NC State Football
Sculthorpe Embraces Opportunity
Life comes at you fast, especially in college football.
The move up from high school to college, especially at a Power-5 school can be quite a leap. There is the acclimation to practice to adjust to, which is a whole new level.
Nothing can prepare a player for his first game.
Joe Sculthorpe made his debut Saturday for NC State. It was on a grand stage.
Playing South Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the native of Hampstead, North Carolina was in on 42 snaps for the Wolfpack Saturday.
“From high school to college, practice has more speed,” Sculthorpe said. “It is so much faster. From practice to an actual game, it is more faster than you can imagine so picking up on the game speed is a lot. That is one of the things that I have to adjust myself to, getting myself faster than I am used to.”
Inside Pack Sports
Joe Sculthorpe
How did Sculthorpe grade out against the Gamecocks?
“Nothing is perfect,” Sculthorpe said. “Nothing too horrible. There is stuff to work on, obviously. There is a lot of stuff I have got to pick up on. That is one of the focuses this week in practice but then you take the good with the bad.
It is process but his teammates are supportive and see a bright future for Sculthorpe.
“I thought Joe had a really good game,” redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley said. “Obviously, the first game against a good opponent like South Carolina everyone is going to make mistakes, but Joe is going to be a really good player for us and I think he is going to grow up really fast.”
The expectations for Sculthorpe are there, but those are more centered on his potential on the back end of his college career.
His appearing prominently in the first game caught him off guard. It was not exactly what he expected going into camp.
“Honestly, this year I was just going in and looking to be the backup center,” Sculthorpe said. “If they needed me, I would be there ready to play. Get on field goal and do my duty on field goal. If they needed me, I would be there but I didn’t expect stepping on the field and getting as many reps as I did but I was really happy and really proud that I was able to do that."
NC State sported a deep offensive line in 2016. That meant playing the waiting game.
That allowed Sculthorpe to develop his body and hone his craft. He is now in much better condition and has versatility on the line.
“I knew going in that I was going to be a redshirt guy,” Sculthorpe said. “I had no problem with that, taking time to get stronger, faster and working with Coach Thunder and his staff. That was a huge, huge thing for me, getting stronger, getting faster and getting my body weight under control, getting to a point where they could actually use me. I didn’t come in in exactly the best shape. I got pushed through the grind.
“When I first got here, I played left guard and then in the spring I went to center. I started to adjust to center and I like that a little bit. Obviously I played left guard [Saturday]. I like center. I feel like the transfer to guard from center is a little bit different there is some differences playing center in the spring and most of fall camp, learning the playbook has really helped me I feel like -- understanding the play dynamics.”
His position coach is keen to see how Sculthorpe progresses this week.
“He played really well,” offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford said. “Really well for a guy that was in his first college football game. He did real well in the run game but I do think there is some things he knows that he has got to improve on. Overall, he did real well.”
For his part, Sculthorpe is settling in and ready for his next new experience -- playing in Carter-Finley Stadium.
“The first game I got the game jitters out of the way, getting used to everything,” Sculthorpe said. “This week I am not feeling as much nervous as just more anxious now to get back on the field.
“I am going in this week like I have went in the last two weeks. I treat Marshall like all others. I have came in after class and watched extra film, go to practice with the right mentality and take it one step at a time.
“Last week was pretty intense playing in Charlotte at the Panthers’ stadium. That was a pretty cool experience. This week I am really excited to play home at Carter-Finley and show the fans what I can do.”
The move up from high school to college, especially at a Power-5 school can be quite a leap. There is the acclimation to practice to adjust to, which is a whole new level.
Nothing can prepare a player for his first game.
Joe Sculthorpe made his debut Saturday for NC State. It was on a grand stage.
Playing South Carolina at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, the native of Hampstead, North Carolina was in on 42 snaps for the Wolfpack Saturday.
“From high school to college, practice has more speed,” Sculthorpe said. “It is so much faster. From practice to an actual game, it is more faster than you can imagine so picking up on the game speed is a lot. That is one of the things that I have to adjust myself to, getting myself faster than I am used to.”
Inside Pack Sports
Joe Sculthorpe
How did Sculthorpe grade out against the Gamecocks?
“Nothing is perfect,” Sculthorpe said. “Nothing too horrible. There is stuff to work on, obviously. There is a lot of stuff I have got to pick up on. That is one of the focuses this week in practice but then you take the good with the bad.
It is process but his teammates are supportive and see a bright future for Sculthorpe.
“I thought Joe had a really good game,” redshirt junior quarterback Ryan Finley said. “Obviously, the first game against a good opponent like South Carolina everyone is going to make mistakes, but Joe is going to be a really good player for us and I think he is going to grow up really fast.”
The expectations for Sculthorpe are there, but those are more centered on his potential on the back end of his college career.
His appearing prominently in the first game caught him off guard. It was not exactly what he expected going into camp.
“Honestly, this year I was just going in and looking to be the backup center,” Sculthorpe said. “If they needed me, I would be there ready to play. Get on field goal and do my duty on field goal. If they needed me, I would be there but I didn’t expect stepping on the field and getting as many reps as I did but I was really happy and really proud that I was able to do that."
NC State sported a deep offensive line in 2016. That meant playing the waiting game.
That allowed Sculthorpe to develop his body and hone his craft. He is now in much better condition and has versatility on the line.
“I knew going in that I was going to be a redshirt guy,” Sculthorpe said. “I had no problem with that, taking time to get stronger, faster and working with Coach Thunder and his staff. That was a huge, huge thing for me, getting stronger, getting faster and getting my body weight under control, getting to a point where they could actually use me. I didn’t come in in exactly the best shape. I got pushed through the grind.
“When I first got here, I played left guard and then in the spring I went to center. I started to adjust to center and I like that a little bit. Obviously I played left guard [Saturday]. I like center. I feel like the transfer to guard from center is a little bit different there is some differences playing center in the spring and most of fall camp, learning the playbook has really helped me I feel like -- understanding the play dynamics.”
I didn’t expect stepping on the field and getting as many reps as I did, but I was really happy and really proud that I was able to do that.
His position coach is keen to see how Sculthorpe progresses this week.
“He played really well,” offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford said. “Really well for a guy that was in his first college football game. He did real well in the run game but I do think there is some things he knows that he has got to improve on. Overall, he did real well.”
For his part, Sculthorpe is settling in and ready for his next new experience -- playing in Carter-Finley Stadium.
“The first game I got the game jitters out of the way, getting used to everything,” Sculthorpe said. “This week I am not feeling as much nervous as just more anxious now to get back on the field.
“I am going in this week like I have went in the last two weeks. I treat Marshall like all others. I have came in after class and watched extra film, go to practice with the right mentality and take it one step at a time.
“Last week was pretty intense playing in Charlotte at the Panthers’ stadium. That was a pretty cool experience. This week I am really excited to play home at Carter-Finley and show the fans what I can do.”
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