early spring practices before they were canceled by COVID-19.

The questions at running back for first-year position coach Kurt Roper center around trying to figure out what roles are for which player.

The options are plentiful.

Sophomore Zonovan Knight is the returning leading rusher. He ran 136 times for 745 yards, averaging 5.5 yards per rush, and five touchdowns. Knight ran for over 100 yards in three games, including against Clemson (12 runs for 139 yards and a score) and Georgia Tech (18 runs for 100 yards).

His classmate, Jordan Houston, ran 101 times for 526 yards (5.2 yards a run) and two scores in his rookie campaign. Houston also showed some potential in the passing game, catching 15 passes for 112 yards. Knight was NC State’s leading rusher in seven games, and Houston was the top runner in the other five.

Then there is junior Ricky Person Jr., who looked like a future star during his freshman year but battled nagging injuries last year and was limited to seven games. A healthy Person would give NC State a three-player rotation depending on how Roper wants to divide the duties.

Physically gifted redshirt sophomore Trent Pennix would love to get his name into the mix as well.

Wide receiver is filled with interesting potential playing time battles. The most certain thing is senior Emeka Emezie will be a featured wideout. Even with his own admission to not playing as well as he hoped last year, Emezie still caught team-highs with 56 receptions for 576 yards and added two touchdown receptions despite having to play with three different quarterbacks. Emezie has long established himself as a quality ACC receiver.

After that, a lot of potential options could emerge. Redshirt sophomore Devin Carter could build off his promising first year when he caught 32 passes for 456 yards, which included a 100-yard receiving effort when he had six receptions for 140 yards at Boston College. Does athletic fifth-year senior C.J. Riley make a big return from a torn ACL suffered in the season opener, robbing him of what was supposed to be his breakout campaign?

Can four-star rookie Porter Rooks, who enrolled early, make a quick impact? Could someone like redshirt sophomore Jasiah Provillon or redshirt junior Max Fisher have their breakthrough moments?

In the slot, redshirt junior Thayer Thomas is back after making 31 receptions for 334 yards and three scores, leading all receivers in touchdowns. Sophomore Keyon Lesane will look to build off his rookie campaign when he hauled in 13 receptions for 93 yards.

In year two for position coach Todd Goebbel, he hopes to have his full assortment of options available to him. Fifth-year senior Cary Angeline is back and a potential All-ACC candidate after he led NC State with five touchdown catches a year ago. He finished the year with 25 receptions for 379 yards.

The return of fifth-year senior Dylan Autenrieth and Dylan Parham gives Goebbel more depth than he had a year ago, and it’s worth noting that Autenrieth was actually NC State’s starter in the first three games before he was injured and lost for the remainder of the season.

The safest bet on the offensive line would presumably be fifth-year senior Joe Sculthorpe, an All-ACC candidate at left guard, but there are other pretty good odds on a couple of other starting roles.

Sophomore Ikem Ekwonu looked like a future star at left tackle, where he started the last seven games of 2019 and was a freshman All-American by PFF. Redshirt junior Grant Gibson started every game at center a year ago and returns.

The bigger questions are at right guard and right tackle. At guard, Joshua Fedd-Jackson, who started 12 games last year, surprisingly left the team in the spring instead of returning for his senior season. The leading contenders to replace him could be redshirt junior Bryson Speas and redshirt freshman Dylan McMahon. Speas started seven games in 2019, six of them at right tackle and one at right guard, which may be his more natural position.

McMahon started the Clemson contest at left guard but was able to preserve his redshirt. McMahon may also get a look at center during preseason camp.

At right tackle, fifth-year senior Justin Witt was a full-time starter in 2018 and started the first five games in 2019 before being lost for the year with an injury, but NC State coaches have long been high on the potential of sixth-year senior Tyrone Riley. Riley started two games at tackle in 2018 and was expected to start at left tackle in 2019 before he went down for the year early in fall camp.

The NCAA granted Riley a sixth year of eligibility, but given Ekwonu’s potential at left tackle, Riley's best bet for a starting job may be battling Witt at right tackle.

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