Scouting Furman

NC State football returns to Carter-Finley Stadium this Saturday, Sept. 18 against Furman at 7:30 p.m. on RSN.

The Wolfpack is looking to rebound from its loss at Mississippi State, while Furman is 2-0, including a season-opening win over the nation's then-No. 24-ranked Football Championship Subdivision's (FCS) team, North Carolina A&T. The Paladins are No. 25 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FCS poll this week after blanking Tennessee Tech 26-0 for Furman's first shutout since 2004.

Here is the full scouting report on Furman:

Junior cornerback Travis Blackshear (No. 1)

Coming from the same Benedictine Military School in Savannah, Ga., that produced NC State starting safety Jakeen Harris, Blackshear is proving to be a ballhawk at corner this season. He intercepted a pass in the opener against North Carolina A&T and then two more in week two at Tennessee Tech, one of which he returned 42 yards. He has also defended four passes.

Blackshear entered this season with high expectations. He had three career picks and eight passes defended prior to this fall and was selected to the preseason all-conference second team by the coaches.

Fifth-year senior bandit Adrian Hope (No. 81)

The 6-foot-1, 233-pounder has been a mainstay pass-rusher for Furman since his rookie campaign in 2018, when he had 15 sacks and five forced fumbles in 10 games, and was named first-team all-conference by the media and second-team All-American by the Associated Press. He was also the top defensive vote getter in the STATS Jerry Rice Freshman of the Year Award and finished fourth overall.

Hope was once again first-team All-Southern Conference in 2019 and a member of Hero Sports FCS Sophomore All-America squad.

Through the first two games of 2021, Hope has 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He has 24.5 career sacks.

Redshirt junior tight end Ryan Miller (No. 82)

Miller was a first-team FCS All-American in 2020 by the Associated Press and second-team according to Stats Perform.

He is not the biggest tight end at 6-foot-2, 221 pounds, but Miller has a knack for finding the end zone. Coming into the 2021 campaign, nine of his 36 receptions — or one out of four — went for a touchdown. In seven games in the spring of 2021, Miller caught 15 passes for 254 yards, with six of them being for scores.

Thus far through two games, Miller leads Furman in receiving yards with 166 on seven catches, including an 87-yard touchdown in the upset win over North Carolina A&T. That tied for the fourth-longest pass play in Paladin history.

Junior quarterback Hamp Sisson (No. 9)

Sisson broke in as a starter during Furman's spring season in 2021, and he is off to a strong start this fall. In the first two games, Sisson has piled up a passer rating of 140.25 by completing nearly 61 percent of his passes for 558 yards and three touchdowns with just one interception.

He has already reached almost half of his seven-game output in passing yards during the spring season for Furman, when he threw for 1,258 yards and 12 scores but also was picked off nine times.

Sisson has a willingness to run, carrying 10 times against Tennessee Tech, but that is not his forte.

Fifth-year senior running back Devin Wynn (No. 0)

Wynn has 2,627 career rushing yards and 27 touchdowns on the ground and has averaged 5.8 yards per rush in his time for Furman.

In 2019, he was a first-team All-Southern Conference selection by the media and second-team by the coaches after he ran for 1,182 yards and 14 touchdowns in 13 games, leading the league with 6.6 yards per rush. Furman finished that season ranked No. 19 in the AFCA poll and earned a berth into the playoffs. His 89-yard touchdown run against Western Carolina that year tied the school record for longest rushing score.

He was chosen to Stats Perform's Preseason All-American Third Team this fall.

Through two games this year, Winn has yet to break the 100-yard mark, but he's averaging 4.5 yards per rush, carrying 35 times for 159 yards and a pair of scores.

1. A credible FCS program: NC State head coach Dave Doeren noted on his radio show Tuesday that while he was an assistant coach at Montana in 2001, he played against Furman in the FCS National Championship Game, which Montana won 13-6. That was Furman's third national title game appearance in program history, and it won it all in 1988.

Furman reached the semifinals in 2005, and it has been to the FCS playoffs in two of the past four years. As noted previously, they find themselves ranked in the top 25 after starting the season 2-0.

2. Good skill players on offense: Sisson was named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week after throwing for 362 yards and three touchdowns in the season-opening win over North Carolina A&T. Having a competent quarterback completes the collection of skill talent for Furman.

They already have a FCS All-American caliber running back in Wynn and receiver in Miller, its star tight end. The squad also has received a significant early boost from true freshman wideout Joshua Harris, who in his first two career games has a team-high eight receptions for 113 yards and a score.

3. Good kicking game: Redshirt sophomore Timmy Bleekrode has been impressive on his field goals this season, making 7 of 8 already in two games with a long of 51 yards. He was named the Southern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after making four field goals at Tennessee Tech. Four of his makes this year have been beyond 40 yards, and his one miss was from 40.

Yet Bleekrode is more established as a punter. He was voted second-team all-conference in 2020 by both the media and coaches when he averaged 43.6 yards per punt. He is averaging 40.3 yards thus far this year.

Also, seven of redshirt freshman Axel Lepvreau's 14 kickoffs have gone for touchbacks.

1. Be motivated: Jacksonville State stunning Florida State and Montana upsetting Washington are two prime examples already this year of what happens when a team does not treat its FCS opponent with the appropriate amount of respect.

NC State should beat Furman, but the Paladins are not a team that the Wolfpack can expect to sleepwalk through a game against without consequences.

2. Build some offensive mojo quickly: After a tough performance at Mississippi State beset with missed assignments and other miscues, NC State's offense has a chance to experience success Saturday.

Like the 45-0 win over South Florida in the opener, it will not be a telling indicator of much, but it will help get some of the sour taste of the Starkville performance out of their mouths.

The alternative going into a showdown with Clemson's vaunted defense on Sept. 25 is far less than ideal.

3. Make it through healthy: A large contest looms the following week when Clemson comes to town for the ACC opener for the Wolfpack. NC State already suffered a couple of significant blows when it lost redshirt sophomore linebacker Payton Wilson and sophomore safety Cyrus Fagan for the season with injuries during the Mississippi State game.

Coming out of the Furman contest unscathed is not something NC State can plan for, but it can certainly hope it happens.

3-4 Furman's record in 2020 when it played seven games in the spring, the last of which was April 10. An April 17 contest against Wofford was canceled. The Paladins started 3-1 before losing three in a row.

3-4 NC State's record against Furman since the Wolfpack joined the ACC in 1953. Most notably, the Paladins, under head coach Dick Sheridan, won in back-to-back years at Carter-Finley Stadium in 1984 and 1985. Sheridan was hired by the Wolfpack following the 1985 season and went 52-29-3, including 31-18-1, over seven years in Raleigh.

7-0 Doeren's record against FCS teams at NC State, all home games. That includes a 49-16 victory over Furman in 2017.

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