What we learned at NC State football spring game as players battle elements, each other
With a downpour of rain and temperatures dipping below 50 degrees, there wasn’t much about Saturday that felt like spring.
Except, it was the first time since December that fans saw North Carolina State’s football team take the field. The Wolfpack split up into sides — red versus white — for its annual spring football game at Carter-Finley Stadium. The red team, a unit of mostly players competing for starting spots, topped the white team, 41-10.
But in these exhibitions, the digits on the scoreboard don’t matter all that much.
“There’s obviously some things that wouldn’t have happened with a dry field, but I wanted to test the guys with what came. I think it’s an opportunity to see how they respond to something that’s out of their control,” N.C. State head coach Dave Doeren said. “I was excited about the second half, to be honest. They were wet, they were cold, and you see guys making plays. That, to me, is exciting.”
Here’s what we learned from the spring game as N.C. State’s football program gears up for its 11th campaign under Doeren this fall.
New-look offense under Robert Anae
The Wolfpack changed offensive coordinators this offseason after Tim Beck left to become the head coach at Coastal Carolina. To replace him, Doeren lured Robert Anae away from Syracuse. Before helping the Orange make a bowl game last season, Anae was the offensive coordinator at Virginia, where he orchestrated a unit that was third in the nation in total offense. The starting quarterback on that Virginia team was Brennan Armstrong, who is now with the Wolfpack.
“I enjoyed just getting back into this offense, playing at a new place, meeting new guys. It was just a good refresher,” Armstrong said. “There’s obviously plenty of things to work on, but just being back out there in this offense with this new team, I think it was great.”
Armstrong was the first to take snaps with N.C. State’s red team on Saturday, and the unit scored on its first offensive series — a six-play drive capped off by an eight-yard run from senior back Jordan Houston.
Overall, the offense featured more throws downfield and was aggressive in its attack.
And the running game wasn’t abandoned. Both offensive touchdowns in the first half came off rushes, with Michael Allen scoring the second. Delbert Mimms III and Demie Sumo-Karngbaye scored on the ground in the second half.
“I thought we ran the ball effectively,” Doeren said.
In the first half, the red team totaled 181 yards of total offense in 42 plays for 4.3 yards per play. The Wolfpack averaged 4.8 yards per play last season.
The second half was played with a running clock and stats were incomplete at the end of the game.
Quarterback battle: Armstrong vs. Morris
With former starter Devin Leary transferring to Kentucky this offseason, N.C. State has a legitimate quarterback battle on its hands between Armstrong and MJ Morris.
Armstrong is entering his sixth season of college football and his final year of eligibility. When he last played under Anae, he threw for 31 touchdowns and 4,449 yards in the 2021 season with the Cavaliers.
As a true freshman, Morris featured heavily in three N.C. State games last season, going 2-1 in games where he took the majority of snaps at quarterback while completing 60.5% of his passes for seven touchdowns and one interception.
Armstrong saw snaps exclusively with the red team Saturday, while Morris played with both the red and white teams.
While Armstrong was the first to feature under-center with the red team, neither quarterback really shined in the less-than-ideal conditions. Armstrong completed 14-of-28 passes for 127 yards and scampered away once for a 20-yard pickup.
“I know there’s some plays he wishes he had back,” Doeren said of Armstrong. “I think the spring for him has been very consistent. He’s really good with the guys. He’s an encourager. He’s confident and he’s able to tell everybody what to do when play calls come in. He knows the entire ins and outs.”
Morris was credited with the lone passing touchdown of the day, a short screen pass that Terrell Timmons took 63 yards to the end zone.
“He did some good things,” Doeren said of Morris. “He got the run game going, which helps all quarterbacks, and I think he made some nice throws.”
Redshirt sophomore Ben Finley featured with the white team on Saturday, too.
Defenders with an eye for the ball
N.C. State was 28th in the nation — and fifth in the ACC — in takeaways last season, turning its opponents over 1.7 times per game. Saturday, Wolfpack defenders continued to be opportunistic, as they had three interceptions in the first half, two of which were returned for touchdowns.
Redshirt senior Darius Edmundson picked off Armstrong and took the ball back 41 yards to the house. Moments later, Rocky Mount native Shyheim Battle grabbed an errant throw by Finley out of the air and ran it back 56 yards for a score. Redshirt freshman corner Foster Burt got in on the action too, hauling in an overthrown pass from Armstrong and returning it for a short gain.
Battle, who started seven games at corner last season, also recovered a fumble in the second half.
“I think we did pretty good flying around. We had some young guys doing some real good things,” junior defensive tackle Davin Vann said. “We had some picks, I had a forced fumble… the game is all around the ball. Wherever the ball is, you got to find it. If someone is carrying it loose, you got to take advantage of those opportunities.”
The next time N.C. State takes the field at Carter-Finley, it will be their home-opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 9.
