NC State’s Duke Scott walked into the 2026 ACC Kickoff with a new number on his back and the same message in his head: keep going.
The redshirt sophomore running back said Wednesday in Charlotte that earning the No. 1 jersey is a major honor, but it doesn’t change how he approaches the season or the work that got him there.
“It means everything to me. Like getting honor, getting that coveted honor as No. 1, it’s something that I take pride into since I got here on campus.
My grades, my work ethic, how I lead the team. Being able to, like, represent my team in that way, being that face, it just means everything to me.
I’m extremely excited about it.”
Scott also made clear that his mindset hasn’t shifted with the bigger role. After taking over as the Wolfpack’s lead back, he said the standard stays the same whether it’s practice, a game, or anything in between.
“I always plan on staying true to myself, stay the same person. Regardless if that’s college or high school, I come the same person every day.
I come with the same work ethic, same mindset. That’s just to dominate the day.
That translates to game day. I try to dominate the opponent in front of me.
That’s what you can expect this year.”
Scott’s physical tools have already become part of the conversation. He was asked about his 405-pound power clean, 575-pound squat and 4.35 40-yard dash, and he pointed back to the environment around him for keeping those numbers where they are.
“Coach Thunder is great. He holds us to a standard, that a standard is never going to get dropped for anybody.
I make sure to be the best man I can be every day. I came with the same mindset, that’s to work as hard as I can every day. That leads to incremental improvement every day.”
He also revisited the game that helped cement his confidence as a bigger part of NC State’s offense. When Hollywood Smothers was out against Georgia Tech last year, Scott stepped in and delivered 200 yards and a 60-yard touchdown against an unbeaten No. 8 team.
That performance, he said, showed him he could do it against anyone.
“100%. It definitely built my confidence, made me understand I can do this against everybody.
Georgia Techs was coming in unbeaten, No. 8 ranked. Let me know you’re here, too.
This is the same thing you’ve been doing, it’s just football at the end of the day.
Having that confidence, having Hollywood in my corner telling me, You’re ready for this, you’ve been ready, you played football, this is nothing. It all just helped propel me to have a good I guess end of the year.”
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Chase Bond is one of the names to watch. The junior end arrived with a strong high school rsum and has flashed enough in limited college action to suggest there is more there, even after playing only a modest snap total last season. Now he enters camp with a chance to turn that promise into a starting job, and how quickly he does it will go a long way toward determining whether NC States front can generate the kind of pressure it needs early in the fall. [Read more 🡒]