As we begin to look back at the NC State football season, we will be doing a 3-2-1 breakdown of each position group, using data pulled from Pro Football Focus (PFF) to help analyze the performances.
We started with the all-important quarterback position. Now it's to the running back group.
Three Breakdowns Of The Primary Ballcarriers
1. Sophomore Zonovan "Bam" Knight led NC State in rushing. He carried it 143 times for 788 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding 20 receptions for 136 yards.
In the eyes of PFF, Knight was one of the best running backs in the ACC.
He graded out with an 87.1 score when it came to carrying the football and 84.2 overall for offense. When setting the minimum at 50 carries among those at the Football Subdivision Level (FBS), Knight was 17th and 22nd respectively among 230 qualified runners nationally. Knight also had NC State's top offensive grade overall.
One area Knight made notable progress was in the passing game. A year ago, he graded out at 31.5. This season he received a 63.1 score after catching 20 of 25 passes thrown his way with a pair of drops.
How Knight succeeded was somewhat different than in 2019, however. As a freshman, 48.5 percent of Knight's yards were from runs that were of 15 yards or more, which tied for 39th most in the country. This year, that number fell to 24.1 percent, and he was tied for 174th out of 230 qualified ballcarriers.
But Knight displayed a tougher running style in 2020. He broke/avoided 45 tackles, tied for eighth most in the FBS level. He still had 26 runs of over 10 yards, which tied for 19th most, and this 40 runs resulting in first downs was tied for 35th.
Knight also had a very high score for elusiveness, which is a metric PFF devised to measure how well a running back gains yards independent of blocking. Knight had a 104.3 elusive rating, which was 40th best in the FBS.
