NC State WR coach Joker Phillips: ‘This is as talented a group as I've ever had'
By Noah Fleischman
It has been the topic of fall camp, but NC State’s wide receivers room continues to impress on the practice field each day. The Wolfpack overhauled the group over the offseason, bringing in transfers Noah Rogers (Ohio State) and Wesley Grimes (Wake Forest), in addition to a talented freshman class.
Pair those newcomers with sophomore star wideout Kevin “KC” Concepcion and the Pack’s route runners continue to make waves in each fall camp practice.
For NC State wide receivers coach Joker Phillips, these wide receivers are the “youngest, most talented group” that he has worked with in his 37 years in college football.
“There are a lot of draft picks in there,” Phillips said Tuesday. “It’s the most talented group that I’ve been around from top to bottom. I’ve been around talented guys like this, but not this deep. It’s fun to be a part of, it’s fun to watch.”
While the talent is evident, the Wolfpack built the wide receiver room through past relationships. Rogers and Grimes are both Raleigh natives that ended up elsewhere before going in the transfer portal this offseason.
And NC State was glad to be there to scoop them up.
“In today’s world, it’s good to be in second sometimes,” Phillips said with a laugh. “We were in second with Wesley, second with Noah. When things didn’t work out, we were able to get them back here.”
Phillips thought Concepcion’s standout freshman season, which was capped by an ACC Rookie of the Year honor, was also helpful in the Pack recruiting the local wide receivers back to Raleigh.
Phillips’ challenge this fall camp is getting them all on the college level. He’s dealing with five scholarship true freshmen at wideout, including former North Carolina commit Keenan Jackson, who has impressed in camp. And he can add Rogers into that group since the former Buckeye redshirted last season.
It has been a learning process for NC State’s wide receivers, who had a good practice Tuesday, Phillips said. That was different from last week, where he wasn’t happy with how they performed.
The Pack wants its wide receivers to string good practices in a row. Then, NC State will be in business.
“I’m 61 years old, I’ve seen a lot. The younger you are, it’s hard to focus all the time, and it has shown up some,” Phillips said. “We just have to continue to stack days.”
Even though there have been some slight bumps in the road, NC State’s wide receivers continue to dazzle on the practice field.
Wolfpack quarterback Grayson McCall, a former three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, has been impressed with the wideouts to this point. It appears they will make his job simple this fall.
“They push each other every day,” McCall said. “They come to work, and I think I’ve done a good job bringing those guys together and getting them on the same page. They do a fantastic job. There’s so many playmakers around me, it makes my job so much easier to find the open guy, get it in the fast guy’s hands and let him run.”
Now, the Wolfpack wideouts have just over two weeks’ worth of practices remaining before they get to lace up their cleats for NC State’s season opener against Western Carolina on Aug. 29. And if fall camp has been any indication, the Pack will be just fine at the wide receiver position this season.
