NC State 2026 Offense Preview: All In on CJ Bailey — Tuffy Talk

NC State football averaged 30.2 points a game last season. It also scored seven points. Twice. Layton and Ethan break down every position group on the 2026 offense and try to work out which of those numbers is the real team.

CJ Bailey enters year three after 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Ethan's verdict: they've gone all in on him, and it's his show now. Whether that works comes down to two things — and the hosts don't agree on which matters more.

Also: why Doeren attempted only nine field goals all season, whether Duke Scott gets to 1,000 yards for the first time since 2018, who actually becomes Bailey's number one receiver, and why losing Jai'Lun Hampton on the offensive line hurts more than it first looked.

Part one of six. Defense preview next week.

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Transcript

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Tuffy talk fired up and loud the Wolf Pack Nation wear a hell of a crowd from the first pitch to the final play Tuffy talk let's roll today what's going on Wolf Pack Nation Welcome to another edition and we are so so excited here to be talking about our NC State offense for the 2026 football season that's coming up here and just over 30 days here It's crazy to say to least here that we're just over a month away here Ethan from from getting the CNC State 2026 football season started man And and we're gonna be talking a lot here today about breaking down each position here within the NC State offense and what to expect who to watch out for and what are the keys here to NC State offense having a very very successful season here So Ethan dude I mean it's it's crazy man the days are flying by here to to game 1 that's for sure they are well I feel like we have the same conversation every year about how fast it's going Oh can't believe it's football season already and here we are again Right so um man CJ Bailey's already a junior like you know it's just man where like where is the time going So um yeah but look football season best time of the year right I don't know about you I enjoy like college sports for nine months out of the year It's just every day It's just a you know thrown at you So I kind of enjoy the three month break which I guess at this point where two months through almost two months since baseball ended So you know ready ready to get the juices fallen again Yeah so want to kind of start off with Ethan kind of taking a look at last year's offense because I truly do feel I mean especially since you have the same quarterback uh you know that you definitely can maybe take a look at last year's team and really compare it to what is the team what does office need to do this year to improve What do they need to focus on One of the media things I felt like Ethan is that uh looking at the stats from last year Last year they averaged just over 30 points a game which two of the games that they played last year they only scored Seven Points And that was versus Miami and Notre Dame So to so I mean if you take out those seven point games you get them the average jumps all the way up to 34.5 points per game So I mean the offense truly did have a real ceiling that I think really showed itself in the Georgia Tech match up specifically scoring 48 points So I mean just talking about here about the kind of the floor over ceiling conversation of last year what would you say attributed to um you know the success that you saw with those ceilings but also to the struggles that you saw in those floors facing probably two very elite defenses in Miami and Notre Dame Yeah Well I I do think for starters right if we're gonna talk about Seven Points against Notre Dame in Miami we also have to mention 56 against Campbell you know um kind of on the other end of that So but you're right like they did explode offensively 48 against Georgia Tech You mentioned that 42 against UNC 34 against Wake Forest who ended up being a really really good defense I don't know if people are kind of aware state played them early in the season that ended up being a very good Wake Forest particularly uh on the on the defensive side And they won nine games He had 35 against Virginia who obviously wasn't great defensively but did play for the ACC title So yeah like I think the ceiling was there and I think you checked a lot of boxes There are a lot there was a lot of talent on the field now I do think they were a little young And that's why I was really bullish on the potential of keeping this core group offensively together which didn't necessarily happen And so now for me the question is is how does that change things But yeah I thought NC State went into a lot of games last year where they had the talent at wide receiver at running back at tight end at those skill positions to you know just out talent other teams which we haven't necessarily seen state do that at those particular positions If they have a lot of times it's been you know front seven offensive line things like that Uh and so I I I think those guys were a big part of it obviously Bailey Like there's a lot of potential NFL guys that were on that offense last year just young just young And I think that kind of that attributes to some of the UPS and the downs some of the games where you had more turnovers um and then consistencies But again as you said the ceiling was very very high Yeah now with that being said though too as well I think that last year's offense you saw I think finally Coach Dorn come out of his usual rely on the defense shell particularly I think it was against UVA where we went for a really was called what it was ballsy fourth down conversion with Will Wilson and converted And I think honestly Ethan that really unlocked a whole new strategy for rest of the season where we ended up only uh having nine field goal attempts last season Ethan I mean I don't know if you would have maybe I should have asked you how many field goal attempts you think that we attempted last season We only attempted nine which is which is crazy compared to you know most the words it's easily in the higher teens if not 20s in terms of a number of field goal attempts in a whole season So uh do you think Ethan that you see more of that this season in terms of a more aggressive style you know fourth and two uh or less you're going for probably 90 of the time with Wilson back there I do think Dave Dorn deserves a lot of credit for that I think certainly that's been a complaint They haven't been aggressive enough on fourth downs to reliant on field goals kind of as you said Um and so I think the willingness to to adjust there you know it took longer than you would have liked but ultimately you got there eventually And I think you benefited uh from that last year So I I I think Dorn deserves a lot of credit for that And yeah absolutely I think uh Will Wilson yeah like that you know that's why that's why he's there and NC State kept him around They paid him very handsomely I shouldn't say very handsomely but for a backup quarterback he was paid very handsomely right um who you don't you don't expect to throw the ball once this year you know yeah you you you have to be really really good in those situations You have to be good on the margins you know with where this program is at and so again Dorn deserves a lot of credit for that Um I think there's an element of like knowing hey we're we need to be better offensive We need to be better on the offensive side of the ball and less reliant on our defense as we have been in past years I I've always you know people always say hey it's trusting the defense And I've always pushed back on that I don't think punting on fourth and one from the 37 or 38 whatever is trusting the defense I think that's not trusting your defense If you trust your defense you know you feel like if you're if you turn the ball over on downs they can get it right back for you You know whereas like if you don't need to try and pin them inside the five or the 10 that's what you do with the defense that you don't trust where you you wanna make the team go 90 yards to score So I thought that was great Um and you look at uh look you know state had a uh you know Vine set was 5 for 6 uh on field goals uh konashinski I think that's how you pronounce it kicked a couple right But I I I don't think it really had anything to do with the kickers which is something we've seen in the past where you know when you had Kyle Bambard um yeah say was more aggressive on fourth down right And then years where they had better kickers they were less aggressive on fourth downs again For me not every field goal is the same but a lot of field goals are to me I view them as minus 4 instead of plus 3 Um yeah and so I I think seeing that adjustment from state last year Yeah you expect that to go even further with the success rate that Will Wilson had last year I think it was 75 80 somewhere in that range on on his on the plays that he ran yeah no what and you know and talking about two as well I mean like I want a kind of transition now talking specifically about the quarterback side with CJ Bailey here And you know kind of recap So last season played all 13 games had a 68.77 completion percentage I threw for just over 30 1 hundred yards last season 238.85 per game 25 touchdowns nine interceptions 150.71 passer rating um and had 211 yards rushing on 43 carries But one thing I want to talk about you think is we talked about on our live show this week Here was talking about his development over the last couple of years since he came to as he stay as a true freshman One of the things I really stood out to me is um cause I know that they were talking about this They used to kick off In terms of one of the big things that really sold CJ on returning is truly the fact that Coach Dorm at an early stage when everybody was coming to school to see Jeremiah Smith was more dead set on quarterback and CJ and saying that's a guy that I can develop into to an All ACC you know all American talent And especially you look at CJ's weight when he came to campus he was 1 70 Now he's in the two 20s range in terms of weight here So uh I think you probably I think you actually saw a little bit of that play into his game last year A little bit more willingness to be smart in terms of when he decides to take off with the ball Um and I think you're seeing that now too with this with this large frame And I don't know like you know I don't think he's necessarily gonna be low in their shoulder on anybody But I think that'll definitely help him be more durable which I think for CJ is a that's gotta be priority number one is gotta stay healthy I know it's something which we even said in the live show being like you can't factor in injuries cause you never know unfortunately when and if an injuries ever gonna happen But definitely building a larger frame that's more capable and able of taking hits uh you know small or big as they may um and being able to stay in the game is a huge benefit towards that Yeah well last year was the first year since 2021 that state had stability at the quarterback position where they weren't going through multiple Obviously they played Wilson but we know the circumstances there So I'm with you Like quarterback health you're right is such a big deal And I thought like if you told me that CJ Bailey would be fully healthy last year I probably would have thought they'd win more than eight But again you look at the schedule you know ended up being tougher than expected certainly that had something to do with it Um but you're right like taking care of his body You know the situations that you're gonna be putting Will Wilson in the physicality with which he plays with Yeah you you you do have to stay healthy there Um and again we've seen you know we've seen a number of quarterback injuries And C State has seen more than their fair share I would say of quarterback injuries over the last five years six years um going back to really Ryan Finley um you know Devon Leary was had what two season ending injuries And um yeah yeah so and then obviously you know some under performance since then as well But yeah I I I definitely think that's a big part of it Um you need the continuity you need the continuity I think that's kind of an underrated part especially in this era I think it's always been a big deal at the college level where there's there's constant turnover at all times But now there's even now the the turnover has gone to a whole another level right and so being healthy staying healthy keeping Bailey on the field Yeah you know NC State needs it this year yeah now one cause I wanna kind of talk about uh cause again we can spend a whole episode talking about CJ Bailey Cause there's no doubt he is the the poster child for for this team as as much the starting QB is for for most any college football team out there Uh but one thing I just wanna kind of summarize really kind of one big X factor You know what is the one thing that if CJ can approve this area then we're gonna be set in to have a really successful season on the offensive side of the ball For me it's getting more downfield uh getting more downfield with the rose last season average he averaged 7.73 yards per attempt Uh and I I we talked about this even too as well again on the live show How it seemed like we were force feeding at times the ball to Joe Lee which is more of your you know eight to 12 yards downfield throws but you know being that you do have some speed in Victor Snow Uh you know and and you know even Keenan who's shown some some you know four four uh ability Duke Scott even potentially with some wheel routes Uh you know you name it Uh you know and especially be being the fact that that CJ is now gonna be solidified as a threat running in the ball you know was and you know having some a little bit more sophisticated offense maybe doing a little bit more from a run pass option perspective trying to get those linebackers safeties to bite here Why not beat them down field a little bit more this season That's really kind of the biggest thing for me is really stretching the field and which at the end of the day would really just help you when it comes to helping Duke Scott you know helping um you know the other you know paler running options even CJ with being able to run the ball when asked upon Well you took mine Um that that was gonna be yeah that was that was my answer as well you know and I thought to me that was one of the biggest gripes I thought with the caliber of receiver that NC State had last year And I know not everybody like Noah Rogers as much as I did We'll see we'll see we'll see how plays out I think he got hurt at Alabama but Terrell Anderson too Right um you know the caliber of years I think Terrell Anderson like that's a guy who could be an NFL star Um I I I thought Bailey and state didn't capitalize enough particularly down the field You could throw Wesley Grimes in there Um they did they didn't capitalize on those guys downfield talent enough last year Um and so that was my that was my original answer so I like your answer I will audible and and go to taking care of the ball Like like it sounds simple it sounds simple right but you know states Bailey had three 3 interceptions against Duke I believe he had a fumble in that game as well You lose that game 3 three interceptions against Notre Dame obviously not competitive there Miami two interceptions in that game Uh he had one interception against ECU You know that was game state only one 24 17 So when he took care of the ball state was good right they they went 8 and 2 7 and 2 if you wanna take the ECU game out Um and the losses were a game where they scored 21 against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh where state scored 34 points in that game And that was something we saw in Year 1 as well right Bailey Like when when CJ Bailey has taking care of the ball they've won games And I I point to again we talked about like the quarterback turnover the last the last three years Well the common theme is state has consistently won those turnover battles They've they found guys they haven't been very good but they haven't turned the ball over When you look at like Jack Chambers and I wouldn't throw MJ Morris in there but I guess it was during that time Brennan Armstrong right um and that was one of the reasons I really like Gracie Mccall uh Ben Finley had a few starts Those guys they weren't very good they're not as good as CJ Bailey not even close But state regularly regularly won those turnover battles And when you look at the first two years with CJ Bailey the games they've lost they've lost the turnover battle And so you know if state can wants to put together a 9 and 3 or 10 and 2 type of season Bailey's gonna have to get the turnovers under control You can't you can't win a game turning the ball over three or four times And that's happened too often with CJ Bailey Yeah yeah no I mean you know as simple as it is you know I think we're really kind of laying up the most obvious balls to the you know 1 1 That's really simple to do just take care of the football Don't don't know those are said really aggressive easier It's easier said than done Yes but but today it's it's go ahead and not all the turnovers are on the quarterback right like correct they could be deflected it could be an offensive lineman BMB could be a receiver running the wrong way you know but obviously you know it's a team it's a team sport and that's why you still look at the turnover battle as a whole right and not just well how many interceptions did you throw Because everything else factors into hmm yeah yeah no it's it's more than fair here for sure Now the one thing though which I I think we both can agree on here Ethan is that you know seeing an interception happen in person or god forbid a quarterback go down even if it's nothing for nothing serious in hearing Carter Family Stadium just get really really quiet all of a sudden I it definitely can uh can cause me to to be a little bit nervous And he even asked for probably potentially some CPR too as well to to get to get me back into the game here for sure And if you have not gotten any kind of CPR certification before gotta check out our amazing sponsor awful CPR trains first uh who is able to offer CPR trainings for your business school church teamwork organization And the Alpha CPR trainings makes it easy for you by bringing the train directly to you offering uh adult pediatric certifications And uh and what successful completion participants actually received an official Red Cross American Red Cross certification valid for two years and meeting OSHA standards It's convenient it's professional it's tailored to your schedule So alpha will CPR training make sure to reach out to them as they will always make sure that you stay prepared when every second matter So to learn more and schedule your class today visit Alpha Wolf CPR dot square dot site today So Ethan I wanna jump into here though the running backs which I I you know running back Y'all gotta gotta pull out gotta pull out the quo whenever whenever possible here uh but uh yeah so I mean the the the head the head guy itself Duke Scott the big question I think feel like I wanna ask you Ethan is there's a lot of talks around Duke Scott being a work horse running back for this upcoming season And we definitely have put a lot of chips into Duke Scott basket here letting Hollywood's mothers move on but also to and rightfully so though too Because he has shown a lot of promise again Four three four four speed Uh he's a tank of a of a human being uh list as one of the the beast of of the of college football for this upcoming season uh nationally and uh again like made a lot of huge plays for us last year specifically against Georgia Tech uh where he ran for all over Georgia Tech uh that night Um but obviously there is uh two I think potential options behind them and Jonathan Paler again a former top 100 recruit His class two years ago coming back from the ECL injury and then a Dave Young from from UNC who's rising junior played with CJ Bailey in high school So you know do you truly think that Duke Scott's gonna be a 80 of the touch running back this season Well I think 80 is high but yeah I do think he's going to be the guy Um friends he state I I I expect him to have a big year I I do wonder if maybe people are getting carried away a little bit Obviously we know um you know Will Wilson will will be very involved in the running game right um but yeah I expect him to have a big year I'm not as bullet like I don't really have major expectations for Jonathan Paler I know that's a guy you're high on and I think athletically the ability is there I just kind of wonder like it's been two years now since he played you know and so I just kind of wonder about the impact there And Davion Gous I think is he's fine like he's fine as a backup but like I don't really I I don't think he's coming gonna come in and take Duke Scott's job or anything like that Um but yeah like I I you know it's a lot on Duke Scott I I I think he's probably ready for it And I was a proponent of and see state letting Hollywood smothers walk I I was um now I like my reasoning is probably different from other people You know I I thought okay if you're gonna get Jaden's got like I'm not expecting Duke Scott to be as good as Hollywood smothers But I think if you can get them for 70 if you can get 70 to 80% of the production and talent probably not talent but I think some others is very talented and do that for 20 to 30 of the cost To me that's where it makes sense I'm not expecting Scott to be as good or as impactful as Hollywood Smothers is now I think Scott's going in a similar situation where smothers is where it was like all right you have this guy that you feel good about but what's behind him you don't really know Um and so I do think that sets up Scott for a big year where it's gonna be hey we're gonna give you as many carries as you can handle You know like this is not going to be a couple years ago was like a three a three headed monster that just you never really figured it out Like I don't think it's that sort of thing but um yeah I I I expect him to have a big year Um and yeah like you know potential thousand yard rusher I think well I mean and that was really gonna be my next big question here Uh Ethan was around and and Greg's come out and planned his flag and saying that Duke is gonna be that guy the first 2,000 yard rusher that we've had since Reggie Glass be dead in 2,018 here And so what are the odds of him achieving it Which I feel like it from from what you're saying odds are feel like a pretty high Uh you know again I mean he ran for 200 over 200 yards first Georgia Tech highlight by a 60 yard Russian touchdown Um and again we're talking potentially 13 games here So you know you're not necessarily saying you know okay you go out you average 70 80 yards you know rushing per game which is not again easier said than done You said that before I completely agree with that too But I think that with what this what what this offense will give you hopefully throwing the ball Like I said during the quarterback side It should open up a lot in terms of offering rushing lanes and opportunities for Duke to go get you know 5 6 yards a carry kind of deal and being with his frame being able to to get yard post contact I think will be huge for him too as well Now you know we'll talk a little bit more about the offensive line here a minute But I think that's gonna be a big point to as well is you know can coach two Jays offensive line especially unfortunately losing you know one backup uh haha offense attack on particular here but um you know can can those things come together and get Duke Scott's 1,000 yard rushing line for the first time since 2018 is gonna be a huge storyline If if Duke is able to make that happen Yeah well to me the thing with those is always can you stay healthy right And that was the problem with it wasn't the problem with mothers but that was why he came up short right he had he had 160 carries in 11 games um which I thought he had missed another game but I guess not And that you know that's fourteen and a half carries a game that's a lot Like that is a pretty solid number You know smothers was involved quite a bit in the past game I think Jaden Scott Duke Scott I keep calling Jaden um same guy right Um yeah same guy I do think that will um you know impact things And again like are you trying to balance things out Uh state does have you know this year for what it's worth they do have two kind of gimme games with App State in Richmond last year they really only had one So you know does that do you keep like Smothers had three carries against Campbell right that allowed him to keep his his workload down for the rest of the year And I and I thought they asked a lot of smothers and I thought he kind of slowed down by the end of the year right are you gonna do the same thing with Scott Do you feel like you know he's a he's a bigger body so he can handle it more Um he he really had three games right other than that he was a backup He did he did not run for more than 35 yards um in any in any game Well let me rephrase this differently he only had three games where he ran for more than 35 yards Other than that he was just kind of a you know relegated to backup duty Um and it was the Campbell game obviously where it was out of hand very early Then it was the Georgia Tech game which we know Smothers missed and then in Memphis which you know he missed again And that that to me the Georgia Tech game did a lot a lot of heavy lifting for Scott because if you look at what he did against Memphis it was 19 for 94 4.9 yards per carry Like that's good it's good but it's not Like it's not gonna blow you I mean smothers was over six yards per carry right And so I I I think he'll be in line for a big year But like he's he does have to stay healthy and say was very very healthy at the running back position last year Think people kind of underestimate you know the likelihood of injuries at that spot So I I think he's in line for a big year I do but there's there's other pieces of it too There's Will Wilson There's injuries There's you know what's behind him what's not behind him So to me a lot of different moving pieces there But um yeah like I again flashed seven He has seven games where he was under four yards per carry But again it was such a small sample size Like it's hard to like it's three four five seven carries a game Like how much stock do you really put into that Yeah Now before I kind of write anybody off the two as well I mean do you is there any other names that we should keep an eye out for besides Duke Davion and paler Do you think those are really gonna be only three guys that really do anything from running back perspective this season Um I think state was very fortunate last year to be as healthy as they were and I think their coaching staff deserves a lot of credit for that I thought they managed that position very very well I was very upfront about that going into the year I did not think they would make it through with just two running backs I don't I didn't think it would be possible to make it through a season with just two And you know now as you look at the setup now I know you're throwing paler in there I don't have him in there I think it's just Scott and gals right now Um so my answer would be no Like my answer would be no you're going to need a third running back um you know at different parts of the season Um you know could it be paler Sure could it be um you know Noah Moss is an incoming freshman Um RJ Boyd I believe had a medical situation I want to make sure I have that one right But I believe RJ Boyd is who had cancer and so enrolled a year late And you also have RJ No I'm sorry Dylan McCoy those guys are all freshman You have Isaiah Jones who's a local kid DeAndre Desinores a sophomore Like maybe it's desinores Like he's probably the guy I would have circled who was pretty highly regarded when Saint landed him a couple years ago But to me they're gonna need one of those guys I really think they are Yeah no absolutely So but again I mean it's gonna be spearheaded by Duke Scott and rightfully so excited to see what Duke can do here this season Now I do wanna jump go ahead and jump though to wide receivers cause now we're gonna get deep into the more of the positions that everybody's really talking about here So start off receiver side I think the big question is and we talked about during the live show but who is CJ's guy Like you know it I I think that the obvious answer seems to be JoJo traitor But I think that's more of what okay like that's just more of an a plus B equal C they played together in high school like you know so there's that chemistry They already JoJo's you know former four star recruit so very very talented wide receiver too as well I can do a lot of great things so sure he makes sense to be a potential for the guy But I kind of also to look at Keenan Jackson saying well CJ's played with Kean for last two seasons um and they saw had a lot of success together So I think Keenan also to is is a guy that potentially fits the mold of being quote unquote CJ's guy this year Um but so I kind of too full question again Ethan But uh do you feel like there is going to be a guy this year that will break out Um and also to if there is who do you who would you pinpoint as your prediction of who that guy will be You know Layton the the Noah Rogers experience really hurt me it hurt me and I would throw Terrell Anderson in there too To me both of those guys and Terrell like obviously Terrell was more on field had more on field production than Noah did I thought those two guys were very very good I thought the way they got rotated in and out um not throwing the ball as much as they did I couldn't as much as I thought they should I'm sure they thought they should right there their receivers I like when's the last time state had a go to receiver Is it a Mecca a Mezi It's been five If so it's been five years a year Thomas I mean well but he was the same time as a Mezi yeah true and Carter Devon Carter too So well no yeah Devin Carter I don't think Carter is not in that category I don't think no so I agree go Yeah I don't think I don't think there's going to be a standout guy I think they did I don't like the approach myself if I were you know handling the football team But with the way they handled with the way NCC handles the football team I do kind of like it They rotate a bunch of guys right We're not going all in on one receiver It's just not gonna happen So you know they brought in different guys They brought in Davion Dozier they brought in Tyron Warren yeah Victor Snow you know they they brought in different pieces who to me none of them like yeah JoJo Trader has the most upside And you know he's he's the biggest name but again after seeing what happened with Rogers and Anderson I'm not sitting here saying oh JoJo traitor's gonna you know put it all together and you know it would be a thousand yard guy and all that stuff I I just don't buy it Like I think they value blocking too much with receivers So I think Keena Jackson's a great pick I think they love I believe his snap share has been I don't know if it was highest on the team but it was way up there um certainly last year And even as a freshman he played a ton So I think Keenan Jackson's a good pick again Will the number of um catches be there I I also think this is a intriguing intriguing group of a freshman in a Meri Acker Tyree copper and Aiden Smalls I think those are three guys again Will all three of those guys help you this year No I wouldn't be surprised if one of them did and I would not be surprised if you know those guys really blew up kind of down the road I think athletically um they are excellent I don't wanna say they jump off the page but they're they're excellent Um and so again like what what does that look like this year to me If I had to label Label One for this year probably would be copper um smalls played some quarterback in high school so you know kind of transitioning to a new position But I I can't pick one I I can't pick one I I don't think we've seen to state take that approach Do I think JoJo Trader will be their their most talented receiver Yes you know who's gonna have the most yards Mmm I I probably go Jackson wow probably yeah yeah no I mean again I think the other big piece too as well I want to kind of finish this wide receiver point on Here is the fact that 1 1 stat That's all they really stood out to me Was at 145 of the 264 first downs that that it's they had last season were through the air which you know you combine that too with the fact that there is a lot of chips in on CJ Bailey having a great season is the fact that you're gonna have to have now again Like there's gonna be a lot of emphasis on CJ to make the receivers look good But there's still gonna be a lot of expectation on the receivers do their job Like you said block when they're asked to block effectively Uh so run the route properly catch the ball you name it Like you know still do their job And so the fact that the guys we mentioned JoJo Trader is a junior uh Dozer senior uh Keenan Jackson junior uh Tyron Warren uh senior Victor Snow fifth year senior So a lot of experience there a lot of seniority there You know and but you also still have the potentials of upside guys And those three freshmen that you have mentioned where if they can pop off like a Teddy Hoffman last year like a Kevin conception three years ago whatever Maybe then great then you know you like you know that's that that's awesome to have but you still have a pretty solid experienced group of wide receivers there um in that room to to choose from Yeah yeah it's a strengthened numbers thing And again with the way state handles it you feel like that's probably the right approach to roster building And so you know I I I don't know that there's one guy here who they paid a ton of money to And I think the guys that went out that left they probably did need a ton of money you know but with the way say handles them I I I I can kind of understand saying we're not gonna we're not gonna pay Terrelli understood that amount of money we're not gonna pay No Rogers that amount of money just because it doesn't rationalize it So the use doesn't rationalize it So I think from that perspective it makes sense But I also think those were guys that that as you said really help CJ Bailey out now Can these guys do it You know can can I I think you're not as talented at the wide receiver position Does that mean you won't be as good or won't be as productive No but you're just gonna have to get there in a different way right I agree there So I do wanna switch though to Ethan I feel like the position that kind of got for lack of better term pointed on in in a way this this off season And you may you may disagree But the tight ends I you know looking at the roster here you talking about Preston Douglas who's a sophomore was recruited out of high school by NC State Gus Richie former four star tight end who I'm really excited about in terms of you know can he be guy that breaks out here But he's still sophomore Uh and then you know you look down the list here There's only there's only two upperclassmen here and one's Ian Flint and the others Hunter Province here But I know when all the transfer portal stuff was going on there was a transfer tight end from I believe it was New Mexico State the NC the NC State was looking at They ended up not picking NC State And so do you feel like Ethan that once that option at New Mexico State went south They just said alright we're let's transition our our our looks to maybe getting some more wide receiver depth that we're more excited about rather than just settling on a guy at the tight end spot Yeah I I I remember who you're talking about I don't remember the name but that was a relatively you know big name I don't I don't remember where he ended up but I I I don't know I I think I really like the way that Gavin Lockleer has recruited this room He's very very aggressive wants to take as many guys as possible I don't know who says hey we're gonna have this this number of this position on the team like eight tight ends or 12 receivers or six I don't know who sets that but it feels like Gavin Lockleer is bringing in four guys every offseason Um and so I think I I don't know how aggressive state really needed to be in the portal Um you mention province coming from Montana State I think he fits He he's exactly the type of blocking tight end that Cody Hardy was last year Um I think he's gonna be excellent in that role How impactful will he be in the past game Probably not very but that's fine I think Hardy had like 7 for 87 last year so I I think you kind of expect the same sort of impact from him But other than that I think you have options I think say really really likes Preston Douglas I do That is that is a guy who played last year which is not easy to do as a freshman particularly when you look at like they had three tight ends who were all seniors who were all good Jolie um Cody Hardy and Dante Daniels Again Preston Douglas wasn't necessarily getting snaps over them but state made a concerted effort to get him on the field Um I think Ian Flint is the guy that they like Um and then uh there's a couple of freshmen too Um and I believe I believe it's Steven Brown who the who you know has a ton a ton of upside kind of like a hybrid receiver tight end type of guy and then they brought in Vanter Pluke from from Oregon who's you know checks all the recruiting boxes So to me there's a really really nice mix There's not a proven Justin Jolie proven Okay this guy's gonna catch you know six touchdowns 400 yards for us But to me there's a number of options here And I wouldn't be surprised if you see this group go 4 5 deep over the course of the season Yeah well and you you didn't say give give too much in here by me again Gus Richie a guy that was recruit NC stay as a 4 star guy a guy that we flip from UNC to NC stay in a in a you know chefs is fashion here for sure dude I mean do you really do you think that it's gonna be probably Preston Douglas's highlighted position to lose Well yes and no I yes and no at the receiving position the receiving portion of the tight end spot yes the blocking I think it's province again kind of same thing with Richie Like my expectations aren't super high with him at least right now He's still young I just wonder about the body type

He's listed on the on the official website at 6 2 2: 40:28

35 that just feels small to me And I know you know out of high school he was recruited by a number of teams as a defender And so I just kind of wonder like is he playing the right position Like should he be playing defense You know I think he wants to play tight end but defensively like should he be on the other side of the ball I just kind of wonder if he's gotten recruited over to be honest and we'll see Like that's not to say again I really like the way they've recruited You mentioned it he was a big name out of high school didn't play last year which again I don't I don't think that means anything with as good as that group was But Preston Douglas did play you know and so yeah I I don't know where you would see Richie this year Again I think province and again if he's a if he's a blocking tight end maybe that's your answer Maybe he's you know the heir apparent to province but province still has two years left now at the 5 4 5 yeah yeah no absolutely So we'll you know see how this this tight end position runs out here But again I think the nice thing is that you know you have options where you trust in Gavin Locklier and you know the the amazing job he's done so far to continue and see if you can get some production out of these guys But I don't think you are necessary putting a lot of chips in the basket of hoping of like we really need this you know somebody from this tiny group to break out Like you know I think that just if you have a tight end spot that does their job but doesn't beat you That does you know I guess offer a threat to the defensive side for on the opponent side then that's a thin day What you're asking for from this tight and spot Now like you said if if press Douglas can break out as much as this coach and staff loves him then just like we talked about with the freshman the wide receiver side awesome cherry on top love it Let's go with it So um but to wrap it up though here Ethan the offensive line who Coach Orange said in his 14 years NC State is the deepest offensive line that he's ever had uh which says a lot for sure uh you know now obviously again we already mentioned to it because no clue at all decided that Jaylen Hampton is not gonna be eligible this season which whatever But still though you still do have two All ACC offensive linemen returning and spikes and Tegue Anderson too as well I so you know kind of talk to me about you know you know what is you know do you feel like that the starting lineup is gonna be pretty solidified Or do you think that coach 2J besides those two guys you may see some some switching of a couple of positions through the first 3 4 games Well we saw a lot of switching last year right A lot of a lot of rotating which you generally generally don't see on the offensive line I think you like to kind of have your five and stick with it And then of course you're gonna have injuries I think hmm I think you're gonna see left to right I think it's gonna be Mccrimmon And I don't have the guards straight on which side of the ball they'll be on So I might have those mixed up Yeah Mccrimmon left tackle souls will just put him at left guard And I think I'm pronouncing that right I am keeping an eye on his health You know he battle injuries last year You know I don't know Like I just kind of am nervous about that with him Um and then center I believe is Daniel Cruz right now And I actually think that the other guard spot it could go in number different ways came in Smiths in the mix Rico Jackson I I wonder if it's not gonna be used at Moogerville Uh I was really about to mention you chef Yeah yeah I I I would not be surprised uh to see him have that spot out of the gate But again we saw a bunch of different guards early on last season uh and then right tackle Tegue Anderson So yeah you you mentioned the depth um but yeah I I think you feel good you feel good about Anderson you feel great about Anderson I think you feel really good about um Mccrymin at the other tackle You feel good about souls if he's healthy And again I think Daniel Cruz like to me if I'm reading between the tea leaves here like okay souls was likely recruit He's in interior offensive lineman probably should be a center wants to be a center So if you're telling me you brought somebody else in who is now at center over spike souls I'm gonna guess that that guy is you feel pretty good about him So I you know and then it just kind of comes down to again the other spot Caiman Smith is actually listed as a offensive tackle um on the website You know I don't I don't know how much stock to put of that But yeah um yeah I I do think you know now now that you run down it like Jaylen Hampton obviously you mentioned was ruled and eligible Like you probably like to have him out there But again if Anderson and Mccrimmon stay healthy and he's a tackle only there There's not really any snaps for him there Yeah yeah now what But I mean again I think that anytime you get a transfer in from from Texas that's uh you know always something that you're feeling pretty good Same thing with with my guy You know anytime you can get a transfer corner back from Georgia you're feeling pretty optimistic about what you could potentially do too as well so shout out to my guy there I but yeah I mean so again like you know Daniel Cruz I think it's a great option in terms of from a starting position But the very least again like like like Dorn talked about adding depth I mean you're talking I mean you're hopefully gonna have 8 9 guys that coach 2J is going to going to go into the season where any one of them if they if they need to see the field that you're not necessarily overly concerned from a from a coaching perspective which is which will be a huge bump up from I feel like years past where I feel like that you really had that one depth guy that feels beyond that Then you were really you know watch out QB You know you know keep your eyes keep your eyes peeled kind of deal Yeah well again without Hampton that does take one of your guys away You know we mentioned if Mookar Bill is the other guard with souls you know Rico Jackson we talked about him and Caman Smith like those are two older guys So I think you're probably comfortable putting out there in a backup type of role You know TK Witsett was a highly regarded freshman Um you know is he gonna be ready to go in year two You know again we've heard good things about the depth And I again I mentioned it with with locklier I really like the way touge recruits as well but you know just the persistence in bringing guys in But I do think like again if Spike Souls has to miss any time now all of a sudden like and now you're now you're thin and that's again before you know any other injuries Right so you know it's Trent Mitchell he's in Year 3 Is he is he able to play for you You know I I I don't know So I think you feel good about the depth right now Like there are seven guys but at the same time like man you'd really like to have you'd really like to have Hampton when it first happened with Hampton I was like I was like okay you know obviously sucks for him But man now that I'm looking at this offensive line and it's weird cause your players don't like one of the things could have really used him It's weird cause you feel good about okay that you've heard the depth on the offensive line is in a good spot But then I'm kind of going down these names on man How many of these guys have played and you kind of you kind of run out of names quickly Um so I I don't know like to me Hampton talking through it now feels like a bigger loss than I originally had thought Yeah no very true And so I think really the big thing really key for me for for this keeping spike healthy Uh it can just just because we can He's a guy going into the season that has put as a second third team always to see He is a really really great talent Uh you know and I think especially this year uh you know having a guy with that ceiling is gonna be so so key Also two I think another big X factor piece so two as well is just the same situation I just said for the wide receiver side You see that with the office of line 2 as well I mean pretty much every single guy that we've talked about except for spike who's a sophomore is a junior or or higher as upperclassman So you know guys have been around college football and have you know you know had a lot of practices You know even if they haven't necessarily seen a lot of game time Uh you know so so that's always a a positive Now again you wish that you had a lot more experience there from from a game time perspective But you know it's it's always better to to to you know say well I don't I have a guy who's not really experienced but he's been around college football rather than a guy who's a freshman or sophomore And sure because he's so young he hasn't had a lot of playing time but he also hasn't really been around college football for that long either So it's like well I'd rather at least have the guy who's been around but miss I hasn't seen as much time and has been in a in a college football uh locker room in a white room and nutrition you know etc I'd rather I'd rather put more stock into a guy like that so you know feel good at the very least that you do have a very uh older I guess not as I experience older offensive line room to to pair with that older wide receiver room too as well and offensive side So um any other big uh you know keys that you feel like for for the offense this season Ethan that you wanna highlight that we didn't discuss already No I I think states gone all in on CJ Bailey and I hate to be like yeah it's 11 guys out there I get it but this is this is it like states gone all in on him you know for better or for worse And I mentioned it I I I I definitely have my concerns but again it's not to say it can't work or it won't work So it's it's his show you know it's his show you're ready for him to take the leap as an upperclassman You know he's a potential draft guide now entering Year 3 and so I I think a lot is on his plate and you you need him to to put things together And the other part of it is you know this was kind of my thing last year I know a lot of people had a lot of complaints about the defense I didn't expect the defense to carry the team I expected the offense to carry the team So I you know I held them to a higher standard kind of the same thing here like I'm expecting the offense to carry the team And so you know at least for me they're gonna be held to a little bit of a higher standard this year Yeah now we'll definitely go talk about the defensive size I definitely still think there is a great potential of the defense stepping up and and and definitely surpassing what you saw on the defensive side last year Even though you lost you know a couple of key pieces on the defense of science Sebastian Harsh and Caden Fordham too as well and CNS cians alone etc So but we'll talk about that next week again Preview the n state defense next week Looking forward to it if you haven't already from our side the Wolf Pack Nation make sure to hit that subscribe button It's free Do it really helps support the channel And make sure you do not miss out whenever we release that Defensive Preview 2 as well plus any other content that we put out there And secondly too as well if you enjoyed this conversation do us a big favor hit that like button too as well If either of those buttons lit up for you that means you haven't hit them yet Make sure to go and smash the subscribe and like buttons for us right now If you're listening to us on Spotify I Heart Radio Apple Podcast do us a big favor and leave us a 5 star view Greatly appreciate that too as well I really help support the channel a ton Make sure all to give us a follow to Toughie Talk now on Twitter Instagram TikTok and sorry I say them all TikTok Instagram Twitter Yep that's it Cool thank you haha was going through them all in my head here make 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