NC State kicks off tomorrow to begin their 2020 season. It was supposed to be last week, however NC State had some COVID related issues and had to cancel last week’s game. NC State has a LOT of questions coming into this season. NC State has replaced almost it’s entire staff. They have a new OC and DC and new coaches all over the place.
With no spring practice, a summer training camp that was stopped because of positive tests within the program. Who knows what we are going to see.
There have been so many problems that plagued NC State’s offense last year. The offensive line was a patchwork last season. When you add in the blocking TE Autenrieth who was out for most of the year it made for an inconsistent run game. Ricky Person, who in my opinion, is NC State’s best overall running back, missed time last year and didn’t look healthy at all. Add in losing your downfield WR threat in CJ Riley. The offense looked disjointed and had no rhythm.
Doeren did not like what he saw and made wholesale changes on the offensive coaching staff. Des Kitchings is gone, George McDonald was demoted, and Kurt Roper was moved from QB coach to RB coach. Tim Beck was brought in to call plays.
The offense should be better. With an experienced offensive playcaller in Tim Beck. Beck’s offense is one that leans heavily on a running quarterback. Which, believe it or not, Devin Leary was in high school. Look back at Beck’s quarterbacks when he was the play caller. The quarterbacks ran, and ran a TON!
I am not sure Leary is built to take the kind of punishment that Braxton Miller, Tommy Armstrong, Taylor Martinez, and Sam Ehlinger. With 3 running backs who are talented and a mobile QB and a healthy offensive line. NC State should lean heavily on the run game, like Beck had at Nebraska.
The defense had as many changes as the offense. Jeffery Gunter transferred back to Coastal Carolina. Nick McCloud transferred to Notre Dame, Isiah Stallings, Brock Miller, and Joseph Botepeli also transferred. Then there were the coaching changes. Dave Huxtable was fired and Tony Gibson was moved from Safeties coach to Defensive Coordinator. George Barlow and Aaron Henry have also left. NC State has brought in Brian Mitchell (VT), Joe DeForest (USC), Freddie Aughtry-Lindsay, and Charlie Wiles (VT). They are going fulltime into the 3-3-5.
That is a lot of changes going into a season that isn’t disrupted by a global pandemic. However, when you look at these changes, there is still hope. There is talent on this team, and a lot of it. There’s talent on the offensive line and running backs. There’s talent on the defensive line and linebackers. Get at least marginal play out of the quarterback and wide receivers. You should have at least 5 wins. Get the secondary, that was a complete and utter trainwreck together, and you might be able to get to 7 wins.
There isn’t a game on NC State’s schedule that you look at and say, they lose this one guaranteed. NC State misses Clemson, Notre Dame, and Louisville. The schedule isn’t daunting, but there are tricky games in there. My prediction is that NC State goes 6-5, which will give them hope going into next season.
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