The anticipation has been building all offseason for NC State vs. Tennessee in the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
The Wolfpack rallied for a 38-21 win over Western Carolina in their season opener last Thursday, and are ranked No. 24 in the country by The Associated Press.
Tennessee was picked to finish seventh in the SEC, and are ranked No. 14 in the country after the first week of the season. The Volunteers rolled to a 69-3 home victory against Tennessee-Chattanooga last Saturday.
Five Tennessee players to watch
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava
The 6-6, 215-pound Iamaleava has a small sample size, but has gone 50-of-73 passing for 628 yards and five touchdowns, plus 24 carries for 77 yards and three scores in six college appearances. He started against Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and went 12-of-19 passing for 151 yards and a touchdown, and he he rushed three times in a 35-0 win Jan. 1, 2024. Iamaleava threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns in the first half of the 69-3 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga. Iamaleave was the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2023 by Rivals.com, and a five-star prospect from Downey (Calif.) Warren High.
Senior center Cooper Mays
The 6-4, 310-pound Mays was voted first-team All-SEC in the preseason. His father, Kevin Mays, was an all-SEC guard for UT in the 1990s, and his older brother Cade Mays recently played for the Volunteers. Cooper Mays played in nine games last year and has played over 2,000 career snaps. Mays was a four-star center prospect in the class of 2020 by Rivals.com, coming out of Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic.
Junior defensive end James Pearce Jr.
The 6-5, 243-pound edge pass-rusher broke out last year, with 28 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries and an interception. He tied for the SEC lead in sacks. Pearce had three tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and an interception he returned 52 yards for a touchdown in the win over Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. Pierce had two sacks apiece against both Virginia and South Carolina last year. Pearce was a Rivals.com four-star prospect coming out of Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers High, and was ranked No. 160 in the class of 2022.
Junior running back Dylan Sampson
Sampson was turned loose against Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and he had 20 carries for 133 yards in a 35-0 win against the stingy defense of Iowa. He is the de-facto No. 1 running back this season. The 5-11, 201-pounder rushed 12 times for 124 yards and three scores in the 69-3 win over Tennessee-Chattanooga, plus three catches for 29 yards. Sampson was a Rivals.com three-star prospect in the class of 2022, coming out of Geismer (La.) Dutchtown High.
Senior wide receiver Dont’e Thornton Jr.
Thornton was ranked No. 62 nationally in the class of 2021 and verbally committed to Penn State, before signing with Oregon. The four-star Baltimore (Md.) Mount St. Joseph standout transferred to Tennessee after two years with the Ducks. The. 6-5, 214-pounder caught 13 passes for 224 yards and a touchdown before getting injured last year. He had three catches for 105 yards and two scores against Tennessee-Chattanooga last week.
What to watch for from Tennessee
1. Nico Iamaleava is getting turned loose. It’s too early for any definitive statements about how good redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava is. However, it sure looks like it is trending in the right direction.
Iamaleava threw the ball 28 times in the first half against the Mocs in the season opener, and the Volunteer coaches trust him.
The recent standard under coach Josh Heupel is Greensboro, N.C., native Hendon Hooker, who threw for 3,135 yards, 27 touchdowns and two interceptions in 2022, getting hurt at the end of the year. He also rushed 430 yards and five scores.
Michigan transfer Joe Milton III took over the starting position last year and threw for 2,813 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions, plus 299 rushing yards and seven scores. He didn’t play in the bowl game, allowing Iamaleava to show what he can do.
Tennessee wants to play fast and put defenses on its heals and Iamaleava showed good poise in doing so last Saturday.
2. Spread the ball around. One of the biggest questions for Tennessee going into the season was who would catch the ball.
Tennessee returned junior slot receiver Squirrel White as a proven commodity. The 5-10, 167-pounder caught 67 passes for 803 yards and two touchdowns last year.
Where it went sideways in the last year, senior Bru McCoy was limited five games last year due to injury. McCoy was ranked No. 12 in the country in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com as an athlete at Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei. He picked USC but lasted a few weeks and left for Texas. He then after a semester left for USC. He played in 2020 for the Trojans and eventually left for Tennessee. He had 48 catches for 619 yards and three scores in 2022 for the Volunteers.
Thornton is a 6-5, 214-pound gifted deep threat, who had three catches for 105 yards and two scores against UT-C in the opener. He missed some time last year with an injury.
The X-factor could be junior tight end Holden Staes, who transferred in from Notre Dame. The 6-4, 248-pounder had four catches for 115 yards and two scores in Notre Dame’s 45-24 win over NC State on Sept. 9, 2023.
3. Special teams should be solid. Tennessee is starting over a little bit on special teams.
The Volunteers return punter Jackson Ross, who averaged 42.5 yards on 55 punts with a long of 71 last year. He landed 22 inside the 20-yard line and had 24 fair caught.
Standout wide receiver Squirrel White is slated for punt-return duties, and backup running back Cameron Seldon on kick returns. White had one punt return for 20 yards in the season opener, and Seldon had a 35-yard kickoff return.
Redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert of Memphis, Tenn., is the new kicker. He was ranked as the No. 30 kicker by Kohl’s Kicking in the class of 2023. He made six field goals his senior year and went 45 of 46 on extra points his senior year at Lausanne Collegiate School. Gilbert made two field goals, including a 42-yarder, and made all seven extra points in the opener.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State senior quarterback Grayson McCall was likely a little better ball placement away from throwing for over 400 yards in the season opener against Western Carolina.
McCall went 26-of-40 passing for 318 yards and three touchdowns, and one bad interception, in the 38-21 win over the Catamounts. If he had completed 5-6 more passes, his numbers would have spiked.
The key against the Volunteers, who will be faster, bigger and deeper than Western Carolina’s defense, is to be more precise and spread the ball around. In a game of matchups, NC State will need to exploit sophomore receiver Kevin Concepcion and redshirt junior tight end Justin Joly, a Connecticut transfer. They have the speed and quickness to find open spaces.
If Joly and Concepcion work their magic, then a few shots downfield to perhaps junior Wesley Grimes or redshirt freshman Noah Rogers, and the Wolfpack will be in business.
2. NC State’s defense usually gets sacks and pressures from blitzes from linebackers or secondary members.
The Wolfpack had just two sacks against Western Carolina, and one was on the last play of the game. NCSU can’t allow Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava plenty of time in the pocket.
Iamaleava looks to throw first and throw second, but he can tuck the ball and run if he needs to, or buy time in the pocket. NC State needs to win the battle of the trenches on both sides of the ball, and the pass-rush pressure on Iamaleava will be a huge story line.
3. NC State will have to figure out the riddle of wether to go for out on fourth and short or take the three points with a field goal.
NCSU went for it on fourth down and short three times against Western Carolina and converted just once. Another failed attempt would have likely easily resulted in three points and given the Wolfpack a 17-14 lead.
Senior running back Jordan Waters is going to be the guy this season. He entered the fourth quarter with 33 rushing yards, and he finished with 20 carries for 123 yards and two scores.
Three numbers of note
4 — North Carolina natives on Tennessee’s roster — freshman defensive end Daevin Hobbs of Concord Robinson, redshirt freshman wide receiver Nathan Leacock of Raleigh Millbrook, junior defensive end James Pearce Jr. of Charlotte Chambers and walk-on quarterback Navy Shuler of Arden Christ School.
6 — Current ranking for Tennessee in the class of 2025 by Rivals.com. The Volunteers have 24 verbal commitments, including two players from North Carolina in left tackle David Sanders of Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day and defensive lineman Charles House of Huntersville (N.C.) North Mecklenburg.
1,726 — Passing yards senior year for Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava his senior year at Downey (Calif.) Warren High.
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