TRI-PARTISAN: 2020 Class Won't Be Counted On Early, Which Is Good For NC State

Each week I submit a Tri-Partisan column to WRALSportsFan.com, and here is today's feature where I tell you why NC State's 2020 recruiting class isn't expected to be counted on for the Wolfpack's potential turnaround next season.

NC State will end the early 2020 signing period with 17 signees, and it is a class expected to add depth to the roster. However, maybe the biggest positive is that the Wolfpack's roster is in a position to not need major contributions from this class – something that is rare for a team to say following a 4-8 season.

"Looking at the roster and who’s coming back... we didn’t lose a lot off the roster," Dave Doeren stated on Wednesday. "It was a young football team. There were only a few seniors that were starters. I’ve always wanted competitive talent, a depth chart that’s full of competition for positions. That’s what you’re looking at."

That is why NC State fans should be optimistic. Often after a down season, the hope is a bunch of newcomers will arrive and potentially save the day. For this program, though, those types of players are already on the roster – it’s just that they were largely unable to contribute in 2019 due to injury and/or transfer status.

Start on the offensive side of the ball where potential impact players such as C.J. Riley, Justin Witt, Dylan Autenrieth, and Tyrone Riley will return from injury. Three of those four players started the season opener, and the fourth - Riley - likely would have but suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. That's four starters who played a combined one ACC game in 2018. You don't think having them back will help the Wolfpack offense?

TRI-PARTISAN BLOG

Tri-Partisan: NC State's 2020 football recruiting class likely won't be counted on early, which is a positive

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Posted 8:00 a.m. today
Updated 8:44 a.m. today

By James Henderson, WRALSportsFan contributor

NC State will end the early 2020 signing period with 17 signees, and it is a class expected to add depth to the roster. However, maybe the biggest positive is that the Wolfpack's roster is in a position to not need major contributions from this class – something that is rare for a team to say following a 4-8 season.

NC State announces 17 on early signing day

"Looking at the roster and who’s coming back... we didn’t lose a lot off the roster," Dave Doeren stated on Wednesday. "It was a young football team. There were only a few seniors that were starters. I’ve always wanted competitive talent, a depth chart that’s full of competition for positions. That’s what you’re looking at."

That is why NC State fans should be optimistic. Often after a down season, the hope is a bunch of newcomers will arrive and potentially save the day. For this program, though, those types of players are already on the roster – it’s just that they were largely unable to contribute in 2019 due to injury and/or transfer status.

Start on the offensive side of the ball where potential impact players such as C.J. Riley, Justin Witt, Dylan Autenrieth, and Tyrone Riley will return from injury. Three of those four players started the season opener, and the fourth - Riley - likely would have but suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp. That's four starters who played a combined one ACC game in 2018. You don't think having them back will help the Wolfpack offense?

Defensively was much of the same with both starting corners, Nick McCloud and Chris Ingram, missing most of the season due to injury. That started a trickle-down effect at that position which would eventually see the No. 5 and No. 6 players on the depth chart being forced into regular playing time. However, the two biggest additions on that side of the ball could be junior linebacker Levi Jones and junior defensive end Jeffrey Gunter.

Jones, a 6-foot-3, 230-pound transfer from Southern California, was a four-star recruit out of high school and is the son of three-time Super Bowl champion Robert Jones. Gunter starred at Coastal Carolina in 2017, leading Coastal in sacks and tackles for a loss while earning first-team All-Sun Belt honors.

Both players terrorized the Wolfpack offense weekly while lining up on the scout team, and the result was that they shared Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year Honors. Click the link to read the rest of the story: LINK