NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 44

The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 44 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 44 in Pack history.

NC State Football And The No. 44

• There are two NC State football players who wear No. 44. Each could figure prominently into the fortunes of the Wolfpack this fall.

On defense, sophomore Brandon Cleveland has moved to nose tackle and is the favorite to be the backup to fifth-year redshirt junior starter C.J. Clark. Cleveland flashed his potential as a rookie, making seven tackles, including one for loss and assisting on a sack, while playing six games. He was the only freshman defender last season to burn his redshirt.

Cleveland arrived with high expectations. The one-time Miami commit from Carrollwood Day in Tampa, Fla., was rated four stars by at least two recruiting services and was the fourth-highest rated prospect in the NC State football recruiting class of 2022.

Given that NC State tends to rotate defensive linemen throughout the game, Cleveland is in line to be a regular this fall.

The starting kicker may well be wearing No. 44 as well. Western Kentucky transfer Brayden Narveson was 15 of 21 on field goal tries last season with a long of 51 yards. Prior to that, Narveson was a back-to-back all-conference performer for the Hilltoppers and in 2020 was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, which is given to college football’s top kicker.

A strong spring from redshirt junior walk-on Collin Smith, who handled kickoffs last fall, has created a competition to replace NC State all-time great Christopher Dunn, but Narveson may still be considered a favorite for the job.

• One of the all-time greats at NC State wore No. 44. Linebacker Levar Fisher remains the all-time leader in tackles for the Wolfpack.

He piled up 492 hits from 1998-01. That included 33 tackles for loss, which is 14th most in program history among those who did not use an added season of eligibility granted during the COVID-19 pandemic. His nine forced fumbles are the second most by a Wolfpack defender, and his six fumble recoveries are tied for third most.

In 2000, Fisher became the first NC State player to lead the ACC in tackles, piling up 163 in 11 games, or 14.8 per contest. He was also the first from the Wolfpack to be chosen as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Fisher was named first-team All-American that season by the football writers and Football News. A year later, the Associated Press and American Football Coaches’ Association both named him first-team All-American after he had 148 tackles.