NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 47
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 47 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 47 in Pack history.
NC State Football And The No. 47
• Wearing No. 47 this season for NC State football is an intriguing addition to the roster: Red Hibbler. He was one of three junior college players signed in 2023 to boost the depth on defense in what was a targeted approach by the Wolfpack recruiting staff. They noticed that the junior colleges were being largely overlooked in favor of the high school ranks and the transfer portal.
Hibbler was a productive pass rusher at one of the better junior college programs, Northwest Mississippi in Senatobia, Miss. The 6-foot-2, 260-pounder had 16.5 tackles for loss and 9 sacks in 12 games last season, and his coach Benjy Parker was quoted as saying that he believed Hibbler was a SEC talent.
ESPN.com rated Hibbler the No. 3 overall junior college prospect in the country. The On3 Industry Ranking had him at No. 15, including being No. 3 among JC defensive line recruits in the country.
Yet, NC State would be Hibbler’s lone Power Five offer, and he enrolled early after signing in December. Based on the spring, Hibbler should be an immediate contributor in the Wolfpack defensive line rotation this fall.
“Red gives us a little something difference, very similar to [former NC State defensive end Daniel Joseph], with the pass rush and things like that,” NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson told TheWolfpacker.com. “Red’s an athletic guy.”
• The NC State football record for fewest yards allowed in a season came in 1947, when opponents gained 1,518 yards over nine games. The 86 pass attempts, 39 completions and 354 passing yards that year against the Wolfpack defense will also likely forever be a school marks for fewest in a season.
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That squad finished with a 5-3-1 record and ranked No. 17 in the final Associated Press poll. The season was highlighted by a 7-2 victory over No. 16 Virginia on the road.
• New Year’s Day in 1947 was the first time that NC State ever played in a bowl, losing 34-13 to No. 14 Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.
• The NC State record for highest punting average in a year is 47.6, set by Trenton Gill in 2019. Gill is now a second-year punter for the Chicago Bears and was No. 2 in TheWolfpacker.com’s list of top five all-time punters in program history.
The previous school record had been 46.1 yards, which Johnny Evans accumulated over 47 punts in 1975. Evans was No. 1 on TheWolfpacker.com’s list.
• During his remarkable career at NC State, do-it-all Jaylen Samuels had 47 career touchdowns, second most all-time for the Wolfpack. Samuels had 28 scores rushing and added 19 more receiving. He is the only NC State player to have double-digit TDs both on the ground and catching.
