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NC State Football
NC State's Wideouts Are Eager To Prove Their Worth
September 22, 2017
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NC State has added to its arsenal. The 2017 squad has more weapons to choose from.
Jaylen Samuels is widely lauded as one of the better offensive players in the ACC and rightly so. He rushed for three touchdowns in the Wolfpack’s win over Furman Saturday, and it appears that NC State is fine-tuning its running game at the right time.
As for the passing game, Samuels is still hauling in throws left and right -- with some coming miraculously. Kelvin Harmon is a bonafide deep threat who could end up setting records at NC State, this season and beyond.
However, the Pack has more options for Finley through the air.
Stephen Louis is becoming a dependable player in Eliah Drinkwitz’s offense, and JuMichael Ramos, who missed the 2016 season due to injury, has returned looking to contribute as well.
USA TODAY Sports Jumichael Ramos
Louis has 16 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. Ramos hauled in a touchdown pass against Furman for his first score of the season.
Ramos credits Louis for being an inspiration to teammates.
“Steph Louis did a great job leading the young receivers, coming in early and leaving late, watching extra film and talking -- making sure he is communicating with the coaches,” Ramos said of Louis. “The younger receivers look up to him. I think he did a great job, a wonderful job, and he shows it out on the field with the work that he put in.”
For his part, Louis is thrilled with how the offense is shaping up in 2017.
“We have been effective,” Louis said. “We have a lot of scores in the two-minute. We have been executing on a lot of stuff that we were making mistakes on last year so it is great to see improvement in a lot of things. Third down and two-minute, there has been improvement running the ball and a lot more passes. I have been loving it.”
NC State enters Tallahassee sporting a 2-1 record after consecutive wins. The season-opening loss to South Carolina was disconcerting but the Wolfpack has answered the bell since.
The task against Florida State has similar overtones. Last season NC State seemed to have the game in control but the Seminoles, buoyed by several critical mistakes from the Wolfpack, rallied to win late in Raleigh.
The Pack is looking to rebound. Ramos still feels the pain of the loss despite not playing in the game.
“I don’t know if you can forget it but you can look back at it and figure out what you did wrong or something that you can try to correct,” Ramos said. “Us playing them last year, I just feel like they have some of the same key players so we just look back on the film we had last year and being able to see what we did wrong and what we can capitalize on.”
“You do a little bit of both,” Louis said the motivation versus learning aspects of last season’s game. You use what you did well as motivation and you also use the bad moments just to learn from so I think you use it as motivation in both ways and I know, for us, we made critical mistakes. For us, we just have to build off of what we did well last year and take away those critical mistakes.”
USA TODAY Sports Stephen Louis
Playing at Florida State will not be easy. While there is not much film on the current Seminoles team, the Wolfpack has an abundance of experience playing in what is considered a brutal environment for opponents.
“I think we know what to expect,” Ramos said. “We have been down there before. No one has ever been in a quiet stadium. I think the noise we are working with is going to help us but we have also been in these situations before. We have got to make sure that we just lock in and make sure we know what we are doing.”
“I think South Carolina was good competition,” Louis said. “I think all of the teams we played are good competition. Just having game experience always prepares you for the next game. This is the biggest game because it is the next game. That is how we are going into it.”
And when the Wolfpack arrives it will not just be guys like Samuels or Nyheim Hines getting the ball.
“Me, Steph, Kelvin, all of us guys coming out there, it is a big step for us -- getting more opportunities for us and more weapons to use,” Ramos said. “We have Samuels and players like that but the receiving corp that we have, no one can stop us but ourselves. I believe that.”
Jaylen Samuels is widely lauded as one of the better offensive players in the ACC and rightly so. He rushed for three touchdowns in the Wolfpack’s win over Furman Saturday, and it appears that NC State is fine-tuning its running game at the right time.
As for the passing game, Samuels is still hauling in throws left and right -- with some coming miraculously. Kelvin Harmon is a bonafide deep threat who could end up setting records at NC State, this season and beyond.
However, the Pack has more options for Finley through the air.
Stephen Louis is becoming a dependable player in Eliah Drinkwitz’s offense, and JuMichael Ramos, who missed the 2016 season due to injury, has returned looking to contribute as well.
USA TODAY Sports Jumichael Ramos
Louis has 16 catches for 168 yards and a touchdown. Ramos hauled in a touchdown pass against Furman for his first score of the season.
Ramos credits Louis for being an inspiration to teammates.
“Steph Louis did a great job leading the young receivers, coming in early and leaving late, watching extra film and talking -- making sure he is communicating with the coaches,” Ramos said of Louis. “The younger receivers look up to him. I think he did a great job, a wonderful job, and he shows it out on the field with the work that he put in.”
For his part, Louis is thrilled with how the offense is shaping up in 2017.
“We have been effective,” Louis said. “We have a lot of scores in the two-minute. We have been executing on a lot of stuff that we were making mistakes on last year so it is great to see improvement in a lot of things. Third down and two-minute, there has been improvement running the ball and a lot more passes. I have been loving it.”
NC State enters Tallahassee sporting a 2-1 record after consecutive wins. The season-opening loss to South Carolina was disconcerting but the Wolfpack has answered the bell since.
The task against Florida State has similar overtones. Last season NC State seemed to have the game in control but the Seminoles, buoyed by several critical mistakes from the Wolfpack, rallied to win late in Raleigh.
The Pack is looking to rebound. Ramos still feels the pain of the loss despite not playing in the game.
“I don’t know if you can forget it but you can look back at it and figure out what you did wrong or something that you can try to correct,” Ramos said. “Us playing them last year, I just feel like they have some of the same key players so we just look back on the film we had last year and being able to see what we did wrong and what we can capitalize on.”
“You do a little bit of both,” Louis said the motivation versus learning aspects of last season’s game. You use what you did well as motivation and you also use the bad moments just to learn from so I think you use it as motivation in both ways and I know, for us, we made critical mistakes. For us, we just have to build off of what we did well last year and take away those critical mistakes.”
USA TODAY Sports Stephen Louis
Playing at Florida State will not be easy. While there is not much film on the current Seminoles team, the Wolfpack has an abundance of experience playing in what is considered a brutal environment for opponents.
“I think we know what to expect,” Ramos said. “We have been down there before. No one has ever been in a quiet stadium. I think the noise we are working with is going to help us but we have also been in these situations before. We have got to make sure that we just lock in and make sure we know what we are doing.”
“I think South Carolina was good competition,” Louis said. “I think all of the teams we played are good competition. Just having game experience always prepares you for the next game. This is the biggest game because it is the next game. That is how we are going into it.”
And when the Wolfpack arrives it will not just be guys like Samuels or Nyheim Hines getting the ball.
“Me, Steph, Kelvin, all of us guys coming out there, it is a big step for us -- getting more opportunities for us and more weapons to use,” Ramos said. “We have Samuels and players like that but the receiving corp that we have, no one can stop us but ourselves. I believe that.”
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