NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 6
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 6 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 6 in Pack history.
NC State Football And The No. 6
• Two prominent NC State football players wear No. 6.
On offense, super senior tight end Trent Pennix, a converted running back, broke through in 2021 as a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses with 17 receptions for 246 yards and three touchdowns. However, a shoulder injury in the season opener last fall essentially derailed his season.
When healthy, the 6-foot-3, 235-pounder is an athletic mismatch for opposing defenses.
Pennix is a local product from Sanderson High in Raleigh and a teammate of current Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alim McNeill. Pennix signed with NC State over offers from Power Five programs Boston College, Louisville, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and West Virginia.
On defense, super senior safety Jakeen Harris has started 20 games over the past three seasons. He has 164 career tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups in his NC State career. The most notable pick came on his birthday in 2021 when Harris sealed a win over Louisiana Tech with an INT in the end zone.
Harris is expected to be a starting safety this fall in a deep secondary for NC State.
Harris signed with the Wolfpack over offers that included Boston College, Central Florida, Indiana, Kansas State, Minnesota, North Carolina and South Florida.
• One famous former No. 6 for NC State football was quarterback Shane Montgomery from 1987-89. Montgomery set a lot of new standards in terms of prolific numbers during his time in Raleigh.
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For instance, against Duke in 1989, Montgomery threw 73 times for 535 yards and added two more yards on three carries. Montgomery’s passing yards, total yards and pass attempts are still NC State football single game records 33 years later. He remains the lone NC State quarterback to ever go over 500 yards passing in a single game.
Montgomery also threw for 468 yards against Duke in 1987 and 402 yards vs. Virginia that same year. In those games, Montgomery became the first NC State quarterback to go over 400 yards passing in a game. Montgomery, Ryan Finley, Mike Glennon and Philip Rivers are the only other quarterbacks for the Wolfpack to have multiple 400-yard games.
By the end of his career, Montgomery held a school record with 5,298 passing yards, which is now eighth all-time at NC State. His 31 scoring tosses are ninth highest in the program history.
Montgomery was named second-team All-ACC in 1989, and since his playing days at NC State has been a successful assistant coach in college. He had a four-year stint at Miami of Ohio as a head coach from 2005-08, amassing a 17-31 record. He is now a senior offensive analyst at East Carolina.