Pro Football Focus (PFF) published its college football "Top 10 Returning Players" lists for each position Monday, which included two NC State players.

Wolfpack redshirt junior center Grant Gibson was ranked No. 3 among interior offensive linemen. He was also the second-ranked center on the national list, which included offensive guards.

Sophomore offensive lineman Ikem "Ickey" Ekwonu received the No. 10 slot among the nation's top returning offensive tackles. Ekwonu started the first four games of 2020 at left guard before sliding over to left tackle for the remainder of the season.

The rankings were based on an array of factors, including PFF grades and other advanced metrics, but pro potential did not factor in the rankings.

"Gibson is an athletic defensive tackle-to-center convert like Tyler Linderbaum," Anthony Treash of PFF said of the No. 3 ranked interior offensive lineman. "He flipped to the offensive side of the ball in the middle of the 2018 season, his second one with NC State. Gibson was named the starting center for 2019, performed quite well and then broke out in 2020 in his second year holding the job.

"He posted a grade above 80.0 as both a run- and pass-blocker, something only five other Power Five centers accomplished in the past five years. Four of those five are now in the NFL, with the other being Linderbaum from last season."

PFF ranked Gibson the ninth-best center nationally after the 2020 season. He was awarded NC State's Mike Hardy Award for winning attitude and Bob Warren Award for integrity and sportsmanship. He also earned the team's Alpha Wolf Award for leadership in the offseason program and was named a team captain.

"Primarily playing left tackle for the Wolfpack in his two years on campus, dabbling at guard for a few games to start 2020, Ekwonu owns a 61.9 career pass-block grade with 15 combined sacks and hits allowed," Treash said of Ekwonu. "That's not particularly impressive, but he's one of the best run blockers in the country. Ekwonu's 92.1 run-block grade as an underclassman was the fourth-best mark among FBS tackles. And two of the three ahead of him are now in the NFL.

"North Carolina State deploys a zone rushing attack, with over three-fourths of the team's runs being such since 2019, and that’s where Ekownu is a true mauler. He is tied with Kentucky's Darian Kinnard for the most big-time blocks — PFF’s highest-graded plays for linemen — on zone runs over the past two seasons."

Ekwonu's 2020 run block grade was the second-best in the ACC behind Virginia Tech's Christian Darrisaw, who was selected No. 23 overall by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He led the Wolfpack with 50 pancake blocks and 22 knockdowns last fall.

He also earned second-team All-ACC honors for both guard and tackle by the Associated Press and third-team All-ACC honors as a tackle in the league's official vote. In 2019, PFF named him to its All-Freshman squad. This offseason, The Athletic named Ekwonu "the most feared offensive lineman in the ACC."

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