Christopher Toudle: 'It's just going to be a really explosive offense'

Christopher Toudle is about to begin his fifth season at NC State, and he feels better going into this fall than any year prior. 

The veteran tight end provided a consistent presence in the locker room ever since he signed with the Wolfpack in 2019 as a receiver.

He shared the overall positive vibe around the program this year during a Monday press conference. Toudle said the team is extremely ready to compete against unfamiliar faces, and NC State will have that chance in just a few days.

Going into the Aug. 31 showdown with UConn, the graduate student has a lot of faith in this year’s Pack football team. 

“I think this is the most prepared and ready team that we’ve had to be honest,” Toudle said. 

Toudle said another year in the program and a continued desire to learn more about the game helped him grow this offseason, and the Wolfpack really bought into the process by improvement putting in extra hours in the football facilities. 

There is a lot of energy around the team with three days until kickoff, and the Pack is ready to take that out on the Huskies.

“We’re tired of hitting each other every day,” Toudle said. “We’re just ready to get after somebody else. I think the emotions are very high, and we’re all just fired up to get ready to go to UConn.”

Over the past few weeks, Toudle worked on his role as one of the Wolfpack’s potential starting tight ends. NC State’s defense presented significant challenges throughout camp, and the tight end knows those will help prepare this team for anything it faces in the next few months. 

“Playing a bunch of All-Americans on that side is just going to prove beneficial for the Wolfpack offense,” Toudle said. 

Robert Anae took over the offense after the 2022 season, and Toudle is looking forward to playing for the coordinator who helped coach up the past two first-team All-ACC tight ends. He said this system distributes targets to a ton of players, so a ton of pass catchers could play a role on the field this year. 

Toudle said this is probably the simplest scheme he has played in during his college career, and he is enjoying the experience. 

“I’ve been having a blast this year,” Toudle said. “ This has probably been my favorite year I’ve played.

“Coach Anae makes it as easy as it can get.”

He expects this year’s NC State offense to surprise people. It could be an entertaining group to watch.

“It’s just going to be a really explosive offense,” Toudle said. “I think our fanbase is going to have a lot of fun with what we bring to the table this year.”

Graduate transfer quarterback Brennan Armstrong will lead that unit under center, and Toudle explained the energetic presence the signal-caller has on the field.  

“He’s a really awesome guy, just a really mellow, cool guy,” Toudle said. “But then once we get in the huddle man, it’s straight fire. He’s got the red hair and everything. He’s always fired up.”

The tight end said NC State probably gets less respect than it deserves, but he likes it that way. He believes this team could be an improved version of the 2022 squad, but the Wolfpack heads into the fall with a chip on its shoulder.

“I think we can be way better than we were last year,” Toudle said. “We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”