In May, we originally started a countdown to NC State football's season and ACC opener against Louisville, a game that was originally scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 3.

In mid-June, the game was moved up a day to Wednesday, Sept. 2 in order to not conflict with the Kentucky Derby which was postponed from the traditional first Saturday in May to Saturday, Sept. 5 over Labor Day weekend.

In late July, the ACC scrapped its original football schedule to create a new 11-game model due to challenges presented from the coronavirus pandemic. A week later, NC State learned the dates of its new schedule which was set to begin Saturday, Sept. 12 in a road game against Virginia Tech.

Then an identified COVID cluster within the NC State athletic department shut down fall camp for eight days in late August, prompting the Pack to push back the opener against Virginia Tech to Sept. 26. Now NC State will open its season at home against Wake Forest on Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.

Today, Sept. 16 marks 3 days from the Wolfpack's season opener.

Each day, The Wolfpacker will do a countdown to the season with a reflection on the significance of that number to NC State.

Redshirt sophomore nickel Taiyon Palmer will wear the No. 3 jersey for the Wolfpack in 2020.

Palmer is listed as the third-string nickel on the game one depth chart behind junior Tyler Baker-Williams and freshman Joshua Pierre-Louis.

After taking a redshirt as a true freshman in 2018 after undergoing surgery in the preseason, Palmer appeared in five games last season for NC State. He was seeing his time increase until he suffered a season-ending injury in the Florida State game.

In 61 snaps, he had one tackle and one pass breakup.

Palmer was a three-star cornerback coming out of Archer High School in Lawrenceville (Ga.) and was ranked the No. 54 corner in the country and the No. 45 overall recruit in the state of Georgia in the class of 2018 according to Rivals.

As a senior in high school, Palmer earned all-state, all-region and all-county honors.

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