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The biggest question - literally - is who replaces the biggest and most imposing player on N.C. State's roster. Ikem Ekwonu protected Leary's blindside a year ago. In April, Ekwonu was the first offensive player selected in the NFL draft, sixth overall by the Carolina Panthers. Redshirt sophomore Anthony Belton will probably get the first shot. While he has the measurables (6-6, 330), the Tallahassee, Fla., native doesn't have the experience. Belton was on the field for just 11 snaps a year ago. He started at left tackle during the spring game in April.

Belton should benefit from having four experienced starters to his right. "I think we have a bunch of dudes that are trying to compete to get that starting spot that Ickey was in, but I know with the other four offensive linemen that we have coming back that they hold that room to a high standard," Leary said at ACC Kickoff. "Whoever it is filling into that role, they understand that the other four offensive linemen will be counting on them, just as they did on Ickey." Veteran Bryson Speas, who started every game a year ago at right tackle, has the ability to play on the left side. If Doeren decides to go with the experienced Speas (24 starts) at left tackle, redshirt sophomore Tim McKay could start at the right tackle spot. - Raleigh News Observer

(DS#6 OT) rSr/2025

OT Anthony Belton, North Carolina State
News Source: Raleigh News Observer
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08/03/22 - Payton Wilson, rSr/2024, North Carolina State, 6-4, 233 (DS#2 OLB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD WATCH LIST: Payton Wilson, NC State, Junior LB,...Suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the loss at Miss. St in 2021...Named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, Bukus Award and Nagurski Trophy...Missed 2021 spring workouts after undergoing surgery on both shoulders. - NC State Football

(DS#2 OLB) rSr/2024

OLB Payton Wilson, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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08/03/22 - Drake Thomas, rJr/2023, North Carolina State, 5-11, 223 (DS#20 OLB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON CHUCK BEDNARIK AWARD WATCH LIST: Drake Thomas, NC State, Junior LB,... A first-team All-ACC performer on both the official league team and the AP squad in 2021...The Pack's leading tackler in 2021, he ranked fourth in the ACC...Played 763 snaps for the season - second-highest total on defense...Tallied a career-best 15 stops in the win over Louisville, he was named the ACC Linebacker of the Week. - NC State Football

(DS#20 OLB) rJr/2023

OLB Drake Thomas, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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08/03/22 - Joe Shimko, rSr/2024, North Carolina State, 6-0, 233 (DS#5 LS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON PATRICK MANNELLY AWARD WATCHLIST: Joe Shimko, NC State,...Shimko has been a reliable snapper who snapped for every kick since the beginning of the 2019 season. He boasts 174 long snaps and 180 short snaps for his career with no bad snaps. Last season, he was named a fourth-team All-American according to Phil Steele. - NC State Football

(DS#5 LS) rSr/2024

LS Joe Shimko, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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08/01/22 - Grayson McCall, rSr/2025, North Carolina State, 6-2, 221 (DS#999 QB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON WALTER CAMP PLAYER OF YEAR PLAYER TO WATCH: Grayson McCall, QB, senior, Coastal Carolina,...McCall, who was recently named the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and earned preseason All-Sun Belt first-team honors for the second consecutive season, is a two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year (2020 and 2021). Named to both the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and Maxwell Award preseason watch lists this season, the CCU signal-caller was also previously named a 2022 Preseason All-American by Athlon Sports and earned a spot on both the Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt first teams earlier this offseason. - Coastal Carolina Football

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2025

QB Grayson McCall, North Carolina State
News Source: Coastal Carolina Football
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07/28/22 - Drake Thomas, rJr/2023, North Carolina State, 5-11, 223 (DS#20 OLB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY WATCHLIST: LB Drake Thomas, N.C. State,...NC State safety Tanner Ingle and linebacker Drake Thomas were both named to the 2022 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List. The Football Writers Association of America released its 2022 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List, selecting 85 defensive standouts from 61 schools in all 10 Division I FBS conferences plus independents. Thomas was the Pack's leading tackler in 2021, ranking fourth in the ACC, and played 763 snaps for the season, the second-highest total on defense. - NC State Football

(DS#20 OLB) rJr/2023

OLB Drake Thomas, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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07/28/22 - Cory Durden, rSr/2023, North Carolina State, 6-4, 290 (DS#21 DT) + More +

2022 PRESEASON OUTLAND TROPHY WATCHLIST: DT Cory Durden, N.C. State,...In his first season at NC State last year, Durden was named a first-team All-ACC performer on the official league team and on the AP squad. He also earned the team's Carey Brewbaker Award for Top Defensive Lineman. He was the Pack's starter in the last seven games of the season at defensive tackle, with a top game against Clemson - tallied six tackles, 1.5 sacks and had a QB pressure in that contest. - NC State Football

(DS#21 DT) rSr/2023

DT Cory Durden, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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07/28/22 - Drake Thomas, rJr/2023, North Carolina State, 5-11, 223 (DS#20 OLB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON BUTKUS AWARD WATCHLIST: Drake Thomas, N.C. State,...Last season, Thomas was named a first-team All-ACC performer on both the official league team and the AP squad. He also won first-team all-conference honors from PFF and Phil Steele, who also named him a fourth-team All-American. Thomas was the Pack's leading tackler in 2021, ranking fourth in the ACC, and played 763 snaps for the season, the second-highest total on defense. - NC State Football

(DS#20 OLB) rJr/2023

OLB Drake Thomas, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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07/28/22 - Isaiah Moore, rSr/2023, North Carolina State, 6-2, 233 (DS#15 ILB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON BUTKUS AWARD WATCHLIST: Isaiah Moore, N.C. State,...Moore was an honorable mention All-ACC performer in 2021 despite suffered a season-ending knee injury at Miami. At the time, was the team leader in tackles for loss, and ranked second in total tackles. He was named team captain for the second season last year, and also chosen to wear the coveted No. 1 jersey. - NC State Football

(DS#15 ILB) rSr/2023

ILB Isaiah Moore, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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07/28/22 - Tanner Ingle, rSr/2023, North Carolina State, 5-09, 179 (DS#36 FS) + More +

2022 PRESEASON BRONKO NAGURSKI TROPHY WATCHLIST: S Tanner Ingle, N.C. State,...Ingle was named a first-team All-ACC performer on the official league squad, as well as the AP team for his play in 2021. The Pack's starting free safety, he was the team's second-leading tackler with 82 stops. Ingle also played 776 snaps for the season - the highest total on defense. - NC State Football

(DS#36 FS) rSr/2023

FS Tanner Ingle, North Carolina State
News Source: NC State Football
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07/28/22 - Grayson McCall, rSr/2025, North Carolina State, 6-2, 221 (DS#999 QB) + More +

Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall has signed an NIL deal with Darlington Raceway. Officials at the track "Too Tough To Tame" announced the deal Wednesday, saying it's the first NASCAR facility to partner with a college athlete since students were allowed to profit off their name, image and likeness. McCall is a junior who set the NCAA mark in pass efficiency rating (207.6) last season, surpassing the mark previously held by former Alabama passer Mac Jones. McCall has helped the Chants to a 20-2 mark as a starter the past two seasons. He's the reigning Sun Belt Conference player of the year after throwing for 2,873 yards, 27 touchdowns and three interceptions.

McCall will promote Darlington's Labor Day race weekend, including the Southern 500 on Sept. 4 that opens the NASCAR playoffs. McCall will also promote next year's events at Darlington. He'll be part of the Darlington's digital platforms and some marketing campaigns. He'll also promote NASCAR and Darlington on his own social network channels. Coastal Carolina, in Conway, is about 70 miles east of the raceway. "I love the people here in the region," said McCall, from Indian Trail, North Carolina, "and with Darlington being right down the road and a huge part of the sports culture, partnering with them just makes sense." - AP College Football

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2025

QB Grayson McCall, North Carolina State
News Source: AP College Football
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07/28/22 - Brayden Narveson, rSr/2024, North Carolina State, 5-11, 209 (DS#19 K) + More +

2022 PRESEASON LOU GROZA AWARD WATCH LIST: Brayden Narveson - Western Kentucky, Class: Junior - Hometown: Scottsdale, Arizona,...A Groza semifinalist in 2020, Narveson followed up the second-most accurate season in Western Kentucky history by tying the program record for the most field goals in a year. His 141 points not only smashed the Hilltopper record for kick-scoring but were the most by any kicker in FBS last season. - Lou Groza Award

(DS#19 K) rSr/2024

K Brayden Narveson, North Carolina State
News Source: Lou Groza Award
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07/28/22 - Grayson McCall, rSr/2025, North Carolina State, 6-2, 221 (DS#999 QB) + More +

2022 PRESEASON SUN BELT CONFERENCE OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR (COACHES): Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina (RS Jr., QB - Indian Trail, N.C.),...A two-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year (2020 and 2021), McCall picks up Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and preseason All-Sun Belt first-team accolades for the second consecutive season. Named to both the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award and Maxwell Award preseason watch lists this season, the CCU signal-caller was also previously named a 2022 Preseason All-American by Athlon Sports and earned a spot on both the Athlon Sports and Phil Steele's 2022 Preseason All-Sun Belt first teams earlier this offseason. McCall set a new NCAA Division I FBS record in passing efficiency rating at 207.6 last season in 2021, eclipsing the previous two records set by Alabama's Mac Jones (203.1) in 2020 and LSU's Joe Burrow (202.0) in 2019. He enters the 2022 season as the active career leader in all of NCAA Division I FBS in career passing efficiency at 196.09. - Coastal Carolina Football

(DS#999 QB) rSr/2025

QB Grayson McCall, North Carolina State
News Source: Coastal Carolina Football
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07/27/22 - Brayden Narveson, rSr/2024, North Carolina State, 5-11, 209 (DS#19 K) + More +

2022 PRESEASON CONFERENCE USA SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR (COACHES): Brayden Narveson, RS Jr., K, WKU,...Narveson returns to WKU as one of the most dynamic kickers in all of college football. The redshirt junior hit on 23-of-29 field goal attempts in 2021 with a long of 53 yards in the Hilltoppers' win over Marshall to clinch Conference USA's East Division Championship. He was also perfect on all his PAT attempts throughout the year, going 72-of-72. Narveson scored the most points by any kicker in the country a season ago with 141. That number was also second-best among all players regardless of position. Narveson's mark of 10.1 points per game was sixth best in the nation, and he finished 13th in the country in field goals per game. His 23 makes tied him for the most in a single season in WKU history. He enters the 2022 season as the most accurate field goal kicker all time at WKU with a clip of 83.7 percent. - Conference USA Football

(DS#19 K) rSr/2024

K Brayden Narveson, North Carolina State
News Source: Conference USA Football
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07/26/22 - Brennan Armstrong, rSr/2024, North Carolina State, 6-1, 199 (DS#24 QB) + More +

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong talked about his former position coach Jason Beck like someone talks about their ex-lover once they're in a new relationship. He expressed appreciation for his time with Beck but was quick to transition the conversation into talk of his current QB coach, Taylor Lamb. Lamb was hired in January after Beck departed Virginia for Syracuse football. "I grew up with (Beck) four straight years of my college career. He taught me a lot, but I think with coach Lamb now it's more of a partnership," Armstrong said. "I think the relationship I have with coach Lamb is a lot better in a sense because I feel like it's a partnership." Armstrong explained that the age difference between him and each coach plays a big part in the different feels of the relationships.

Beck is in his late 30s while Lamb is 27. Armstrong will turn 23 in October. "I wouldn't be in the position I am without (Beck) there and the staff that was there, but I'm just fortunate that I get to have a different person now with coach Lamb and gain more knowledge from someone else," Armstrong said. "That's the only thing you can really do is just keep getting more knowledge at playing the position." Armstrong was the No. 4 QB in the country last season. He threw for 4,449 yards and 31 touchdowns, completing 65% of his passes. The senior has already been named to watch lists for the 2022 Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award, both of which he was a semifinalist for in 2021. - The Post-Standard

(DS#24 QB) rSr/2024

QB Brennan Armstrong, North Carolina State
News Source: The Post-Standard
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