A normal Wolfpack kicking game? So far, so good for NC State.

Chris Dunn hasn’t done anything spectacular for N.C. State this season.

The freshman kicker has made six field goals (of eight attempts) in the first three games. None have been longer than 32 yards.

“I’m just doing my job,” Dunn said after he made three field goals in N.C State’s 37-20 win at Marshall this past Saturday.

And that’s all N.C. State needs. Dunn has made the layups with field goals from 25 (twice), 26, 28, 30 and 32 yards. He has also made all 12 of his PATs.

For the first time since Nik Sade’s final season in 2014, N.C. State has a “normal” kicking game.

The previous three seasons were a mess. Three different kickers combined to go 26 of 51 (50.9 percent).

Of the 65 “Power 5” teams, N.C. State was the only one not to make at least 60 percent of its field goal attempts during the 2015, ‘16 and ‘17 seasons.

The average among the other “Power 5 teams” was 74.8 percent over the three-year span. And the 26 made field goals were the fewest among “Power 5” teams.

Compounding the problem, N.C. State’s opponents made 83 percent (49 of 59) of their field goals during that span.

“It has been hard,” Doeren said. “The mentality of going for it all the time has been hard for (offensive coordinator Eli) Drinkwitz, too. We know now that when we get to a certain yard-line, we can play ‘normal’ football.”

Doeren recruited Kyle Bambard in 2015 to replace Sade, who is the school’s career scoring leader. Bambard went 7-of-14 as a freshman. Doeren added a graduate transfer in 2016 and again in ‘17 but neither could supplant Bambard.

“There was nothing I could do, other than what I tried to do,” Doeren said. “I tried to bring in more competition for the position. It just didn’t sort out the way we wanted it to until now.”

Dunn was recruited out Lexington last year and became a social media celebrity for N.C. State fans eager for his arrival. Dunn enrolled in January and went through spring practice. He has handled the pressure. He has more confidence than fits in his 5-8, 177-pound frame.

He made his first FG of the season, a 25-yarder in the second quarter of the opener, and received the kind of ovation normally reserved for a SportsCenter highlight.

Dunn has noticed the cheers but has tried to tune out any outside expectations or distractions.

“I’m not thinking about anything else that’s going on in the stadium,” Dunn said. “I’m just trying to do my job and trusting in the process and executing.”

“Tyler Griffiths, A.J. Cole, Kyle Bambard they’ve all kind of taken me under their wing,” Dunn said. “I guess just listening to them and their elderly advice.”

One important piece of advice?

“Staying off social media as much as I can,” Dunn said. “That’s a big thing.”

Doeren said he tries not to talk too much to the specialists but when he does, he tries to stay positive. He wants Dunn to worry about his routine and control what he can control.

He doesn’t need to be a superstar, he just needs to keep converting the makeable kicks.

Doeren said he would like to see Dunn’s range get out to 45 yards (he missed a 41-yarder in the opener) and he hopes Dunn can stay at 75 percent for the season.

“It’s a different ballgame when you know you are going to get three points,” Doeren said.

This story was originally published September 25, 2018 at 4:25 PM.