NC State football stars shine bright in 38-21 win over Western Carolina

NC State football opened up its highly anticipated season with a win against the Western Carolina Catamounts. With Tennessee on the horizon, the Wolfpack showed some signs, especially in the fourth quarter, of being a high-caliber team.

It isn’t a surprise that sophomore wide receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion picked up right where he left off. He churned out 121 yards on nine receptions resulting in three major touchdowns for the Pack. Concepcion is only the fourth sophomore in NC State football history to have a three-touchdown reception game.

“KC is a really great player, when you get the ball to him, great things happen,” said graduate quarterback Grayson McCall.

McCall was the talk of the town, throwing for 318 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. He struggled to find receivers in the first half and ended up going 26-40 on passes. McCall is praised for his accuracy, and this game was unlike his usual self. McCall recognized this and said accuracy will be his main area of improvement before Tennessee.

Head coach Dave Doeren was in his quarterback's corner, saying that McCall did a lot of things right in his debut with the Pack.

“He played a really good football game, kept the drives alive, used his feet and protected the football,” Doeren said. “He had the one pick early, but after that, he really settled in and played a great game.”

The Wolfpack hauled in lots of great catches from McCall, most of the catches being one-on-one matchups up the middle with either Concepcion or junior tight end Justin Joly in the slot.

Joly had a nice performance, grabbing all five of the balls thrown to him for 75 yards. Every player that lined up in a receiving position roped in a catch, putting less pressure on redshirt freshman wide receiver Noah Rogers and Concepcion.

“We got to spread the ball around a little bit, and we’re able to get the ball into several people's hands,” Doeren said.

The fourth quarter for the Pack was what fans were expecting to see in the first three quarters. Graduate running back Jordan Waters, redshirt freshman running back Hollywood Smothers and sophomore running back Kendrick Raphael played like rent was due, rushing for 124 yards in the fourth quarter alone. The Wolfpack never punted in the fourth quarter and converted on all three of their drives, racking up 21 points.

The Wolfpack defense struggled more than it should have in the home opener, giving up 361 total yards and 120 yards rushing. The Pack has been known for having spirit-crushing defenses in past years, and this year wasn’t going to be an exception.

However, without key defensive pieces senior safety Ja’Had Carter and redshirt junior linebacker Caden Fordham, the Pack’s defense wasn't as lethal in the home opener.

Carter is a senior safety, who played for Ohio State in the previous fall. He had been dealing with injuries prior to Western Carolina, and Doeren made the executive decision to save him for the week two matchup against Tennessee.

Fordham learned a lot from Payton Wilson in his stellar 2023-2024 season. Fordham was called for targeting on the first play of the game and was disqualified after review. Fordham is a big piece on the defense and without him, Western Carolina had a lot of long runs up the middle.

“Caden is one of our better players, not having him hurts,” Doeren said. “He’s a physical presence in the run game and is a guy who plays really hard. He’s a leader on the field, and not having him in the middle really hurt, no question about it”.

Without key defensive players, and possible first game jitters for the offense, the Wolfpack grabbed an uncomfortable first win against Western Carolina. The Pack looks to capitalize on a ranked matchup in week two against No. 15 Tennessee.