NC State’s final home game against Syracuse comes with a long injury ledger, and the Wolfpack added more names to the “Out” column when the first availability report dropped last night.
Safety Ronnie Royal III and linebacker Popo Aguirre are both out after their heads collided while trying to make a tackle against Duke last Saturday. It was a frightening scene, but neither player had to leave on a stretcher, and both walked off the field under their own power. Their specific injury diagnoses have not been announced.
Backup quarterback Will Wilson also moved from questionable in previous reports to out this week. He had been listed as a game-time decision before the Duke game, but he did not play.
Tight end Hunter Provience is out as well after getting hurt during the Duke game. Safety Tristan Teasdell, who has not played since an injury against Louisville earlier this season, is once again unavailable.
Taken together, the Wolfpack will be without four defensive starters and three offensive starters from the beginning of the season:
Defense
LB Popo Aguirre
LB AJ Richardson
S Ronnie Royal III
S Tristan Teasdell
Offense
C Spike Sowells Jr.
OG Yousef Mugharbil
TE Hunter Provience
There’s still a sizable group sitting in the questionable-or-probable range, too. Starting JACK linebacker Harvey Dyson III is back on the report after being cleared off it last week and is listed as questionable.
Wide receiver Keenan Jackson, who was dinged up against Duke, is also questionable. Right tackle Rico Jackson, who started against the Blue Devils, carries a questionable tag as well.
Backup center Daniel Cruz, who was out last week, is questionable this time around.
On the other side of the ledger, placekicker Kanoah Vinesett is probable after not appearing on last week’s report. Backup cornerback Jaren Sensabaugh is probable too, even though he didn’t play against Duke.
The tight end room got at least one bit of good news, with Preston Douglas no longer on the availability report after being out last week. Backup tight end Tex Vaughn is probable, though Hunter Provience has already been ruled out.
Starting center Teague Andersen, who was a game-time decision against Duke and played through it, is also probable after hobbling off at one point in that game.
A lot of this was already hinted at by Monday’s depth chart.
On offense, Keenan Jackson was not listed, which pushed Tyran Warren into a starting role. Amiri Acker is now second string and was making plays late against Duke.
There’s still an OR between Davion Gause and Duke Scott at running back, but Gause remains listed first even with Scott back in the mix. Scott is no longer on the availability report.
The offensive line and skill spots now look like this:
LT #62 Jimarion McCrimon / #56 Brody Smith
LG #78 Trent Mitchell OR #55 Rylan Vann
C #54 Teague Andersen / #52 Kage Payne
RG #79 Kamen Smith / #76 Michael Gibbs
RT #64 Rico Jackson / #70 TK Whitset
TE #19 Preston Douglas / #45 Tex Vaughn
WR #82 Chance Robinson / #5 Davion Dozier / #85 Tyreek Cooper
WR #0 Victor Snow / #6 Ashton Locklear / #21 Je’rel Bolder
WR #13 Tyran Warren / #83 Amiri Acker
RB #7 Davion Gause OR #1 Duke Scott / #25 Darius Johnson / #20 Deandre Desinor
QB #11 CJ Bailey / #10 Will Wilson
On defense, Popo Aguirre’s injury forced a shuffle. Freshman Jordan Moreta moved from backup WILL linebacker last week to starting MIKE linebacker, with Ziggy Moore sliding to WILL. Brody Barnhardt, who had been backing up King Mack at strong safety, is now starting at free safety in place of Royal III.
The defensive two-deep now reads:
E #13 Joseph Adedire / #92 Chase Bond OR #47 Adrian Farrow
N #90 Josiah Victor OR #55 Ka’Tron Evans
T #88 Isaiah Shirley / #56 Omarian Abraham
JACK #5 Harvey Dyson III / #58 Elijah Satchell / #42 Ke’Von Carter
MLB #44 Jordan Moreta / #30 Zane Williams
WLB #33 Ziggy Moore / #8 Da’Kaari Nelson
NIC #22 Jackson Vick / #10 Ty White
LCB #24 Michael Tate / #14 Jaren Sensabaugh
SS #4 King Mack / #16 Pluto Surratt
FS #29 Brody Barnhardt / #21 Chino Aguirre
RCB #7 Brian Nelson II / #6 Jamel Johnson
In Other News...
NC State Faces Familiar Ties With A 4-0 Start On The Line
NC State gets one more home test before leaving Raleigh, and the timing makes it feel a little bigger than a routine November tune-up. The Wolfpack are 3-0 and closing out a four-game homestand against Troy, coming off a dominant win over Presbyterian that underscored how quickly this group has settled in. The balance has been encouraging, with several players making an impact and the overall team numbers pointing to a start that has looked convincing rather than merely clean.
There is also a familiar face on the other sideline, with Troy head coach Adam Howard returning to NC State. Those kinds of connections usually add a little extra edge to an otherwise early-season matchup, especially when one team is trying to keep momentum rolling and the other is looking to spoil it. For the Wolfpack, the bigger picture is simple enough: protect home court, keep the unbeaten start intact, and head into the next stretch with a 4-0 record in hand. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Faces Early Test It Needs To Pass Cleanly
The Wolfpack get an early-season checkpoint Friday night when Troy comes to the Lenovo Center for a 7 p.m. tip on ACC Network, a game that should tell a lot about how quickly NC State is settling in under game conditions. Troy arrives with a new head coach in Adam Howard, and the matchup brings a familiar mix of questions for the home side: whether the Wolfpack can control the glass, defend the arc and keep the game from turning into the kind of test that exposes sloppy habits this time of year.
NC State also has a few personnel details worth watching, including the status of Shah Hall, while the coaching backdrop adds another layer to a game that is more than a routine nonconference date. For a team trying to establish a clean early baseline, this is the kind of opponent that can make the evening feel straightforward if the Wolfpack handle the basics, or uncomfortably close if they do not. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Flexed The Identity Wolfpack Fans Have Been Waiting To See
For a team still trying to settle into its own personality, Sundays 94-60 win over Presbyterian offered a clear snapshot of what NC State wants to be. The Wolfpack controlled the glass, bullied its way to easy looks in the paint and got a major lift from a bench that piled up 41 points, all while holding Presbyterian to a low shooting percentage in the first half. It was the kind of physical, connected effort that can travel once the competition gets tougher.
Ven-Allen Lubin set the tone with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks, and Paul McNeil Jr. added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds to reinforce the edge NC State showed inside. The challenge now is whether this kind of frontcourt dominance and second-unit production can become more than a one-game statement, because the Wolfpack looked like a team with a clearer identity than the one fans have been waiting to see. [Read more 🡒]