11/3/2020 football Edit

NC State ready for stretch of home games

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

NC State head coach Dave Doeren felt that the bye came at a really good time for his program following a 4-2 start that included four road games. Now the Wolfpack returns home to Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh for four of its final five contests, starting with a visit from No. 11 Miami on Friday night.

Redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas, who has 15 catches for 205 yards and a touchdown during the first six weeks, concurs with Doeren’s sentiment.

“I feel like the last two weeks, he’s done a good job of letting us get some time off and get our bodies right,” Thomas noted, referring to Doeren’s bye week plans. “But I feel like we definitely took advantage of the time we’ve had on the field, practicing really well and just getting ready for whatever Miami’s going to do.”

Thomas added that even with a couple of days off, he feels like the team got a lot done.

NC State Wolfpack football receiver Thayer Thomas — Redshirt junior receiver Thayer Thomas and the Wolfpack will play four of its final five games at home. (ACC media)

“We did do a decent amount of work just so we could get prepared for the game,” Thomas said.

One of the advantages of the bye week is that some injured players can get healthier. Doeren noted that Monday that fifth-year senior right tackle Justin Witt should be full-go. Witt had missed three games before returning as a reserve Saturday at UNC. Doeren added that Witt had only returned to practice the Wednesday before the contest in Chapel Hill.

Sophomore left tackle Ikem Ekwonu knows first hand the value of adding a player like Witt back into the mix.

“I think it’s important,” Ekwonu said. “You want to get as many players back, especially players with as much experience starting as Witt. We definitely want to get players like Witt back. I’m glad he’s back at practice. I’m glad he’s suiting up this week.”

NC State should also have junior running back Ricky Person Jr., who sustained a concussion in the loss at UNC. Returning as many healthy bodies as possible back on offense will help the unit find the consistency it’s seeking.

Thomas thinks the mindset has also been strong for the entire team, especially after a humbling loss at Virginia Tech in the second game.

“You could see a difference in the second week when we were getting ready for Virginia Tech, where we might have taken our foot off the gas pedal a little bit,” Thomas said. “I feel like ever since then, we’ve come in and practiced really hard and really well, regardless of any kind of circumstances we’ve had.

“Even leading up to the UNC game, I felt like that week of practice was great; it just didn’t work out for us on Saturday.”

Both Ekwonu and Thomas are excited about the chance to play much of the stretch run at home.

“We knew the first six games that we had all those away games,” Ekwonu said. “You knew there was going to be a test. Obviously, we wish we had won every game, but I feel like we came out of the test pretty well.

“This last stretch having all these home games, every team you face is going to be good, but we just feel a lot better knowing that we can stay at home and have our families come to the game a lot easier. It’s definitely a big plus.”