There is a comfort for Dave Doeren to watching the first day of practice for the 2021 college football season and seeing so many familiar faces.
Basically all but four players, who had a significant role last season, are back for NC State this season.
The Wolfpack, coming off of an unexpected 8-4 record in an unusual pandemic season, has more depth than it has had at any point during Doeren’s nine-year tenure.
But Doeren also understands that having experienced depth does not make his team unique.
“We’ve never had ‘super seniors’ in college football,” Doeren said Wednesday morning after the team opened camp. “The whole country is different, not just NC State.”
True. When the NCAA granted a “free” year of eligibility to all fall sport athletes last year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it created a surplus of experience.
NC State had three seniors take advantage of the extra year (aka super seniors), including leading receiver Emeka Emezie and tackle Tyrone Riley, who is actually in his seventh year of college.
But even before that NCAA decision, this was a season that Doeren had circled as one that could be special. This was the season that Doeren’s two best recruiting classes, from 2018 and 2019, would be entering their fourth and third years (under normal eligibility circumstances).
“I said it a couple of years ago, ‘You know, in three years we could be really good,’ ” Doeren said. “We have a chance to be really good. We just have to go earn it.”
Doeren had back-to-back 9-4 teams in 2017 and ’18 and this group seems to fit that mold with a handful of NFL prospects.
Linebacker Payton Wilson, who led the ACC in tackles last season, is primed for another big season to springboard him into the NFL.
Running back Bam Knight and left tackle Ikem Ekwonu stand out on offense, not to mention the lack of a knee brace or any kind of apparatus holding back quarterback Devin Leary, who missed the final seven games last season with a broken leg.
There is more expected from this year’s team than last year’s, which was coming off of a 4-8 disappointment in 2019. That’s from both the outside, where the Wolfpack was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Division behind Clemson, and from the players themselves.
“We were 8-4 last year and that wasn’t the goal,” linebacker Isaiah Moore said. “Eight wins is never the goal here. We know we have things we want to achieve and overcome internally, so we’re going to keep striving for that each and every day.”
Even with so many players back, there’s work to be done between now and the opener with South Florida on Sept. 2. The first practice in full pads won’t be until Tuesday.
One advantage of depth is there are only a few players who can count on keeping their playing time without being pushed.
“It’s a hungry team and it’s competitive,” Doeren said. “There are some guys trying to get on the field versus other guys that are also really good. You can’t really have a down day and keep your job.”
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