Louis Stepping Up as Wide Receiver Target

Seven Red Zone Scores Lead Pack Past ODU | Social Media Recap

RALEIGH, N.C. - Stephen Louis didn't need time to consider the question, barely took a breath before he started speaking. Someone suggested that Saturday night's 49-22 victory over Old Dominion at Carter-Finley Stadium was a nice early-season victory, but was it really all that interesting?

"I am out there playing," Louis says. "I love every game, every chance I get. There are people out here who don't get to play."

He knows this from first-hand knowledge: Last year he was one of them.

Louis, redshirt sophomore from West Palm Beach, Fla., sat out the 2015 season because of shoulder injuries that needed surgery following spring practice. The game he had played relentlessly since the age of 7 was gone. He couldn't practice. He couldn't travel with the team. He was pretty much relegated to the weight room and time with new assistant coaches who hadn't actually seen him play as a freshman.

It was, in a word, miserable.

So he came back this spring with maximum effort, catching the eyes of coaches with his performance in drills and in the Kay Yow Spring Game. He figured to be an option in the passing game, along with veteran JuMichael Ramos, especially after a couple other receivers were moved to the other side of the ball.

Then, before preseason drills ended, Ramos was lost for the year with an injury, moving Louis up the depth chart and changing his role from possible option to needed contributor. He caught one short pass against William & Mary in the season-opener, then exploded for the best game of his career at East Carolina, a three-reception, 146-yard performance highlighted by an 80-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Finley.

Yet it was hard for Louis to feel good about his numbers in such a disappointing loss.

That wasn't the case Saturday against ODU. Louis, who caught just seven passes for 72 yards as a freshman in 2014, got even more chances to make big plays, especially early in the game. He caught five passes on the night, including two big catches in the third quarter in what was likely the most important drive of the game.

Old Dominion had just scored, pulling within 21-9, and the Wolfpack needed to answer. The first play lost four yards, but on second down Louis hauled down a 14-yard first-down catch that also drew a 15-yard personal foul penalty for targeting to move the ball into Monarch territory.

On the next play, Finley found Louis again on a 40-yard strike that took the Wolfpack inside the 10-yard line. Freshman Thaddeus Moss scored the touchdown three plays later on a 1-yard pass from Jalan McClendon, but the drive belonged to Louis. It was the first of four consecutive scoring drives in the second half for the Wolfpack offense.

Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren enjoys watching his developing offensive weapon play, not just because he makes big plays, but because he does all the little things he's asked to do.

"He's playing with a lot of confidence," Doeren says. "He's playing fast and strong and tough. He wants the football. He's blocking too. There was a play where he drove his guy out of bounds and flat-backed him on our sidelines.

"He's playing really good football right now and he'll continue to do that because he is confident in what he is doing. He's got plays every game where he is targeted and he's taking advantage of it."

Louis says he's always played that way, but sitting out last season gave him a better perspective and more motivation to excel in the game that he loves.

"It can be taken away from you at any time," Louis says. "You have to embrace everything about it. So I want to make sure I do what I've always done. I'll do whatever it takes to win. If they ask me to block on every play, I'll do it. If they want me to catch every pass, I'll do that too.

"That's just the kind of player I want to be."

And so far this season, he's accomplished that goal.

Players Mentioned

Ryan Finley

Stephen Louis

Jalan McClendon

Thaddeus Moss

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