It’s time to go on the record with some predictions for NC State football in 2021.

On Sunday, we will reveal our game-by-game projections for how the season will unfold with a final record at the end of it. Before then, we have our picks for the statistical leaders for NC State in 2021.

The choice seems easy on paper, since sophomore Zonovan “Bam” Knight was voted preseason All-ACC, and that is indeed our pick. But don’t disregard the possibility of a breakout season for junior Ricky Person Jr., who seems as healthy as he has ever been at NC State.

Our bold prediction though is not that Knight will lead the team in rushing, but that he will be the fourth different running back in head coach Dave Doeren’s tenure at NC State to go over 1,000 yards in a year, joining Matthew Dayes, Nyheim Hines and Reggie Gallaspy Jr.

Again, this seems like an easy choice, and why make things more complicated than they need to be?

Emeka Emezie’s decision to return for a super senior year was a huge boost for the Wolfpack’s offense. He had 738 receiving yards a year ago, over 200 more yards than anyone else on the roster. It’s not conceivable that gap could be changed in a year’s time, especially when pretty much all the primary pass catchers outside of tight end Cary Angeline are back.

The temptation is to simply go with Emezie, who led the Pack in this category last year, again.

But we are going to pick a bit of a surprise, perhaps, and go with redshirt junior Thayer Thomas. Emezie missed spring and the start of fall camp recovering from an injury, which meant that Thomas and others may have had a chance that Emezie did not in the offseason working with starting quarterback and redshirt sophomore Devin Leary.

Thomas’ 42 receptions were only five behind Emezie’s team-leading total last season, so it is not far-fetched that Thomas could be the leading pass catcher.

As long as he’s healthy, redshirt sophomore Payton Wilson seems like a given to lead the team in tackles.

Despite missing two games a year ago, Wilson had 14 more tackles than the second-leading total on the team, redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore, who played in all 12 games. Wilson's tally was 32 more tackles than sophomore safety Jakeen Harris’ 76 hits, third most on the team. Like Moore, Harris played every game.

Furthermore, Wilson led the entire ACC in tackles.

Last year, sixth-year senior Daniel Joseph led the Pack with 6.5 sacks, and like Emezie he decided to return for an extra year of eligibility rather than move on, despite being drafted by the CFL. Nobody else had more than five sacks last year. Florida State transfer Cory Durden did have five QB hits in 2019 for the Seminoles.

The pick here is Joseph will repeat as the leader in sacks, but it’s worth giving consideration to Wilson. He had 3.5 sacks in 2020 despite missing two games (Joseph sat out one), and Wilson led the team in six quarterback hurries (Joseph had three).

Wilson led the team in interceptions last year with two, but we will stick with the conventional wisdom that a defensive back will lead the squad. Redshirt freshman corner Shyheim Battle had a team-best 10 pass breakups, followed by junior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams with eight.

Those would be two natural guesses.

However, our pick is the guy who probably should have led the team in picks a year ago but instead dropped multiple interceptions, Harris. The bet here is that Harris will have more confidence and hold onto passes more often. His position, strong safety, lends itself well in defensive coordinator Tony Gibson’s defense to be in a spot to get interceptions.

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