Noah Rogers and Grayson McCall mesh with NC State's offense
Grayson McCall was well aware of the winning tradition within NC State’s athletic department when he transferred to the Wolfpack. Just a few months after arriving on campus in January, he watched both basketball teams go on a run to the Final Four.
Behind the scenes, the graduate student quarterback and the rest of the program have been hard at work to bring the football program success this fall. They took the field for the first time in front of fans for the April 6 spring game.
NC State’s Team Red passing attack, led by McCall, threw for 492 yards against a Team White defense made up of likely backups and rotational players. He connected with fellow transfers, early enrollee freshmen and returning playmakers such as Kevin Concepcion.
“It was awesome, man,” McCall said. “Unbelievable day, unbelievable atmosphere. It felt good to just get out there with the guys and throw it around a little bit and compete.
“I think we had a really good day and looking forward to taking the momentum over into fall camp and this summer and seeing where things go.”
The former Coastal Carolina signal-caller, who won three Sun Belt Player of the Year awards at his previous school, completed 16 of 20 passes for 205 yards, feathering a touchdown pass over a defensive back and into the end zone for Justin Joly on an early fourth and goal opportunity.
He complimented the Wolfpack’s skill on both sides of the ball. That talent popped during the spring game and throughout the program’s five weeks of “competitive” practice.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Noah Rogers is another player generating a lot of excitement within NC State’s offense. The former five-star recruit and Ohio State pass catcher hauled in 7 catches for 133 yards.
NC State used him in screen scenarios, on vertical routes and in crossing patterns over the middle. His strong hands and athleticism have impressed folks around the program all spring. On Saturday, Rogers was simply excited to be back inside Carter-Finley Stadium with his friends.
“I just feel great playing football again, especially with a group of guys that are special and want to do something big for this state and school,” Rogers said.
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“I’m really looking forward to that, and after today, we saw a lot of great things, and we’re going to build from there. This team is going to be special.”
Rogers ran onto the field Saturday and found a couple of stickers on the ground— one with the No. 5, his number at Rolesville (N.C.) High school and at NC State, and another in the shape of a Ram, his high school mascot.
“Maybe it was just meant for me to come back home and be here,” Rogers said.
The 6-2 receiver played a state championship game in Carter-Finley Stadium as a sophomore. Rogers uses that game as a benchmark.
After making an acrobatic catch in the end zone and creating explosive plays all over NC State’s home turf, he thinks back to that game and challenges himself to play at that level every time he takes the field.
Rogers stood out at the spring game amongst a talented wide receiver room that has built a lot of excitement around the Pack. He said the transition to catching passes from NC State’s quarterbacks hasn’t been too challenging because everyone is putting in extra work after practice.
Both McCall and Rogers said they will watch the film from the spring game and use that as an opportunity to improve. The receiver set high expectations for this unit.
“It’s so exciting,” Rogers said. “In my mind, I don’t think there should be a drive that we don’t score or get positive yards on.”
