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NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 10

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•08/21/23•

TheWolfpacker

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Former NC State running back Willie Burden (Photo from NC State media relations)

The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 10 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 10 in Pack history.

NC State Football And The No. 10

• One of the best running backs in NC State football history wore the No. 10.

In 1973, Willie Burden made NC State history when he became the first running back in the program to go over 1,000 yards in a season. After tallying a league-high 1,014 rushing yards that year, Burden would be named the ACC Player of the Year.

NC State went 6-0 in the ACC in 1973 and finished the year ranked No. 16 in the Associated Press Poll after defeating Kansas in the Liberty Bowl.

Included in that 1973 campaign was a memorable performance vs. Wake Forest when Burden carried 18 times for 188 yards. He also ran 13 times for 160 yards against Georgia that year. His 6.8 yards per carry mark in 1973 is second best at NC State for a season (minimum 50 carries) behind Dick Christy’s 7.1 yards in 1955.

Among his standout performances during his career came in 1971, when Burden set a then-NC State record with 198 yards rushing in a game during a win over Kent State. That helped Burden nearly top the 1,000 mark that year, when he finished with 910 yards. At that point, Burden became the first NC State running back to even go over 900 yards in a year. He additionally had five 100-yard rushing games in 1971.

Burden, who was also first-team All-ACC in 1972, still ranks 10th all-time in NC State football history with 2,529 career rushing yards, and his 491 carries are the second fewest behind Anthony Barbour’s 474 rushes among those in the top 10.

Burden’s 76.6 yards per game average is seventh best all-time at NC State. Burden has the fifth-most 100-yard rushing games for a career with 12. His 22 career touchdown rushes are also tied for 10th most among NC State ball carriers.

Additionally, Burden was versatile. He caught 55 passes for 646 yards, which is the 10th most receptions ever by a NC State running back. His receiving yardage total is fifth best.

The product of Raleigh’s Enloe High was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round in 1974 but never played in the NFL. Instead, Burden enjoyed a standout eight-year career in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders. He was named the league’s MVP in 1975 and was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2001.

After football, Burden received a master’s at Ohio University and a doctorate at Tennessee State. He worked his way up to be the director of athletics at North Carolina A&T from 1990-99 before becoming a professor at Georgia Southern.

Burden died of congestive heart failure at the age of 64 in 2015. He recently checked in at No. 4 on TheWolfpacker.com’s ranking of five best running backs in NC State football history.

• Two players who are expected to have prominent roles in the future for NC State football wear No. 10 — true freshman receiver Kevin “KC” Concepcion and redshirt sophomore linebacker Caden Fordham.

In fact, it is not out of the question that both could end up starting in 2023. Concepcion has made waves since arriving in the spring and appears to have carried over that success during preseason camp. The 5-foot-11, 187-pounder from Charlotte was the subject of a spirited head-to-head recruiting battle with North Carolina.

Fordham is locked into a competition for one of the starting linebacker positions, and regardless figures to get regular reps during the season. The 6-foot-1, 228-pounder is from the Jacksonville, Fla., region and had five tackles, while playing a lot of reps on special teams, last season.

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