David M. Hale 9y

Receivers stepping up at NC State

After a year of marked improvement on offense, NC State returns the bulk of its playmakers for 2015. The one position where there are some questions, however, is wide receiver, after Bo Hines and Marquez Valdes-Scantling decided to transfer. We talked with coach Dave Doeren about where things stand at the position following spring practice.

What did you see out of your wide receivers this spring?

Doeren: We felt Bra'Lon Cherry would be a guy who could take a big step for us, and we still feel that way. Stephen Louis is a guy we’re all excited about, but he couldn’t go through spring practice unfortunately. Jumichael Ramos did a nice job in the spring. So did Gavin Locklear. And two guys who were redshirted and got a chance were Maurice Trowell and Elliott Davis, who we moved over from DB. He had probably the most productive spring from a big-play standpoint. I’m not nervous about it. ... Obviously losing Bo Hines hurts, but the other guy dropped a lot of balls. It wasn’t like Valdes was a super player. I feel like we lost one player, and every year, you’re going to lose at least one player.

You brought in George McDonald to coach the receivers. What has he added to the mix?

Doeren: He’s a really good teacher, and when you’re a coach that’s a teacher, you can really develop players. That’s what we needed -- a guy who could coach guys up on the game plan, but also develop the fundamentals of the position. Seeing him work with guys like Elliott who is starting from ground zero, you really see how his approach benefits guys.

You moved Davis and Josh Sessoms from defensive back to receiver. Was that just about filling a need?

Doeren: Elliott was a tremendous receiver in high school, and a lot of his offers were for offense. He actually approached me about it. He said, 'Coach, I know we have both starters back at corner, and I know you feel I could be a really good corner, but I think I can help the team more if I moved to offense.' I asked the offensive coaches, and they said, 'Absolutely.' I hope it works because he’s a very gifted athlete -- a two-time state triple jumper and a 40-inch vertical guy. He can explode in a hurry, and he has good ball skills. And being a defensive player for a year helped his overall game.

Josh Sessoms was a really good basketball player in high school, but he just hasn’t found a way on the field as a defensive player. He’s a longer kid that has good ball skills and a similar deal -- he felt like he’d get more reps on the other side. We’ll see. The jury is still out on that, just because he’s still learning the offense.

Ramos had such a promising freshman year in 2013, but took a big step back last season. What happened there?

Doeren: Yeah, he had a few touchdowns in the last few games, and a lot of notoriety going into the offseason. He’d probably tell you, he thought it was going to be easier. I don’t think he worked as hard as he needed to. Sometimes the success you have early can hurt you later. Unfortunately in fall camp, he had a leg injury that held him out for a while, and he just never got back into it. He had a lot of drops, and his confidence was shaken a bit, and then he got injured. Sophomore slump is the best way to put it. But he’s really bounced back from it, and I know him and Coach McDonald have worked well together. It’s just about being consistent for him, being somebody the quarterback can look for and count on all the time. I know that’s what he wants to do, and I think he’s had a humbling experience to come back from, and I’m proud of him for what he did.

You mentioned the drops. Is there a chance you’re better at receiver this year with just a more consistent group?

Doeren: I’ll be honest -- I’ll be mad if we’re not better at that position than we were a year ago. I thought we underachieved. There’s players in that room I know are better than they played, and there were games where guys had tremendous games and the next week they weren’t. And that’s the worst thing you can do for a quarterback is be inconsistent. ... We feel like we have enough talent once everybody’s healthy to be one of the strong groups on the team. That’s why we made the change we did at receiver coach and recruited the way we did to bring three new guys in.

With David Grinnage and Matt Dayes, you’ve got some real versatility at tight end and running back. Do you expect those guys to fill in for some potential gaps at receiver?

Doeren: We did that last year with Grinnage. We’ve lined David up all over the field. We feel he’s that good that he’s a mismatch problem at 6-7. Matt Dayes, it depends on the game plan, but he’s a tremendous player out of the backfield. And I know his goal is to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving, so he has high goals for himself, and he’s probably capable if he’s healthy. We also have some freshmen coming in. We feel like Nyheim Hines is a guy who can be similar to Matt in his role to be in the slot and in the backfield. Jaylen Samuels is a guy who gets forgotten a lot but is a really good receiving tight end. We have some options to make up for the catches we lost from Bo, and we look for a lot of different people to fill in. And you just never know. A year ago, Bo had no catches.

Right, it seemed like Jacoby Brissett and Hines developed that rapport really quickly last year. Do you think Jacoby can do that with some of these guys just as quickly?

Doeren: No doubt. If you watched the spring game, him and Jaylen Samuels had that rapport real quick. Between the three new guys coming in, Elliott who has shown a lot of promise, to David Grinnage to Matt Dayes to Nyheim Hines -- there’s going to be plenty of firepower. The way we look at it, it’s about who will earn the throws.

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