50. NC State Wolfpack |
#9 in ACC |
I’ve been higher than most on the Wolfpack over the past couple years, and it has more or less paid off. But this year could be rough. NC State quietly had one of the best offenses in the nation last year, second to Clemson in the ACC in ypp, thanks to the conference’s top passing offense. That’s why the Wolfpack landed five players on the first team All-ACC offense...and now all five are gone. Eight starters in all are gone from that side of the ball, seven of whom earned some level of all conference honors. Not only that, but offensive coordinator Eliah Drinkwitz coached himself right into the head coaching job at Appalachian State, so there’s a new face running the show. Well, not a new face, two of them, and not really new either, but new roles, as running backs coach Des Kitchings, who has one year of coordinating experience at Vanderbilt in 2010, and receivers coach George McDonald who was previously offensive coordinator at Western Michigan in 2005 and 2006 and Syracuse in 2013 and 2014. It starts with an open quarterback competition, as open as any Power 5 job in the nation, with four quarterbacks, all with three or more years of eligibility, in the running. None have any meaningful college experience, so I don’t even hazard to attempt to handicap the race right now. Redshirt freshman Devin Leary was the most highly thought of of the four coming out of high school, but it’s not like he was some blue chipper. That would all be well and good if whoever won the job had Kelvin Harmon and Jakobi Meyers and their combined 173 receptions, 2,233 yards and 11 touchdowns to throw to, but both declared early for the NFL Draft. Emeka Emezie had a very respectable 53 reception, 616 yard, 5 touchdown season, but it’s a big jump in how defenses to go from a distant 3rd option to the best proven option. For good measure the line has to replace three all-conference starters, and a 1,000 yard running back is gone from what was the conference’s second worst rushing attack to begin with. At least they perhaps have the best kicker in the league? The pleasant surprise last year was how well the defense held up after losing all members of what was maybe the best defensive line in the nation in 2017. They were one of the conference’s better run defenses, although they surprisingly struggled against the pass, particularly giving up big plays. The big find was Isaiah Moore who took over the middle linebacking spot as a redshirt freshman, and established himself as the leader of a young defense. A lot more is going to be asked from that side of the ball this year though, to not just be surprisingly competent, but actually good. Of the four starters lost, only Germaine Pratt is going to be obviously missed. The one year Ted Roof co-coordinator experiment ended when he followed Drinkwitz to Appalachian State as defensive coordinator, but it seems like the co-coordinator is what Doeren wants to do, by bringing in Tony Gibson to replace him. Gibson’s track record as a coordinator isn’t great, but he’s an outstanding recruiter, and NC State probably wasn’t going to entice him with a lesser position.
| KEY PLAYERS |
WR | Emeka Emezie, Junior |
T | Justin Witt, Junior |
K | Christopher Dunn, Sophomore |
| . |
DE | James Smith-Williams, Senior |
LB | Isaiah Moore, Sophomore |
S | Jarius Morehead, Senior |
49. Oklahoma State Cowboys |
#7 in Big XII |
On paper, replacing the Mason Rudolph to James Washington connection seemed daunting, but Dillon Stoner and Jalen McCleskey were still a formidable duo, Justice Hill was a Heisman candidate at running back, coming off a 1,400 yard season, and when has Mike Gundy ever struggled to find a quarterback? Jalen McClesey transferred a few games into the season. Justice Hill got hurt and had his lowest rushing output in Stillwater. Jared Cornelius, who ended spring ball atop the depth chart, but was expected to wind up behind grad transfer Dru Brown and top recruit Spencer Sanders, wound up remaining the best option at quarterback, but did so averaging 80 yards less than Rudolph had the year before, while having one of the worst completion percentages in the Big XII, and leading the conference in interceptions. That’s not to say Oklahoma State’s offense was bad. But this program is built on a reliance of being elite, the year before they were top 4 nationally in passing, scoring and total offense, and being just merely good led to the worst season for the program since Gundy’s first, in 2005. Cornelius agraduated, so now it’s Sanders’ quarterback job to lose, even though Dru Brown is back, and the Cowboys brought in another strong freshman in Brendan Costello. You would have thought, with the new redshirt rule, Gundy would have gotten Sanders some snaps, at least in the Liberty Bowl, but he didn’t. So this really is a trust in Gundy, trust in the recruiting rankings situation. Hill went pro a year early, as was expected, but sophomore Chuba Hubbard might make the transition easier. Hubbard had 740 yards last year, and actually had a higher ypc than Hill, on only 34 fewer carries. Hubbard had 100 yard games in three of the four games to close the season once Hill got hurt, including a 145 yard, 8.1 ypc game in the Liberty Bowl. Tyron Johnson made the surprising decision to go pro early, but Oklahoma State returns their breakout star from a year ago, Tylan Wallace, who had 86 catches for 1,491 yards and 12 touchdowns as a freshman, along with solid complimentary piece in Dillon Stoner, and a tight end in Jelani Woods, who was honorable mention all-conference as a freshman. Oklahoma State has never had a shortage of pass catchers. It may have a bit of a different look this year as Gundy hired Sean Gleeson away from Princeton, replacing Mike Yurcich, after six years, who returned to his home state to join Ohio State’s staff. The defense is always a concern in Stillwater, but it could be particularly a concern this year, particularly against the run. Oklahoma State returned a supposedly strong line from 2017, that featured three seniors, and a junior...and they couldn’t stop anyone, giving up 185 ypg on the ground, and opponents knew it, running on the Cowboys 40.2 times per game, most in the Big XII. Three starters graduated, and the best on the line Jordan Brailford, left early for the NFL Draft. So now, arguably the worst run defense in the conference outside of Waco has an entirely new starting defensive line. The back seven, particularly the secondary in the 4-2-5 scheme looks to be in much better shape. They weren’t terrible last year, but simply could not get off the field, generating a Big XII worst 5 interceptions, heavily reliant on a pass rush which generated the most sacks in the conference. The problem is that Jordan Brailford and Jarrell Owens, the starting ends, led the team and combined for 15 of those sacks, both graduated. The four leaders in tackles for loss are also gone. So we’ll see if the back end was the product of a departed pass rush, or if they really can hold up.
| KEY PLAYERS |
WR | Tylan Wallace, Junior |
TE | Jelani Woods, Sophomore |
T | Tevin Jenkins, Junior |
. | |
LB | Calvin Bundage, Senior |
CB | A.J. Green, Senior |
S | Malcolm Rodriguez, Senior |