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Red Team prevails in turnover-filled NC State football spring game

MattCarterby:Matt Carter•04/08/23•

TheWolfpacker

Photo by Ken Martin
NC State quarterback MJ Morris (Photo by Ken Martin/On3)

Before the start of the NC State football spring game, super senior quarterback Brennan Armstrong in his black No. 5 jersey started sprinting onto the field. Problem was that none of his teammates were rushing out to join him.

As Armstrong, a transfer from Virginia, emerged from the smoke in the tunnel, he received a quick lesson that is not how NC State football takes the field. He turned back to rejoin his teammates and wait for Pack head coach Dave Doeren, concluding his 11th spring practice with the Wolfpack, to lead the team out the tunnel.

That would not be the only mistake Armstrong made on a wet, chilly day, but the annual Red-White scrimmage left a clear indication that Armstrong is the clubhouse leader in the quarterback competition.

Armstrong worked exclusively with the NC State Red Team, which was loaded with most of the primary players on the expected two-deep depth chart, before finishing for the day after a half of football. He completed 14 of 28 passes for 127 yards with 2 interceptions, one of which was a pick-six.

Doeren noted afterward that one of the picks was on the running back not being in the correct position, but Armstrong was quick to put the blame back on himself.

“They’re all on me,” Armstrong insisted.

“Weather was a factor, but I’ve got to do a better job of taking care of the ball,” Armstrong also said afterward.

The NC State offense overall would have 5 turnovers on the day. Fourth-year redshirt sophomore quarterback Ben Finley also threw a pick-six (returned 62 yards by fifth-year redshirt junior corner Shyheim Battle), and the Pack lost a pair of fumbles.

“It’s one of those deals like as a head coach, you’re super excited for the defense on plays like that and you’re mad at the offense,” Doeren noted. “But yes, we need to get the ball back. We led the league in interceptions two years in a row. That gives your offense opportunities to score more points. And obviously, more points mean more wins.

“So we want to continue working hard at the takeaway aspects of the game. And on the flip side, we need to take care of the ball better.”

Sophomore MJ Morris alternated with Finley running the White Team with the NC State reserves in the first half before taking over the Red Team in the second half. Morris finished completing 10 of 12 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown.

The score was a 62-yarder that was primarily sophomore receiver Terrell Timmons Jr.’s work. Timmons caught a screen pass behind the line of scrimmage and sprinted along the sideline past the defense for a score.

Doeren acknowledged the conditions plus not having expected starting center fifth-year redshirt junior Dylan McMahon influenced the passing game, but otherwise, he was pleased with a lot of what he saw.

Doeren also joked that, “Unlike the fans, I’m kind of happy we got a chance to do this.”

“Does it give us a chance to really look at how we throw and catch the football? Probably not, but there’s a lot of other things in football,” Doeren added.

“I thought we ran the ball effectively. Thought the defense did some good things, great takeaways and knocking the ball out. So those are positives.”

Sophomore Michael Allen, super senior Jordan Houston and junior Demie Sumo-Karngbaye all ran for scores for the NC State football Red Team, which won 41-10.

The game ended with Sumo-Karngbaye’s 1-yard score, after which the entire team seemingly started sprinting towards the south end zone tunnel back to the warmth of the Murphy Center, Armstrong included.

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