Spring football practice for NC State will start March 2, with the spring game at 1 p.m. April 9 at Carter-Finley Stadium. The ACC Network will show the game at 7 p.m.
The Wolfpack Central will start taking a look at the position groups this spring and summarize where NC State stands. Up next is the running backs.
Related links: Quarterback preview | Offensive line preview
Running backs
NC State lost both Zonovan Knight and Ricky Person to the NFL Draft prematurely.
Knight led the team with 140 carries for 753 yards and three touchdowns, and added 21 catches for 156 yards. Person stayed healthy and added 135 carries for 636 yards and five scores, plus 28 receptions for 240 yards and two touchdowns. The running game was stagnant at times down the stretch, but will now start anew.
Junior Jordan Houston is easily the most experience running back returning, but he hasn’t played much since 2019. Houston appeared in six games last year at running back, playing between 6-to-10 plays.
Houston rushed 20 times for 83 yards and a touchdown last year, with the bulk of the yards coming against Boston College. The former Maryland commit had eight carries for 43 yards against the Eagles, getting a season-high 10 snaps.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound Houston rushed for at least 50 yards in six games during the 2019 season. His best game by far was when he rushed 16 times for 89 yards and caught three passes for 39 yards in a 28-26 loss at Georgia Tech on Nov. 21. Houston also had a 41-yard run against UNC in the 2019 regular season finale.
Houston finished the 2019 season with 101 rushing attempts for 526 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 15 receptions for 112 yards.
Sophomore Demie Sumo-Karngbaye burned his redshirt last year while playing on special teams, but didn’t log any time on offense. The 6-0, 200-pounder from Willingboro, N.J., only got to play three games his senior year of high school. He rushed 65 times for 684 yards and 11 touchdowns, and caught 21 passes for 430 yards and eight scores his junior year.
Projected starter: Junior Jordan Houston
Projected backup: Sophomore Demie Sumo-Karngbaye.
Comments: Redshirt freshman Delbert Mimms, early enrollee Michael Allen and converted wide receiver Micah Crowell will try to get into the running back rotation.
The 5-11, 215-pound Mimms is the biggest of the running backs, and has made a mark on special teams. He rushed six times for 47 yards last year. The former Vanderbilt commit rushed for 2,056 yards and 28 touchdowns his senior year at Indianapolis (Ind.) Ben Davis High.
Allen split time at running back and flanker for Greenville (N.C.) Rose High last fall. The 5-9, 200-pounder rushed 158 times for 1,173 yards and 18 touchdowns, and caught 38 passes for 610 yards and eight scores his senior year.
Rose made it to the NCHSAA 3A state title game, but Allen struggled in the blowout loss vs. Greensboro Dudley with five carries for 12 yards, and five catches for 33 yards.
The 6-1, 215-pound Crowell was a Rivals.com four-star wide receiver prospect, but he hasn’t played a football game since his sophomore year at Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth High. He was injured junior year and the team didn’t have a season his senior campaign. He arrived to NC State and redshirted.
Crowell caught 25 passes for 516 yards and nine touchdowns, and rushed for 206 yards and two scores his sophomore year. He also added 61 tackles on defense.
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