NC State football fans knew that freshman running back Zonovan Knight was a speedy, big-play threat. That was discovered when he ran for a 73-yard touchdown in the Kay Yow Spring Game in April.

What most Wolfpack fans probably didn't know was that Knight was not the only speedy, big-play true freshman coming to NC State. While Knight enrolled early, Jordan Houston arrived in the more traditional fashion. That’s because when Knight was starting college classes last January, Houston’s recruitment was at a crossroads.

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As a senior at Flint Hill High in Oakton, Va., the Waldorf, Md., native was committed to Maryland. But the fallout from the death in football-related activities of Maryland player Jordan McNair eventually cost then-Terrapins head coach D.J. Durkin his job.

At that point, Houston began to reconsider his options. NC State in January began realizing that it was likely not going to sign four-star Jamious Griffin from Rome (Ga.) High, a long-time commitment who chose not to sign in the December signing period. So it was only natural that Houston and the Wolfpack proved to be a match for each other.

“About two weeks before signing day, Coach [Dave] Doeren called me and offered me,” Houston remembered. “Basically they told me the opportunity to play here was open, so I couldn’t turn that down. Obviously it’s working, so I’m happy.”

Houston has already worked his way into the Wolfpack running back rotation. In his first game, Houston’s highlight moment was when he lined up in the slot and then ran a sweep for 22 yards. Overall, Houston finished with six rushes for 35 yards and caught three passes for 10 yards.

When Houston was in high school, he played the traditional running back role and carried the ball about 20 times a game, he estimated. Houston’s speed is being utilized in multiple ways at NC State.

“I like it a lot,” Houston said. “They get me out in space, allow me to make plays. What more can you ask for?”

Houston, Knight, sophomore Ricky Person Jr. and redshirt freshman Trent Pennix all received multiple carries in the opener. There is no set rotation at running back, according to Houston.

“It really depends on how we do that week in practice,” he said. “If we have a good week in practice, you’re probably going to get carries.”

Houston earned his opportunity last Saturday, and he couldn’t help but soak up the moment.

“First time I went in, I went for the jet sweep,” Houston recalled. “I just looked at the crowd and I was like, ‘Wow!’ … It was more than I thought it would be.”

When redshirt sophomore quarterback Matthew McKay finished his opening game becoming just the third quarterback in NC State history to throw for over 300 yards in his first career start, the congratulations started coming.

“I did get a lot of texts; my phone was blowing up,” McKay admitted, before adding, “I just appreciate everybody hitting me up.”

But McKay is not content. He noted that watching the video on Sunday can be tough sometimes, and there were “a lot of things” he saw that could be better.

“They’re frustrating to watch,” he said.

The main lesson that McKay took away from the opener was to relax and do his job. He noted that he felt better as the game went along against East Carolina and hopes that will carry over.

“I think it was just me calming down and understanding what the defense is giving me, just not pre-determining where to go with the ball,” McKay said.

“I definitely thought I could have been a lot better out there,” he added. “I thought we did a solid job, but we left a lot of plays out there on the field. We just need to come here and learn and execute on Saturday.”

Going forward, McKay will have one less receiver to work with. Redshirt junior C.J. Riley, who caught 28 passes for 315 yards and a pair of scores in 2018, was lost for the season after he tore his ACL on punt coverage in the second quarter of Saturday’s win.

Doeren has said that redshirt freshman Devin Carter will likely have the first opportunity to take Riley’s place.

“It’s a big loss,” McKay said. “We’re praying for him as well, but now it’s time for other guys to step up.”

McKay said he’s talked with Carter, but he did not need to give him any advice about what’s at stake.

“He knows it’s next man up, so he just has to take advantage of his opportunity,” McKay said.

One other potential option on the outside is fifth-year senior Tabari Hines, the former Wake Forest and Oregon player who had an impressive debut for the Wolfpack. He caught four passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and also ran once for 34 yards on a reverse.

Hines typically plays in the slot, but Doeren has said in the past he also knows how to play the outside receiver positions.

“I know he’s going to make a play,” McKay said about throwing it to Hines.

NC State still has junior Emeka Emezie, who had seven receptions for 70 yards and will be McKay’s go-to receiver in 2019.

“I trust him a lot, just throwing the ball into his hands,” McKay said. “It’s my job just to get it there, but I’m comfortable with Thayer Thomas, Devin Carter, all of the other receivers too."

NC State used a true rotation among the tackles on the offensive line, which was a new wrinkle introduced by offensive line coach John Garrison.

Some of that strategy could be due to playing in 80-plus-degree heat, and that it's early in the season. The offensive line delivered with a 34-6 win over East Carolina, allowing zero sacks and the team to rush 31 times for 191 yards (6.2-yard average).

"The day after, I brought two cookie cakes [for the offensive line]," McKay said. "I was thinking about four. I think it was enough. I actually had a piece myself. … They were the big ones. One of them said 'NC State.' The other one was regular icing on it."

NCSU rotated fifth-year senior Emanuel McGirt Jr. at both left and right tackle in his first college start, which gave redshirt sophomore Bryson Speas a chance to play left tackle. McGirt had 46 snaps, redshirt junior right tackle Justin Witt played 44 and Speas finished with 34. Freshman tackle Ikem Ekwonu also got his feet wet with 19 snaps.

“I think it’s important to get a good rotation,” Garrison said. “You look at 73 snaps in the game, it’s always good to get offensive linemen in and out.”

The interior crew didn’t have a true rotation, but freshman Dylan McMahon got to play eight snaps at guard. Redshirt sophomore center Grant Gibson played 71 of the 73 snaps, followed by junior right guard Joshua Fedd-Jackson with 67 and redshirt junior left guard Joe Sculthorpe had 65 snaps.

“We can have seven or eight guys come in and play, and that’s an important thing,” Garrison said. “It starts to catch up with you during games nine, 10, 11. Offensive linemen, generally if you play your top five the whole entire season, they get the bumps and bangs.”

Garrison said that he’s rotated players in the past. He’s been the offensive line coach at Florida Atlantic, UNLV and Nebraska. He joked that he wasn’t worried about the response of some of the players who are learning new positions. McGirt couldn’t even remember ever playing right tackle before.

“I wasn’t looking for his [McGirt’s] response because we just have to go,” Garrison said. “As a coach, if you make it a big deal, then they’ll make it a big deal. Do you want to play or not?”

Speas was in contention for a starting spot at left guard, which would have shifted Sculthorpe to center. He's becoming a Swiss Army Knife on the line.

"He is our utility guy," Garrison said. "I want to keep him at 30-40 snaps in the game. I thought he did an awesome job. He can go to the right side at both guard and tackle."

True freshmen Ekwonu and McMahon also caught Garrison's eye.

"They did an awesome job coming into the game," the coach said.

Garrison sees one area for sure that needs improvement against Western Carolina on Saturday.

"I was really disappointed on third-and-short," Garrison said. "You have to execute in those situations."

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