NC State football spring game: Five observations

The annual NC State football spring game is in the books, and there is a lot to unpack from the contest.

To start, here are five observations from the scrimmage.

1. Devin Leary can still sling it. The fifth-year redshirt junior made a case for being one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks in 2021, and if the spring game is an indication, he should be in line for big things again this fall.

Leary completed 26 of 34 passes for 355 yards and three touchdowns, although he did throw one interception when he underthrew a deep pass and was picked off by redshirt freshman safety Sean Brown.

Leary also fooled the defense when he kept for a 20-yard gain on a read-option, one of two rushes for 31 yards for Leary on the afternoon.

And that was all in a half a day of work. Leary did not take any snaps after halftime.

“I felt really comfortable out there and really confident in all the guys out there, too,” Leary noted.

Third-year redshirt freshman quarterback Ben Finley had his moments, too, especially after he switched in the second half to the starting offense. Finley finished completing 15 of 21 passes overall for 171 yards and two scores with one interception. Both of his TD tosses came in the second half.

2. Gauging the position battles. Fourth-year junior Keyon Lesane made his case to replace outside receiver Emeka Emezie, the all-time leader in catches at NC State.

The former star at Butler High near Charlotte, Lesane showed promise as a true freshman in 2019 when he caught 13 passes for 93 yards. In two years since then, Lesane has 11 receptions for 103 yards.

However, Lesane led all players with 88 receiving yards and caught five of six passes thrown his way during the scrimmage.

“I thought Keyon Lesane caught the ball well,” head coach Dave Doeren noted.

Third-year sophomore Anthony Smith was also a popular target. He hauled in three of seven passes tossed in his direction for 67 yards, including a 34-yard score.

On the offensive line, without super senior center Grant Gibson available, the first string included redshirt sophomore left tackle Anthony Belton, but Doeren noted that they were still a “long way away” from naming a starter to replace Ikem Ekwonu.

Fourth-year redshirt sophomore Dylan McMahon started at center in Gibson’s absence.

At safety opposite super senior Tanner Ingle, his classmate Cryus Fagan appears to have an early edge over players like fourth-year junior Jakeen Harris and third-year sophomore Devan Boykin.

3. A couple of pleasant surprises on offense. One name that was probably not on the radar for many NC State football fans was redshirt freshman tight end Fred Seabrough. With fifth-year redshirt junior Trent Pennix and fourth-year redshirt sophomore Christopher Toudle sitting out the spring game with injuries, Seabrough took advantage of the reps. He caught three of four passes thrown his way for 38 yards.

Another young receiver who shined, particularly in the second half, was third-year redshirt freshman Joshua Crabtree. He broke away from the defense on a 44-yard catch-and-run touchdown, and he also added a 18-yard haul.

4. First-string defense dominates. Despite playing without super senior linebacker Isaiah Moore, fifth-year redshirt junior linebacker Payton Wilson, super senior corner Derrek Pitts Jr., super senior defensive lineman Cory Durden, super senior nickel Tyler Baker-Williams and fourth-year redshirt sophomore C.J. Clark, among others, the first-string defense did not allow the reserve offense much breathing room.

The starters, represented in the red jersey, allowed the White Team just 48 total yards on 37 plays.

The White Team was 0 for 11 on third downs.

Ingle had an interception and a sack for the Red Team.

It should be noted that all of the aforementioned absent players are projected starters on the NC State defense.

5. Specialists kicked with mixed results. There was a pretty stiff wind blowing in the direction of the Murphy Center Saturday. With that wind to his back, super senior kicker Christopher Dunn successfully booted a 53-yard field goal to end the first half and overall was 3-for-3 on field goal tries.

In the competition to replace Trenton Gill at punter, it appears that Towson transfer Shane McDonough is the leader. McDonough punted a total of seven times for an average of 44.3 yards, most impressively booming a 62-yarder. However, against the wind he also had multiple short punts.

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