Thursday Football Notebook

Game 1: NC State Wolfpack (0-0) vs. Troy Trojans (0-0)
September 5, 2015 • 6 p.m. • ESPN3
Raleigh, N.C. • Carter-Finley Stadium (57,600)

RAISING THE BAR
From the minute the 2015 Wolfpack squad arrived back on campus in January to begin the spring semester, its motto has been "Raise the Bar."

Even though the Wolfpack showed a five-game improvement in the win column - a mark that ranked second in the Power 5 conferences and tied for fifth among all Division I programs, qualified for and won a bowl game, and defeated both in-state rivals that it played (Wake Forest and UNC), Dave Doeren's third NC State squad was determined not to rest on its laurels.

Instead, the head coach has encouraged his charges to "Raise the Bar" - their expectations for themselves individually and for the team as a whole.

WHAT A RUSH!
The Wolfpack rushed for 204.5 yards per game in 2014, the school's best mark since 1992 and the 12th-best mark in school history. Over the last three games, the Pack averaged 312 rushing yards. In terms of yards per carry, the 5.2 average marked a school record and three different runners with over 50 carries averaged more than five yards per attempt.

For the first time since 1973, three different Pack players rushed for 500+ yards: Shadrach Thornton (907), Matt Dayes (573) and Jacoby Brissett (529). All three of those players, as well as three of five starters on the offensive line that paved the way for that success, are returning in 2015.

MAN ON A MISSION
The Wolfpack's success at sending quarterbacks into the NFL has been well documented. NC State was the only school with three alums starting in the NFL last season and Wolfpack alums hold two of the top four highest guaranteed salaries in the NFL. Don't be surprised if the legend of QBU grows a bit after the 2015 season.

Senior Jacoby Brissett is the latest in that storied line of great quarterbacks to wear the red and white. Although he's only played for one season, he already ranks eighth in school history in career passing touchdowns (23) and fifth in percentage (.597). He set a school record for rushing by a quarterback last season with 529 yards.

Brissett's head coach calls him a "man on a mission." He put himself through two-a-day workouts all summer, working individually on techique and footwork in the mornings and then with the team in the afternoons. A true leader, Brissett wrote each member of the offense notes prior to each game last season and he is rumored to leave baked items for his offensive linemen each week.

SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES
The bad news? Last season's team was so young that freshmen and redshirt freshmen played in a combined 235 games and made 52 starts.

The good news? The sophomore class is an extremely experienced one. Eight probable starters for 2015 are sophomores and the depth chart is riddled with players from that class. Here's a look at some of our sensational sophs who could play major roles this season:

Name	Pos	2014 GP	2014 GS
Tony Adams	OG	12	9
Bradley Chubb	DE	11	0
Cole Cook	TE	13	2
Jerod Fernandez	LB	12	10
B.J. Hill	DT	12	5
Josh Jones	S	12	8
Pharoah McKever	DE	10	2
Airius Moore	LB	13	4
Jaylen Samuels	FB/TE	13	2
Kentavius Street	DT	12	0

DOING IT ALL
Senior Jacoby Brissett is the only returning quarterback in the Power 5 conferences who compiled 2,000 passing yards, 300 rushing yards and 20 passing TDs while throwing five or less interceptions last season.

Two others accomplished that feat in 2014: Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariotta of Oregon and Brett Hundley of UCLA. In the previous five seasons, only eight P5 QBs have matched those numbers.

Brissett's 2014 numbers:
Passing - 2,606
Rushing - 529
Touchdown Passes - 23
Interceptions - 5

GETTING IT DOEREN
Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren has enjoyed great success during his four seasons as a head coach. In his two years at Northern Illinois, he posted more wins than any coach in the nation with the exception of Alabama's Nick Saban.

A 2012 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalist, Doeren has averaged 8.5 wins per season as a head coach, the fifth-best mark in the ACC.

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH...
... Dave Doeren gets going. The Wolfpack's head coach is the active leader among Power 5 teams for wins in games decided by four points or less. Doeren posts a 7-2 (.778) mark in those games in his four-year head coaching career.

He's posted a 13-4 (.765) mark in one-possession games.

SHORT ON SENIORS
Only 10% of the Wolfpack's 2015 roster is made up of seniors. In fact, NC State fields its fewest amount of players in their final year of eligibility (11) since the 2004 campaign (11).

Dave Doeren's squad has the second-smallest senior class in the ACC for 2015.

ETERNAL YOUTH
A hallmark of the 2014 NC State football team was its youth, as the Wolfpack fielded one of the nation's youngest teams. Dave Doeren's second PACK squad posted the second-highest number of freshmen on its fall camp roster in the nation (52) and his 33 upperclassmen marked the lowest number since 1995.

Last year, 70% of the squad consisted of freshmen and sophomores. That mark is even higher for 2015, with 72% of the team made up of underclassmen.

This year's team boasts experience to go along with that youth - as there are 15 more sophomores and juniors on the team.

Year	Sr.	Jr.	So.	RS-Fr.	Fr.
2014	19	15	23	20	33
2015	11	21	32	21	30
Difference	-8	+6	+9	+1	-3

ALL ABOUT MATT DAYES
Junior running back Matt Dayes does it all for the Wolfpack. Last season, he was one of just three players nationally with more than 300 yards rushing, receiving and in returns (Jamal Morrow of Washington St. & Temple's Jahad Thomas were the others).

Dayes led the Wolfpack with both 1,278 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns and won team Offensive MVP honors.

He is the ONLY player nationally to reach those marks and also boast five or more touchdowns rushing and receiving

SHIFTING THE LINE
The Wolfpack offensive line has not only been effective (204.5 rushing yards per game last season), but versatile. During the preseason, even though the majority of the starting lineup was set early in camp, you never knew from day to day where the various starters might be lined up.

Senior Joe Thuney is the most versatile member of the line, having started at four different spots (12 games at LT, 7 at LG, 1 at RT, 1 at RG) and playing all five spots on the line (he was in at center in the Wolfpack's 2012 upset of No. 3 Florida State). Alex Barr has started four games at LG and 14 at RG in his career, and Tony Adams, who has started nine games at right guard is also the Wolfpack's backup center.

SECONDARY SCHOOL
The 2015 squad will field the most experienced defensive secondary in the conference in terms of career games started, with all four starters returning (five if you count the nickel spot).

The Wolfpack's safeties and corners have collectively started 83 career contests while playing in 126 combined games. Despite that experience, only two of the returning starters, free safety Hakim Jones and corner Juston Burris, are in their final year of eligibility.

Name	Year	GP	GS
Juston Burris, CB	RS-Gr.	38	30
Hakim Jones, FS	RS-Gr.	38	25
Jack Tocho, CB	Jr.	25	20
Josh Jones, SS	RS-So.	12	8
Totals	2 Gr., 1 Jr., 1 So.	113	83

EARLY ACTION
In Dave Doeren's two seasons as head coach at NC State, 24 true freshmen have seen action for the Wolfpack. And that action hasn't just been as role players or on special teams.

In 2013, 11 true freshmen combined to start 18 games. Last season, 13 true freshmen combined to make 32 starts. That 50 total starts by true freshmen in the last two seasons!

This season, true freshman Nyheim Hines is listed as a starter at wide receiver, while NC State's starting punter, placekicker and long snapper are all true freshmen.

DEFENSIVE LINE
One of the deepest units on the squad in 2015 is the defensive line. And it better be! Line coach Ryan Nielsen uses frequent substitutions along the front, looking for quality reps rather than quantity. In 2014, all 11 defensive linemen who saw action played over 100 snaps for the season.

The depth has a potential down side, however, as there are five freshmen (four true, one redshirt) and five sophomores among the 12 players listed on the depth chart. In other words, 83% of the unit is made up of underclassmen.

COMING UP ROSE-Y
Graduate defensive end Mike Rose spent a lot of time in the opponent's backfield last season, tallying 15 tackles for loss. That mark ranked third in the ACC and was the 11th-best single season mark in school history.

Only one returning league defender had more stops behind the line last season than Rose. Of his 15 TFLs, 11 were against league foes.

FENCE 'EM IN
On the day he was introduced as NC State's head coach in December of 2012, head coach Dave Doeren said it was "upsetting" to see "all the great players from the state of North Carolina" starring for other programs.

"We will fight for every kid who we think belongs here," Doeren said then. "If we don't get one, it's not going to be for a lack of effort."

A look at his first two full signing classes (2014 & 2015) shows that Doeren has kept that promise, as the Wolfpack has signed some of the top players in North Carolina each year.

In February, The Pack signed 12 players from North Carolina, including four of the top eight rated players in the state (all four of whom were ranked in the top-300 nationally). Those 12 signees were also ranked in the top-five of their position group in the state, including eight in the top-three.

In 2014, Doeren and his staff signed 16 North Carolina players. Five of those young men were ranked as the top player at their position in the state, while seven overall were ranked among NC's top-25 players.

SELLING OUT
Wolfpack Nation has shown its excitement and support once again as 2015 season tickets and mini-packs are sold out. NC State fans purchased the second-highest number of season tickets in program history - 35,065 - with over 3,000 new season tickets being sold. Wolfpack fans have shown their loyalty to the tune of a 96 percent renewal rate.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Tony Adams

Alex Barr

Jacoby Brissett

Juston Burris

Bradley Chubb

Cole Cook

Jerod Fernandez

B.J. Hill

Nyheim Hines

Hakim Jones

Josh Jones

Pharoah McKever

Airius Moore

Mike Rose

Jaylen Samuels

Kentavius Street

Joe Thuney

Jack Tocho

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