It’s always difficult to glean information out of preseason camp as sources are cautious about what they reveal. Nevertheless, here are a few nuggets along the way that we have picked up:
- Receivers coach George McDonald complimented juniors Jumichael Ramos and Johnathan Alston for improving from their spring performances. It is worth noting that Alston missed most of spring practices with an injury.
Separately, we have heard that freshman Freddie Simmons, a long-striding 6-foot-3 target, has had some good moments as well.
- When head coach Dave Doeren has talked about the increased versatility along the offensive line and possible rotations, the vibe we get is that it is not coach-speak. In fact, we have gotten the impression that the offensive line shuffle continues nearly two weeks into the start of practice.
One thing we will be watching is fifth-year senior Joe Thuney, the Pack’s All-ACC candidate at the line. Unlike last year, we are not so certain that NCSU is married to the notion of having Thuney playing guard, which could put his versatility back into play. It is also worth noting that fifth-year senior Alex Barr has more experience playing guard than tackle, so with both Barr and Thuney, NCSU can try out a lot of combinations.
This helps because of the emergence of a healthy redshirt freshman Will Richardson, who is ideally suited to play right tackle.
There is probably nothing set in stone, but we also wanted to point out that during last season one of the subtle adjustments made on defense was to rotate the reserve corners into the game more and not have starters Juston Burris and Jack Tocho play the entire contest. The tactic appeared to pay dividends.
- One player we continue to hear strong reviews about: sophomore defensive end Bradley Chubb. The coaches raved about Chubb’s move to the position in the spring, and we have heard that he has picked up where he has left off at the spot.
- There was some chatter about how good the depth is in the secondary that some players who have had good preseason camps, like redshirt freshman safety Kalen McCain and sophomore corner Troy Vincent, Jr., are battling just to get into the second strings at their respective positions.
New uniforms are the trend these days in college football, with the emphasis on as many color combinations as possible. In the file it away strictly as for what it’s worth, and we have zero confirmation if it’s true, there have been rumors that a fourth uniform could be introduced this year for State at some point to compliment the red, white and black jerseys.
Again, it’s only a rumor, but isn’t that what make War Rooms fun?
Tim Peeler, a contributor for The Wolfpacker, talked with strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp and got Veltkamp to share some thoughts from the offseason. Here are some highlights:
• Sophomore safety Germaine Pratt and junior nickelback Dravious Wright: “With both of those kids, we needed to attack their conditioning levels. They were both strong powerful kids, but we needed to attack flexibility with Pratt and attack work capacity and conditioning levels for both so they can give us more quality reps for longer periods of time. When they are playing fast, they make a lot of plays. We need them to play faster longer and we are really happy with their progress this offseason.”
• Thuney: “When we got here, he weighed 257 pounds. Each year we set goals for him to increase that weight. Last year, he played around 290. He was around 285 in the summer. We set a goal for him to play this season at 295. We’re still a few pounds shy of that going into fall camp, but we have a plan for him to play at that weight for the whole season.”
• Sophomore defensive tackle B.J. Hill: “He really upped his goals for strength in the offseason. He was trying to catch [sophomore tackle] Kentavius Street. He came up about 10 or 15 pounds shy of him, but he exceeded the goal we set for him.”
• Defensive line: “As a unit, that’s a group I couldn’t be happier with. Whether it was time when we were working with them, or discretionary time when they were on their own, those guys lived in the weight room in the offseason. Every single one of them met nearly every goal we set for them. Hill did a great job, but so did [junior tackle] Monty Nelson, who is coming off an injury [that kept him out of seven games last year and spring practice]. We set his goal to get his body weight back down to 305-308 to make it easier for him to come back running from that injury. He’s done great. He’s bouncing around out there. He feels good and is playing plenty of plays without getting tired.”
• Running backs: “It’s an impressive group in the weight room. Almost all of them are knocking on the door of squatting 500 pounds. They all have improved their power and explosiveness in the hips. Reggie Gallaspy handled every weight we put on him in the offseason. I haven’t seen him fail a rep since he has been here. His progress has been fun to watch. [Sophomore tight end] Jaylen Samuels is not a running back, but he trains with those guys. He and Gallaspy will be knocking on the door of 600 pounds in squats soon. Samuels tied for the team lead with a 341-pound clean. He is just going to keep getting stronger and stronger, and you have seen what he is like on the field. No one tackles him on the first try.”
• Defensive backs: “[Junior cornerback] Jack Tocho leads the charge. He squats 500 pounds — as a cornerback. He’s as impressive a corner as I’ve ever seen in the weight room. Overall, this is the best-looking, strongest-looking group of defensive backs that I’ve ever been around. There is a group of them that bench right around 350 pounds. We have more than 10 that bench more than 325 pounds. You just don’t see that across the board at most places. That is going to translate into speed and power on the field.”
- Receivers coach George McDonald complimented juniors Jumichael Ramos and Johnathan Alston for improving from their spring performances. It is worth noting that Alston missed most of spring practices with an injury.
Separately, we have heard that freshman Freddie Simmons, a long-striding 6-foot-3 target, has had some good moments as well.
- When head coach Dave Doeren has talked about the increased versatility along the offensive line and possible rotations, the vibe we get is that it is not coach-speak. In fact, we have gotten the impression that the offensive line shuffle continues nearly two weeks into the start of practice.
One thing we will be watching is fifth-year senior Joe Thuney, the Pack’s All-ACC candidate at the line. Unlike last year, we are not so certain that NCSU is married to the notion of having Thuney playing guard, which could put his versatility back into play. It is also worth noting that fifth-year senior Alex Barr has more experience playing guard than tackle, so with both Barr and Thuney, NCSU can try out a lot of combinations.
This helps because of the emergence of a healthy redshirt freshman Will Richardson, who is ideally suited to play right tackle.
There is probably nothing set in stone, but we also wanted to point out that during last season one of the subtle adjustments made on defense was to rotate the reserve corners into the game more and not have starters Juston Burris and Jack Tocho play the entire contest. The tactic appeared to pay dividends.
- One player we continue to hear strong reviews about: sophomore defensive end Bradley Chubb. The coaches raved about Chubb’s move to the position in the spring, and we have heard that he has picked up where he has left off at the spot.
- There was some chatter about how good the depth is in the secondary that some players who have had good preseason camps, like redshirt freshman safety Kalen McCain and sophomore corner Troy Vincent, Jr., are battling just to get into the second strings at their respective positions.
***
New uniforms are the trend these days in college football, with the emphasis on as many color combinations as possible. In the file it away strictly as for what it’s worth, and we have zero confirmation if it’s true, there have been rumors that a fourth uniform could be introduced this year for State at some point to compliment the red, white and black jerseys.
Again, it’s only a rumor, but isn’t that what make War Rooms fun?
***
Tim Peeler, a contributor for The Wolfpacker, talked with strength and conditioning coach Jason Veltkamp and got Veltkamp to share some thoughts from the offseason. Here are some highlights:
• Sophomore safety Germaine Pratt and junior nickelback Dravious Wright: “With both of those kids, we needed to attack their conditioning levels. They were both strong powerful kids, but we needed to attack flexibility with Pratt and attack work capacity and conditioning levels for both so they can give us more quality reps for longer periods of time. When they are playing fast, they make a lot of plays. We need them to play faster longer and we are really happy with their progress this offseason.”
• Thuney: “When we got here, he weighed 257 pounds. Each year we set goals for him to increase that weight. Last year, he played around 290. He was around 285 in the summer. We set a goal for him to play this season at 295. We’re still a few pounds shy of that going into fall camp, but we have a plan for him to play at that weight for the whole season.”
• Sophomore defensive tackle B.J. Hill: “He really upped his goals for strength in the offseason. He was trying to catch [sophomore tackle] Kentavius Street. He came up about 10 or 15 pounds shy of him, but he exceeded the goal we set for him.”
• Defensive line: “As a unit, that’s a group I couldn’t be happier with. Whether it was time when we were working with them, or discretionary time when they were on their own, those guys lived in the weight room in the offseason. Every single one of them met nearly every goal we set for them. Hill did a great job, but so did [junior tackle] Monty Nelson, who is coming off an injury [that kept him out of seven games last year and spring practice]. We set his goal to get his body weight back down to 305-308 to make it easier for him to come back running from that injury. He’s done great. He’s bouncing around out there. He feels good and is playing plenty of plays without getting tired.”
• Running backs: “It’s an impressive group in the weight room. Almost all of them are knocking on the door of squatting 500 pounds. They all have improved their power and explosiveness in the hips. Reggie Gallaspy handled every weight we put on him in the offseason. I haven’t seen him fail a rep since he has been here. His progress has been fun to watch. [Sophomore tight end] Jaylen Samuels is not a running back, but he trains with those guys. He and Gallaspy will be knocking on the door of 600 pounds in squats soon. Samuels tied for the team lead with a 341-pound clean. He is just going to keep getting stronger and stronger, and you have seen what he is like on the field. No one tackles him on the first try.”
• Defensive backs: “[Junior cornerback] Jack Tocho leads the charge. He squats 500 pounds — as a cornerback. He’s as impressive a corner as I’ve ever seen in the weight room. Overall, this is the best-looking, strongest-looking group of defensive backs that I’ve ever been around. There is a group of them that bench right around 350 pounds. We have more than 10 that bench more than 325 pounds. You just don’t see that across the board at most places. That is going to translate into speed and power on the field.”
