It’s been another long offseason—maybe it felt a little longer this year because of what happened with the bowl game—but we’re just about through it, thankfully. NC State begins fall camp today, so at least in that sense, it’s officially football season.
The Wolfpack heads into camp with its first string just about settled, but there will still be a lot to watch throughout the next few weeks.
The question at the forefront perhaps is who will step in at running back to replace the production of Bam Knight and Ricky Person. There is a lot of inexperience at that spot, which is a rare exception for this team in general.
Based on recent history, whoever ends up starting at running back, be it Jordan Houston or one of the young guys, won’t have to carry a major workload. I’d expect to see another committee approach to carries, especially early in the season while the coaches are getting an idea of what they’re working with.
The backs don’t need to be stars, they just need to be consistent, take care of the ball, and also pass protect effectively.
Of course, the offensive line will have a lot to do with how successful the backs are this season, and while getting Chandler Zavala back for one more year was a huge relief, that group has plenty of questions of its own to answer. The process of doing so begins today. Hooray for football!