The Wolfpacker Podcast: NC State football with Eric Mac Lain
Before the start of the season, ACC Network and ESPN analyst Eric Mac Lain joined The Wolfpacker Podcast to discuss the upcoming NC State football season. Months later, after the Pack went 8-5 overall and 4-4 in the ACC, Mac Lain is back to review what happened.
NC State climbed into the top 10 of the polls and was part of the College GameDay featured game of the week for ESPN when traveling to Clemson. A week later against Florida State, NC State star quarterback Devin Leary, a fifth-year redshirt junior, was injured and lost for the season. That was the first of several quarterback changes for the Pack.
By season’s end, super senior transfer Jack Chambers, true freshman MJ Morris and third-year redshirt freshman Ben Finley all started multiple games, along with Leary. The end results of that and other injuries on what was already an anemic offense was NC State did not end the season ranked.
With host Matt Carter, Mac Lain helps The Wolfpacker reflect on the season and even look ahead as the long offseason has begun.
Among the many topics discussed:
• Was the NC State football season a success or failure, or something in between? Mac Lain noted that those who are in the region and have a chance to cover either the school or the ACC exclusively will probably have a different answer from those who look from a distance while covering a broader landscape.
Those who saw the quarterback turnover for the Pack will have more respect for what NC State went through, Mac Lain noted. Carter added that the Wolfpack schedule ended up being more challenging than earlier appreciated.
• Despite the injuries, Mac Lain noted that things just did not seem to click early in the season for Leary, and he was just starting to warm up prior to getting hurt against Florida State.
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• Both agreed that the defense ended up living to the hype, and each are still puzzled that fourth-year junior linebacker Drake Thomas was not first-team All-ACC. However, did NC State try to rely too much on the defense and special teams in 2022?
• Looking ahead, Mac Lain noted in a recent conversation with NC State football coach Dave Doeren he learned that the Wolfpack is likely to try to get more creative on offense going forward. Hence why the move to hire former Virginia and Syracuse offensive coordinator Robert Anae.
Mac Lain sings the praises of Anae, and gives NC State fans an idea of what to expect from him coordinating the Pack’s offense.
• Mac Lain and Carter also dissect who are some of the teams in the ACC that will be worth watching for offseason buzz.
All that and much more.
Listen to the podcast or watch via The Wolfpacker’s YouTube channel.
