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Published Sep 15, 2020

The Wolfpacker countdown to NC State football: 4

Justin H. Williams • TheWolfpackCentral

Staff Writer

@JustinHWill

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. 15 marks 4 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.

No. 4— Sophomore corner Cecil Powell

Sophomore corner Cecil Powell will wear the No. 4 jersey for the Wolfpack in 2020.

Last season, Powell saw action in 10 games and played offense, defense and special teams on a depleted NC State roster.

He played his most snaps on defense (131), where he tallied 16 total tackles (10 solo, 6 assisted).

As a wide receiver on offense, Powell grabbed four receptions for 30 yards. He also tallied seven tackles on special teams, which was good for team-best in the category.

Powell was a two-star safety in the 2019 class out of Piper High School in Sunrise (Fla.). He picked NC State over notable offers from Baylor, Louisville, Texas Tech and Kansas.

In high school, he played receiver on offense and returned kicks on top of his defensive duties at safety. As a senior, he tallied 45 tackles, including three for loss, four forced fumbles and eight interceptions on defense. He also added 1,306 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns on offense and special teams.