NC State Football
Another Big Year Ahead For Jay Sam
Although we may struggle to find a set position for NC State star senior Jaylen Samuels, he's frequently with tight ends coach Eddie Faulkner's group.
"He's always been in my room," said Faulkner, laughing.
It was Faulkner who originally landed Samuels out of Charlotte (NC) Mallard Creek High School, and he has played a major role in the talented senior's stellar career.
Samuels originally lined up primarily as a wing back and in-line tight end, and now he's frequently flexed out in the slot or playing in the backfield.
Expect Jay Sam to continue playing a variety of positions.
"We'll use Jaylen a lot of the same ways," Faulkner said. "Maybe more of the same ways. Obviously, when you had a Matt Dayes, Matt got a lot of touches, which he should have. Jay will be one of the guys to pick up some of those touches, but we have a bunch of good backs that can all play.
"We expect Jay's touches to increase, but ultimately he will do a lot of what he's done to this point that's made him who he is... that made him productive."
Faulkner hit the nail on the head. It's easy for some to just think the best way to utilize Samuels is to put him at tailback where you can easily control his number of touches... the more touches, obviously the better, is the thinking.
However, what makes Samuels so unique is how he can impact from various formations and spots and putting him strictly in the backfield likely limits his impact and efficiency.
Inside Pack Sports Jaylen Samuels
"A lot of people who maybe do not completely understand football will tell you just play him at running back," said Faulkner. "Well, that's not him. If you just leave him at running back you're taking something away from him... that makes him the special player he is.
"That's a challenge for coaches, to find different ways of getting him the ball. Some of those are at running back, some of those are receiver, some of those are out of the backfield, some of those are from a conventional tight end position. That's a challenge for us, to make sure that we get him the ball where he's best in position to make big plays."
A reserve who flashed as a freshman, Samuels had his breakout season in 2015 when he earned first-team All-ACC honors after totaling 65 receptions and 16 touchdowns, the most ever for a Wolfpack sophomore.
Samuels followed it up with another strong season... 55 catches and 15 more scores.
A preseason All-American, Faulkner believes Samuels is poised to have a huge year.
"He has just consistently improved," he stated. "That's all I can really say. I've always really felt very strongly about him as a player. I think everybody has. He never ceases to amaze me in what he does. The biggest growth has been him understanding how he has to prepare, and how he has to prepare his body. All those types of things. So from that standpoint, that's been the most growth.
"For him as a player, he just does what he does. He goes about his business, and he works hard. He's on those lists, but he doesn't care about that. He's out here trying to help the team, and he's trying to get better himself. It's nice and everything, but we don't care about that."
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp praised Samuels when asked about him this week.
"He’s a really good football player," said Muschamp. "They find very creative ways to hand him the ball, throw him the ball, toss him the ball. He’s a very effective playmaker. I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t know him personally.
"When you have this much time to prepare, you watch a lot of tape. I certainly really enjoy watching him play. You got to have awareness of where he is and the guys have to have understanding of when he lines up in certain areas, there’s a reason why he is there and just have a good concept for understanding those things."
As for Samuels, he has a single goal in mind and it's the same as the rest of the Wolfpack's seniors.
"The mindset of course is to win the ACC Championship," said Samuels. "That's our goal. That's always been our goal. Come in front. Since freshmen year. We all know the struggle we've had all four years. Coming up short in the big game. But we know it's our last year and we're just trying to leave a legacy here. Passionate team. Go out the right way."
"He's always been in my room," said Faulkner, laughing.
It was Faulkner who originally landed Samuels out of Charlotte (NC) Mallard Creek High School, and he has played a major role in the talented senior's stellar career.
Samuels originally lined up primarily as a wing back and in-line tight end, and now he's frequently flexed out in the slot or playing in the backfield.
Expect Jay Sam to continue playing a variety of positions.
"We'll use Jaylen a lot of the same ways," Faulkner said. "Maybe more of the same ways. Obviously, when you had a Matt Dayes, Matt got a lot of touches, which he should have. Jay will be one of the guys to pick up some of those touches, but we have a bunch of good backs that can all play.
"We expect Jay's touches to increase, but ultimately he will do a lot of what he's done to this point that's made him who he is... that made him productive."
Faulkner hit the nail on the head. It's easy for some to just think the best way to utilize Samuels is to put him at tailback where you can easily control his number of touches... the more touches, obviously the better, is the thinking.
However, what makes Samuels so unique is how he can impact from various formations and spots and putting him strictly in the backfield likely limits his impact and efficiency.
Inside Pack Sports Jaylen Samuels
"A lot of people who maybe do not completely understand football will tell you just play him at running back," said Faulkner. "Well, that's not him. If you just leave him at running back you're taking something away from him... that makes him the special player he is.
"That's a challenge for coaches, to find different ways of getting him the ball. Some of those are at running back, some of those are receiver, some of those are out of the backfield, some of those are from a conventional tight end position. That's a challenge for us, to make sure that we get him the ball where he's best in position to make big plays."
A reserve who flashed as a freshman, Samuels had his breakout season in 2015 when he earned first-team All-ACC honors after totaling 65 receptions and 16 touchdowns, the most ever for a Wolfpack sophomore.
Samuels followed it up with another strong season... 55 catches and 15 more scores.
A preseason All-American, Faulkner believes Samuels is poised to have a huge year.
"He has just consistently improved," he stated. "That's all I can really say. I've always really felt very strongly about him as a player. I think everybody has. He never ceases to amaze me in what he does. The biggest growth has been him understanding how he has to prepare, and how he has to prepare his body. All those types of things. So from that standpoint, that's been the most growth.
"For him as a player, he just does what he does. He goes about his business, and he works hard. He's on those lists, but he doesn't care about that. He's out here trying to help the team, and he's trying to get better himself. It's nice and everything, but we don't care about that."
South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp praised Samuels when asked about him this week.
"He’s a really good football player," said Muschamp. "They find very creative ways to hand him the ball, throw him the ball, toss him the ball. He’s a very effective playmaker. I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t know him personally.
He’s a really good football player. They find very creative ways to hand him the ball, throw him the ball, toss him the ball. He’s a very effective playmaker. I have a lot of respect for him. I don’t know him personally.
"When you have this much time to prepare, you watch a lot of tape. I certainly really enjoy watching him play. You got to have awareness of where he is and the guys have to have understanding of when he lines up in certain areas, there’s a reason why he is there and just have a good concept for understanding those things."
As for Samuels, he has a single goal in mind and it's the same as the rest of the Wolfpack's seniors.
"The mindset of course is to win the ACC Championship," said Samuels. "That's our goal. That's always been our goal. Come in front. Since freshmen year. We all know the struggle we've had all four years. Coming up short in the big game. But we know it's our last year and we're just trying to leave a legacy here. Passionate team. Go out the right way."
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