NC State football countdown to kickoff: 29
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 29 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 29 in Pack history.
NC State Football And The No. 29
• No. 29 for NC State football this season is a intriguing talent hoping to put a full, healthy season together.
Fifth-year redshirt junior Christopher Toudle was not the most coveted in-state prospect in the 2019 class while playing at Hoggard High in Wilmington, N.C. The On3 Consensus had Toudle rated the No. 44 prospect in the state of North Carolina. All three of Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN had Toudle between No. 42 and 48 in their respective state rankings.
Toudle’s Power Five offers were NC State, Maryland and Wake Forest. Those may have largely been because of one game, when Toudle burned traditional state power Scotland High from Laurinburg, N.C., in the state playoffs during his junior year with seven receptions for 156 yards and four scores.
After redshirting at NC State in 2019, Toudle played eight games in 2020 without catching a pass. Then came a move to tight end, which some speculated in high school (when Toudle was listed at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds) would be the ultimate position for Toudle.
And after the switch came Toudle’s flashing potential. He started three of 12 games in 2021 and grabbed 19 receptions for 190 yards and four touchdowns. However, last season’s hope of being a breakout player did not materialize. Toudle caught 11 passes for 130 yards and a score and missed three games due to severe strep throat.
• NC State football clinched its first ACC title in 1957 with a 29-26 win at South Carolina. Pack legend Dick Christy scored all 29 points for the Wolfpack in the victory. Christy was named a first-team All-American at season’s end.
• One former notable No. 29 for NC State was defensive back Brian Williams, who patrolled the secondary from 1998-01. The three-year starter finished with five interceptions, 20 pass breakups and five blocked punts (third most in NC State football history). In 1999, Williams led NC State with 131 tackles, which remains second most in Pack history for a single season by a sophomore.
After his Wolfpack play career, Williams spent 10 seasons in the NFL and had 18 career interceptions.
• The 2021 double-overtime win in Carter-Finley Stadium for NC State over national power Clemson represented win No. 29 in program history against the Tigers. The Textile Bowl trophy is featured prominently in the lobby of the Murphy Center next to the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl trophy that was awarded to the Wolfpack after UCLA dropped out of the game.
• Under head coach Dave Doeren, NC State football is 3-1 on games played on the 29th of the month. The Pack will host Louisville on Friday, Sept. 29th this season, a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
