With preseason practices starting Wednesday, here is a pre-camp look at The Wolfpacker's projected fall depth chart for the offensive side of the football.

There is no question at the top. Leary returned to fully participate in the spring after breaking his leg during a win over Duke last fall, helping erase lingering questions about his status.

During ACC Kickoff, head coach Dave Doeren noted the benefits of not having a quarterback competition heading into fall camp.

Of course, it was Leary's job to lose last season, and due to Leary being caught up in contact tracing quarantine in the preseason, Bailey Hockman ended up starting the first two games. Leary took control after that and completed 66 of 110 passes (60.0 percent) for 890 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions before breaking his leg in start No. 3, a win over Duke.

This offseason, Hockman ended any potential debate about the starter by transferring to Middle Tennessee State.

The bigger question is who backs up Leary?

Will it be our choice, freshman Ben Finley, or touted early enrollee Aaron McLaughlin, a one-time Auburn commit from Denmark High in Alpharetta, Ga?

We gave Finley the edge based on his experience, which included completing 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards and a touchdown against UNC, although Finley also turned it over three times that game (two interceptions and a fumble).

Finley clearly looked the more comfortable of the two quarterbacks during the spring scrimmage, too. The question is how much did McLaughlin gain from his early enrollment and where does that leave him going into the start of camp? His athletic talents may be unmatched in the quarterback room, but his knowledge of the offense will dictate whether there will be a backup QB competition.

It should be noted that Person started every game at running back for the Wolfpack in 2020, so the fact that we listed Knight as the starter should not be an assumed proposition.

Knight, however, was a standout last fall. He led the team with 788 rushing yards, 145 more yards over anyone else despite having the second-most carries on the team. He also ran for 10 touchdowns. ESPN's David Hale noted that Knight had the second-highest broken tackle percentage in the ACC behind NFL-bound Javonte Williams of UNC.

Hale also pointed out that Knight was the only player in the ACC with 10 touchdowns, 700 rushing yards, 100 receiving yards (136) and 300 kick return yards (373 with a score).

Knight was the top running back vote-getter on the preseason All-ACC team, and he has been named to the watch lists for Doak Walker Award, the Maxwell Award and the Paul Hornung Award.

Person ran 147 times for 643 yards and four scores in 2020, and just as importantly played all 12 games after a pair of injury-plagued seasons. He also caught 18 passes for 136 yards on his way to accumulating a team-high 165 touches on offense.

After a promising freshman season, Houston saw his opportunities dwindle some in 2020. He carried 42 times for 143 yards and three scores, but fans will remember his effectiveness in 2019 when he led the Pack in rushing yards in five games on his way to 526 rushing yards on 101 carries, an average of 5.2 yards per rush, and a pair of touchdowns.

That said, Houston ran well in the spring game, as did redshirt freshman Delbert Mimms III, proving running back should be a deep position on the roster. Houston has also cross-trained at receiver in an effort to get on the field more frequently.

It was a breakthrough season in 2020 for the Wolfpack trio of Emezie, Carter and Thomas.

On the outside receivers, Emezie is returning for a fifth season after having the best year of his career, catching 47 passes for 738 yards and five touchdowns. On the other side, Carter hauled in 29 passes for 477 yards and two more scores.

Emezie (6-foot-3, 212 pounds) and Carter (6-3, 216 pounds) also provide excellent size for the Wolfpack.

Thomas had 42 receptions for 529 yards and a co-team high six scores from the slot. NC State also has good depth there thanks to the promising rookie season of Rooks, who hauled in 24 receptions for 276 yards.

The Pack has more options in sophomore Keyon Lesane and freshman Julian Gray, an early enrollee.

The question will be the depth on the outside. Riley is returning for a sixth year in Raleigh, and after returning from a torn ACL in 2019 showed his best form late in the fall. He caught three passes for 53 yards in the regular-season finale vs. Georgia Tech and then added three receptions for 38 yards and a score in the bowl game.

Doeren praised Riley for his effort in the spring, although Riley did not participate in the spring game.

We went with Smith, Rooks' classmate, for the other reserve spot on the outside. He played in eight games last year and caught five passes for 69 yards and a score. Smith brings excellent speed at 6-2, 185 pounds.

Other candidates include redshirt sophomore Jasiah Provillon and freshmen speedsters Jalen Coit and Christopher Scott Jr.

One other possibility is perhaps Rooks moving outside since the Pack has good depth in the slot.

Doeren has made it clear that Parham has a sizable advantage for being the starter.

The former quarterback showed strong physicality in the blocking game in 2020, and he's a good athlete. He caught four passes for 52 yards in limited receiving opportunities a year ago.

The million-dollar question is what does the backup depth chart look like?

We went with Jayne. He is not a familiar name to most Wolfpack fans, but the walk-on is an inviting target at 6-foot-6, 232 pounds and a good athlete. He gave minor league baseball with the Baltimore Orioles a shot for two years coming out of Terry Sanford High in Fayetteville, N.C., where he caught 55 passes for 1,145 yards and 13 touchdowns as a senior in high school.

Now Jayne is a 21-year old getting a chance to repeat his freshman year.

Wildcards include redshirt sophomore running back Trent Pennix, who is cross-training as an H-back in an effort to find the field more often. The 6-foot-3, 236-pounder is a good athlete and 16 career receptions for 165 yards and three scores.

NC State also moved redshirt freshman former receiver Christopher Toudle, who is now listed at 6-foot-4, 240 pounds, to tight end.

Figuring out the right tackle spot is the biggest challenge of the entire offensive depth chart.

We're sticking with Speas for now. Speas has split his seven career starts between left guard (one) and right tackle (six).

The coaches have also always been high on the potential of Riley, who is coming back for an unprecedented seventh season at NC State. Riley started the first five games of 2020, four at left tackle and one on the right side. It's quite possible he could get into the mix for a starting nod, although Riley was held out of the spring scrimmage.

McKay is a wildcard in the mix.

Gibson being the starting center is the best bet to start, followed by Ekwonu starting somewhere, most likely left tackle. It appears that McMahon, who started seven games last season, is well entrenched at left guard, too.

Ekwonu made the preseason All-ACC team as the top vote-getter among offensive linemen, while Gibson had support as an all-conference candidate among some publications. Both were named to the preseason Outland Trophy watch list.

In our post-spring depth chart, we had Zavala listed at left guard but switched him to right guard. He'll face competition though from Speas and Eason.

Zavala earned honorable mention All-American at Division II's Fairmont State, playing left guard there. He arrived at NC State after the spring semester as a grad transfer, so this is a projection of what could happen after preseason camp.

That said, Eason earned strong praise from Doeren and started the spring scrimmage at right guard with McMahon at left guard.

Freshman Patrick Matan also earned some praise from Doeren in the spring, and he could work himself into the two-deep at tackle. It should be noted that McKay sat out spring practices while rehabbing an injury he suffered last fall at Pittsburgh.

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