2014 NC STATE FOOTBALL BOWL GUIDE / XXXX 1

2015 NC STATE FOOTBALL BOWL GUIDE / SEASON NOTES
THE ALL-PURPOSE MAN
True freshman Nyheim Hines has ‘freaky skills’ according to his head coach.
Those skills have become more and more evident as his rookie campaign has
advanced, but were particularly on display in the win over Syracuse.
Hines tallied 208 all-purpose yards in the contest, which were evenly distributed
between rushing the ball (70 yds), catching the ball (69 yards) and
returning the ball (69 yards). He was named the ACC’s Rookie of the Week
for that performance.
Hines has tallied 1,220 all-purpose for the season and his 791 yards in kickoff
returns is the fourth-best mark in school history, secondbest for a Wolfpack
freshman. He has posted the best kickoff return average ever for a Wolfpack
freshman with a 27.3 mark, tied for seventh overall.
Jaylen Samuels
Samuels posts the ACC’s third-highest touchdowns scored tally with 14
scores in 2015, a mark which ties as the fourth-highest for a single season in
school history. His seven touchdown receptions leads all tight ends nationally.
BREAKING BAD
The NC State Wolfpack broke a couple of bad streaks on the road in 2015.
On Oct. 24, the squad posted a road victory at Wake Forest for the first time
since 2001. On Nov. 7, Dave Doeren’s squad became the first State team to
win at Boston College since 1937!
SHORT ON SENIORS
Only 10% of the Wolfpack’s 2015 roster is made up of seniors. In fact, NC
State fields its fewest amount of players in their final year of eligibility (10) in
20 years.
Dave Doeren’s squad has the second-smallest senior class in the ACC for
2015 and is tied as the fifth-smallest class nationally:
School
Sr.
1. Wake Forest 6
2. Wyoming 8
3. UCF 9
Vanderbilt 9
5. NC State 10
Old Dominion 10
7. Pitt 11
Eastern Michigan 11
9. Miami (Fla.) 12
WHIPPER-SNAPPER ...AND PUNTER ... AND KICKERS
NC State has boasted a true freshman trio when it comes to kicking the
football this season. Long snapper Tyler Griffiths, punter A.J. Cole III and
placekicker Kyle Bambard are all true freshmen.
Even Jackson Maples, who handles kickoffs, is in his first year of competition
(although he redshirted the 2014 campaign).
Nyheim Hines
Hines is the only player on the team who has scored a rushing touchdown, a
receiving touchdown and on a return in 2015.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
The Wolfpack definitely RAISED THE BAR in 2015 when it came to its return
game.
Heading into the Belk Bowl, the Wolfpack’s kickoff return average of 26.65
yards per return would rank as the eighth-best in school history and the best
since 1957. That mark leads the ACC and ranks 8th in the FBS.
NC State boasts a 12.96 yard punt return average - a mark that ranks 4th in
the ACC and 17th in the FBS rankings.
Junior Bra’Lon Cherry currently ranks third in the ACC and ninth in the FBS
in punt return average with a 13.3 mark, while freshman Nyheim Hines ranks
fourth in the ACC, 14th in the FBS, in kickoff returns with a 27.3 yards per
return mark.
ROSE ARISES
Senior defensive end Mike Rose ranks ninth in the FBS in sacks with 10.5, the
2nd-best mark in the ACC (he was the league leader before the Syracuse
game, when the Orange attempted just 21 passes). That mark is tied as the
third-best in school history and is just four from tying the school record set
by Mario Williams in 2005.
Rose has 36 career tackles for loss - the No. 12 mark in school history, while
his 17.5 sacks rank 8th.
Here’s a look at the Wolfpack all-time leaders in single-season sacks:
8