NC State football countdown to kickoff: 34

The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 34 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 34 in Pack history.

NC State Football And The No. 34

• Wearing No. 34 this season for NC State football and in line for a potential increased role on the team is fifth-year redshirt junior running back Delbert Mimms III. After redshirting in 2019, Mimms has carved out a role as one of the better special teams performers for NC State.

Mimms, who has been among the team’s leader for special teams snaps the past two years, rushed 27 times for 113 yards and caught five passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in 2022. Mimms is hoping for an added role on offense after the transfer of running back Demie Sumo-Karngbaye to Kentucky following the spring. The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Mimms is the biggest back on the NC State roster.

He arrived at NC State after being a late addition in the 2019 class. The Indianapolis native was originally pledged to Vanderbilt, but he chose not to sign in December when most of the class makes their commitments official. Then in January, Mimms officially decommitted from Vandy and accepted a blueshirt opportunity at NC State.

• Mimms is not the only NC State football player wearing No. 34. Freshman linebacker Kamal Bonner also dons the jersey. Bonner is an early enrollee who made a strong impression during the Wolfpack’s spring game, earning buzz as a sleeper candidate among the 2023 recruiting class to land on the depth chart.

Bonner was a one-time Georgia Tech commit who opened his recruitment up following the Yellow Jackets’ coaching change, ultimately picking the Pack over Wake Forest. NC State is hoping that Bonner proves to be a revelation. He switched from safety to linebacker as a senior at Colquitt (Ga.) County High and had 125 tackles as a senior.

• One of the best to wear No. 34 for NC State football was former linebacker Bobby Houston. In 1989, Houston was a first-team All-ACC selection, and he used that campaign to springboard into a third-round NFL Draft pick.

Houston played for nine seasons in the pros. He enjoyed his best success with the New York Jets, where he was a starter for five years from 1992-96. Houston, who also played for the Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings and San Diego Chargers, concluded his NFL career with 327 tackles, six forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries and four interceptions.

• Two of NC State football head coach Dave Doeren’s most thrilling wins against archrival North Carolina saw the Pack scoring 34 points. The last time the Pack hosted UNC in Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh was an unforgettable 34-30 victory in 2021, rallying from down nine points with less than two minutes left, thanks in part to an onside kick recovery, for an all-time classic in the rivalry.

Another thriller that NC State won against UNC was in 2018, when running back Reggie Gallaspy ran for five touchdowns in a 34-28 overtime win in Chapel Hill. That proved to be former UNC coach Larry Fedora’s last game on the sideline for the Heels.

• Arguably the most successful running back in Doeren’s tenure at NC State has been Matthew Dayes, who finished his career third all-time in school history with 34 rushing scores.