WILSON: Finley's Embarrassment Of Riches
The phrase “Next man up” is commonly heard throughout football locker rooms as a way of instilling a sense of readiness for those who are next in line in the case of injury or poor performance.
For NC State’s wide receiver corps, every man is the next man up.
Heading into the 2018 season, arguably the Wolfpack’s biggest strength was found within its plethora of receivers. But early on, it’s seemed that the Pack couldn’t have its unit 100 percent healthly. That hasn’t stymied Ryan Finley and his exuberantly talented targets thus far, though, as those who have been called upon have exceeded expectations.
Clearly, sitting at the top of the mountain is Kelvin Harmon; the sure-handed big man leads the way with an ACC-best 104.0 receiving yards per game. Since arriving in the program, Harmon has been Finley’s top target, and his success thus far has been nothing new.
Finley’s next two top targets heading into the season have unfortunately been banged up in the early going. Stephen Louis missed the season opener against James Madison, but since then he’s been slowly getting back into the swing of things, already netting five catches for 90 yards. Jakobi Meyers, on the other hand, had a huge game against the Dukes with 14 receptions for 161 yards. Meyers left the game worse for wear, though, missing the next game versus Georgia State and only saw 33 snaps against Marshall two weeks later.
"He was a little sore," Dave Doeren said of Meyers this week. "He was probably 85 percent last week."
Behind the aforementioned trio, Emeka Emezie and C.J. Riley have been more than suitable as receivers for Finley. Emezie is third on the team in receptions with 15 for 154 yards and a touchdown. Riley has hauled in 10 catches for 112 yards and one score.
However, the team’s biggest surprise has been Thayer Thomas.
The former walk-on has practically come out of nowhere to be one of Finley’s best targets this year. The Heritage HS product is third on the team in receiving yards with 175 on 12 catches, and he’s Finley’s top end zone target with two scores on the year.
His best performance thus far has come against Georgia State where he caught nine passes for 114 yards which included a one-handed, first-quarter touchdown. That outing earned him ACC Rookie of the Week honors. He unfortunately left the next game against the Thundering Herd due to injury after only seeing six snaps.
As the old adage goes, time heals all wounds. This especially counts for physical wounds, and this applies for this weekend as Meyers, Louis, and Thomas appear to have recovered from their previous mishaps. This bodes well for Finley and the Wolfpack’s offense, and if that force is running on all cylinders, then NC State’s competition needs to look out.
With Virginia coming to Raleigh this Saturday, the NC State wide receiver corps should be at full strength which should give the Cavaliers an extra layer of fear as they head into Carter-FInley Stadium.