NC State names a deserving junior running back as its 5th captain against Wake Forest

Running back Ricky Person Jr. will be N.C. State’s designated game captain for the opener Saturday night against visiting Wake Forest.

Aside from the four permanent captains, a fifth captain is selected for each game. Coach Dave Doeren said Person, who dealt with injuries since arriving in the program, has been on hand for all the practices since preseason workouts began this summer.

“He has been through a lot physically,” Doeren said following Thursday’s practice. “Ricky has had a lot of those ups and downs.”

Person, a junior out of Heritage High School, is expected to hold a key role in the backfield along with running back Zonovan Knight, who was the team’s Most Valuable Offensive Player last season. Person underwent ankle surgery last October.

Person has scored seven career touchdowns. But staying on the field has been an issue as he has missed nine games and two full sessions of spring practice because of injuries.

That takes a toll mentally as well.

“It’s really hard when you’re taken away (from what you enjoy doing),” Doeren said.

Putting in the work

The Wolfpack has increased its practice work in certain situations during the past couple of weeks.

That means there have been more emphasis on two-minute drills and end-of-game situations since about Sept. 7.

“We really had to wait until we had enough players,” Doeren said.

The Wolfpack had 105 practice participants again Thursday. After an eight-day shutdown in late August because of a coronavirus surge in the athletics department, the first workout when practice resumed involved 45 players. There was a span with the addition of about 10 players per day.

Now, the Wolfpack seems up to full strength on that front.

“I feel good about that depth chart,” Doeren said.

There will be staff-imposed limits on how many snaps some players will be on the field. Doeren said players who’ve been back to practice for 10 days or less will be monitored particularly close.

There will be areas that might not be impacted.

“We’ll see depth as our friends at some positions,” Doeren said.

Unsettling Septembers

Even with the late start to the season, this will be N.C. State’s earliest ACC game on the calendar since a 2013 home meeting with Clemson — also on Sept. 19. There also was an early league defeat Sept. 10, 2011, at Wake Forest.

There was a stretch when the Wolfpack didn’t fare well in September conference games. It is 4-8 across its last dozen such outings, winning three straight until last year’s loss at Florida State.

With three consecutive losses to Wake Forest (each of those in November), Doeren said the topic of in-state rivalries was addressed with his team. The Wake Forest-N.C. State series is one of the country’s longest continuous series.

“There’s a lot of history in it,” Doeren said. “Our guys know what this game is about.”

Doeren’s dog

A basset hound named Murphy will be at the stadium Saturday night.

At least in cutout form.

A cutout of Doeren’s dog is among the approximate 600 cutouts in the stadium to provide the appearance of some spectators. There’s also a cutout of the coach’s mother.