Several key NC State football players pledge to return for 2025. Who’s coming back?
More than a dozen N.C. State football players have pledged to return next fall after signing with an NIL collective affiliated with the program.
One Pack NIL announced CJ Bailey’s return last week, and is up to 14 other returners as of Thursday morning.
The collective has been securing agreements with key players on both sides of the ball.
“Keeping our core group of impactful players together was a priority for the collective and I’m proud to see the results,” One Pack NIL executive director Chris Vurnakes said. “Having key performers like CJ Bailey, Hollywood Smothers, Brandon Cleveland and others return will help set up our football program for success in 2025.”
Wide receivers Noah Rogers, Wesley Grimes, Jonathan Paylor, Keenan Jackson, Dacari Collins and Terrell Anderson announced their returns to the offense. Smothers, a running back, will also return for the Wolfpack.
Smothers, a Charlotte-area native, was one of the Pack’s go-to offensive players in 2024. The transfer from Oklahoma recorded 432 yards on 74 carries and scored six touchdowns. He scored twice against Stanford and North Carolina. Smothers also added 221 receiving yards and a touchdown for the Pack.
Rogers, Collins and Grimes combined for 995 yards and three touchdowns. Rogers led the way with 419 yards, including a 44-yard reception through double coverage to set up N.C. State’s game-winning touchdown against UNC.
Anderson and Jackson finished with more than 100 receiving yards in the regular season, while Jackson ranked third on the team with two receiving TDs. Paylor appeared in two contests and redshirted.
On the defensive side, linebackers Caden Fordham and Sean Brown; defensive backs Brandon Cisse, Tamarcus Cooley and Devon Marshall; defensive tackle Brandon Cleveland, and safety Devan Boykin have all pledged to return.
Brown was an All-ACC Third Team selection in 2024 after recording 87 tackles and three fumble recoveries. He contributed two forced fumbles and finished with 10 or more tackles in four games.
Marshall tied with Bishop Fitzgerald with a team-leading seven pass breakups. He was second on the team with two interceptions. Cooley and Cisse combined for 11 breakups. The defensive trio combined for 90 tackles in the regular season.
Fordham missed the back half of the season after sustaining an injury. In six games, he contributed 48 tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Boykin did not play this season after injuring his ACL in bowl preparation a year ago. He was cleared for practice in November.
Since Dec. 12, the collective added linebacker Kamal Bonner; defensive linemen Isaiah Shirley and Travali Price; offensive linemen Anthony Carter and Jacarrius Peak; kicker Kanoah Vinesett; punter Caden Noonkester; tight end Justin Joly, and running back Kendrick Raphael.
Joly returns to Raleigh after serving as the Wolfpack’s top receiver in 2024. The UConn transfer contributed 620 yards on 40 catches and added three touchdowns. Though Joly did not have the highest scoring numbers, he provided consistency in the passing game by averaging a first down per catch. He also averaged 51.6 yards per game.
Raphael was the team’s third-leading rusher behind Smothers and Jordan Waters, recording 419 yards and three touchdowns. The sophomore was one of the more efficient backs, averaging 5.66 yards per carry.
Bonner played in 12 games and started six. He slid into a starting role after Fordham’s injury, recording 50 tackles and one sack this season.
Meanwhile, Price contributed 3.5 sacks, second on the team, and 33 tackles.
N.C. State is coming off a 6-6 regular season. It heads to Annapolis, Maryland, where it will play East Carolina on Dec. 28 in the Military Bowl.
This story was originally published December 12, 2024 at 11:06 AM.
