NC State 2019 breakout player Jordan Houston get chance to lead 'Pack

ThomasFrankCarr

On3 image — RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: Warren Saba #17 of the East Carolina Pirates tackles Jordan Houston #20 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack during their game at Carter-Finley Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

The 2019 season seems like eons ago. For NC State tailback Jordan Houston, it probably feels that way too. The junior from Waldorf, MD, was a freshman and made an immediate impact his first year on campus. With an early-season injury to Ricky Person Jr, Houston stepped up to the challenge of playing right away. He didn’t disappoint. Houston tallied 538 yards on the season with just over 100 receiving yards to boot. It seemed as if the freshman was on his way to stardom. Then after 12 carries for 54 yards in the 2020 season opener against Wake Forest, Houston vanished. A healthy duo of fellow runners Zonovan Knight and Person Jr left Houston with roughly half the touches of his freshman season. Now with both players moving on to the NFL, it’s up to Houston to find a way to pick up where he left off in 2019. First, we’ll look at what made him such an effective runner as a freshman to help us have a sense of what is to come from the next man up in the Wolfpack backfield.