Here is a scouting report on Western Carolina at NC State at 7 p.m. Thursday at Carter-Finley Stadium on the ACC Network.
Western Carolina went 7-4 overall and 5-3 last year under coach Kerwin Bell. The Catamounts lost offensive coordinator Kade Bell to Pittsburgh, who is the son of coach Kerwin Bell. He brought leading rusher Desmond Reid and leading receiver Censere Lee with him. Reid rushed 131 times for 897 yards and 13 scores last year, and he caught 21 passes for 283 yards in just eight games. Lee caught 46 passes for 792 yards and eight scores last year.
Five Western Carolina players to watch
Junior running back Branson Adams
The 5-9, 185-pound Adams will replace star back Desmond Reid, who transferred to Pittsburgh. Adams played for three high schools in Greensboro, N.C. — Northern Guilford, Page and Dudley — before walking on at WCU. He rushed 89 times for 539 yards and three scores and proved to be a real factor in the passing game with 36 receptions for 266 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed 17 times for 110 yards and a touchdown, plus seven catches for 73 yards and a score in the 58-7 win over East Tennessee State on Nov. 11, 2023.
Junior cornerback Samaurie Dukes
Dukes has proven to be a ballhawk at cornerback with 29 tackles, four passes defended and three interceptions in 11 games last year. The 5-10, 185-pounder from Miami (Fla.) High had two interceptions against East Tennessee State on Nov. 11, 2023, and also had one pick against Charleston Southern on Sept. 23, 2023. Dukes had a season-high six tackles against Arkansas and Tennessee-Chattanooga last year.
Junior quarterback Cole Gonzales
Gonzales is the son of long-time wide receives coach Billy Gonzales, who is currently the wide receiver coach at Florida. He has previously worked at UF for three different stint, plus Ken State, Bowling Green, Utah, LSU, Illinois, Mississippi State and Florida Atlantic. The 6-0, 195-pound Gonzales went 204-of-310 passing for 2,803 yards, school-record 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions last year. He added 54 yards for 203 yards on the ground. The Ocala, Fla., threw for five touchdowns apiece against East Tennessee State, Mercer and Charleston Southern.
Junior wide receiver Calvin Jones
The 5-10, 190-pound Jones returned to the field after missing 2022 last year. He caught 27 passes for 348 yards and two scores, but his role will increase with Censere Lee transferring to Pittsburgh. He had five catches for 89 yards and a touchdown in a 45-38 loss vs. Mercer on Oct. 28, 2023. The former Forest City (N.C.) East Rutherford High standout dominated VMI for 11 catches for 188 yards and a touchdown in a 52-24 win Nov. 20, 2021.
Senior cornerback CJ Williams
The 5-10, 170-pound Williams had 44 tackles, six passes defended and one interception last year. The Gallion (Ala.) Demopolis High product was named second-team All-SoCon this preseason. He had career-best nine tackles in a road win against FCS-ranked Tennessee-Chattanooga on Oct. 7, 2023. His interception came at Eastern Kentucky on Sept. 16. Williams started his career at Alabama and transferred to Western Carolina, where he started off at wide receiver in 2021.
What to watch for from Western Carolina
1. Spread things out. Western Carolina will try and play three- or- four wide receivers and create space and gaps in either the passing game or rushing attack.
Eight different wide receivers caught between 17-and-46 passes last year, with the two running backs combining for 57 catches. The latter shows the dedication of trying to get the backs out in space.
The same applies in the red zone, where an impressive five players caught at least four touchdown passes again. There isn't going to be a volume receiver and each member of NC State's secondary will likely get their tackling skills tested.
2. Wear-down effect. Traditionally, FCS teams usually tend to wear down due to lack of depth and smaller players on the lines.
The high for Thursday will be 96 degrees with a low of 73 in Raleigh. Usually the high school games that get played in the state of North Carolina show if cramping will be an issue when the colleges get going, but that wasn't a factor in three contests The Wolfpack Central went too.
Western Carolina has always had one or two FBS games to help pay the bills over the years. Some have been closer than others, but here is a review of games since 2014:
2014: Lost 36-31 at South Florida on Aug. 30, 2014; Lost 48-14 at Alabama on Nov. 22.
2015: Lost 55-10 at Tennessee on Sept. 19, 2015; Lost 41-17 at Texas A&M on Nov. 14.
2016: Lost 52-7 at East Carolina on Sept. 3, 2016; Lost 44-31 at South Carolina on Nov. 19.
2017: Lost 41-18 at Hawaii on Sept. 2, 2017; Lost 65-10 to North Carolina on Nov. 18.
2018: Lost 49-26 at North Carolina on Nov. 17, 2018.
2019: Lost 41-0 at NC State on Sept. 7, 2019; Lost 66-3 at Alabama on Nov. 23, 2019.
2020: Lost 58-14 at Liberty on Nov. 14, 2020; Lost 49-9 at North Carolina on Dec. 5.
2021: Lost 76-0 at Oklahoma on Sept. 11, 2021.
2022: Lost 35-17 at Georgia Tech on Sept. 10, 2022.
2023: Lost 56-13 at Arkansas on Sept. 2, 2023.
3. Special teams should be solid. It might not have gotten much national attention, but Western Carolina kicker Richard McCollum, who went to Sanford (N.C.) Southern Lee, went 48 of 55 on field goals in his five-year career.
The new kicker is Paxton Robertson, who has handled the majority of the kickoff duties the last four years, and also was the punter in 2021.
Sophomore punter Stephen Brantley had 31 punts for a 40.3 average, with a long of 59. He attended Pilot Mountain (N.C.) East Surry High.
Calvin Jones returns to handle kickoffs, and averaged 22.9 on 11 returns, while AJ Colombo was an effective punt returner. He averaged 12.0 yards on 16 punt returns and is the great grandson of legendary boxer Rocky Marciano's trainer Allie Colombo, and his father was a standout quarterback at Villanova. The Waxhaw (N.C.) Cuthbertson product also helped with kickoffs.
Three keys to the game for NC State football
1. NC State is going to want to establish the running game and make the offensive line and running backs overwhelm a smaller Western Carolina defense.
If WCU stacks the box to try to stop running backs such as Jordan Waters, Daylan Smothers, Kendrick Raphael and Jayden Davis, then it could open up the passing game. NC State wants to have momentum going into the Tennessee game that it can lean on a experienced and old offensive line.
2. At some point offensive coorindator Robert Anae is going to want to play with his new toys.
New tight end Justin Joly and new wide receivers Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes and a host of freshman join wide receiver Kevin Concepcion. Playing a FCS team is about coming up with big plays. The vibe prior to facing the Volunteers needs to be that the Wolfpack can be game-breakers in the open field.
3. Western Carolina is going to play pitch and catch with quarterback Cole Gonzales and a litany of small but quick wide receivers.
Gonzales threw at least 30 passes in six games last year, including 51 passing attempts against Mercer. NC State's reworked secondary with transfers Ja'Had Carter (Syracuse/Ohio State), Kerry Martin (West Virginia/Akron), Donovan Kaufman (Vanderbilt/Auburn), Devon Marshall (Villanova), Corey Coley (Maryland) and Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland), will get tested.
Three numbers of note
10 — Players named preseason All-SoCon including quarterback Cade Gonzales, wide receiver AJ Colombo, offensive lineman Blake Whitmore and long snapper Colby Cross on the first team. Running back Branson Adams, defensive line Curtis Fann, wide receiver Calvin Jones, offensive lineman Derek Simmons and cornerback CJ Williams, were named second-team.
20 — Preseason ranking in the Stats Perform FCS Preseason Top 25 poll. The last time WCU was ranked in the preseason going into the season happened in 1994 with a No. 17 ranking.
7,585 — Career passing yards for Western Carolina coach Kerwin Bell at Florida from 1984-87, with 56 touchdown passes.
Follow on Twitter:
@NCStateRivals or @JaceyZembal
Subscribe for free on YouTube:
For Jacey Zembal or The Wolfpack Central
Like on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/TheWolfpackCentral
Follow on Instagram/Threads:
ATTENTION SUBSCRIBERS: Our NETWORK-WIDE, all-access pass allows you to read every premium message board in the Rivals.com network as part of a bundled add-on to your subscription!
Subscribers can add the All-Access Pass or a 3-Site Bundle in your account profile, under the Subscriptions tab: HERE
