The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/337646
68 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL 2014 STARTERS No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 71 Alex Barr R-Jr. 6-7 322 Fayetteville, Ga. The mammoth Barr has steadily lost weight during his NCSU career, and started the final 10 games at right guard last year when the line was reshuffled due to injuries. 74 Tyson Chandler 5th-Sr. 6-7 354 North Plainfield, N.J. Chandler is the most experienced of the Wolfpack lineman, and has played in 36 games, starting 23, and accumulated 1,817 snaps. He has played both left tackle and right tackle in his Wolfpack career, but settled in on the right side for the last nine games of the 2012 season. 78 Rob Crisp 5th-Sr. 6-7 300 Raleigh The former Rivals.com five-star recruit has started 13 of 36 games, but has had the last two years affected by injury. He missed the last 10 games in 2013 after suffering a season-ending concussion. 60 Quinton Schooley Jr. 6-4 301 Chanute, Kan. Schooley was a late addition to the class of 2013 last summer and proved to be a steal for the Wolf- pack. The former Butler (Kan.) Community College transfer played every single snap of the season (978 total) at center. He could also see time at guard this year. 54 Joe Thuney R-Jr. 6-5 285 Centreville, Ohio Thuney was originally going to play center, but the arrival of Quinton Schooley and injuries to others led to him to start games at right tackle, right guard and the last 10 at left tackle. The graduate student will open up at left guard this year. RESERVES No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 50 Tony Adams Fr. 6-2 317 Charlotte Adams enrolled for the spring after graduating early from Independence High. He got the first-string snaps at center due to junior Quinton Schooley being injured this spring. Adams can also play guard. 73 Andy Jomantas 5th-Sr. 6-7 288 Dayton, Ohio NC State has always been able to groom lineman into being able to play multiple line positions. Jomantas and fellow Ohio product Joe Thuney, a redshirt junior, help create depth at various positions. Jomantas, who can play every position but center, managed to play in nine games from scrimmage last season and recorded 217 snaps. 61 Ali Kassem Sr. 6-7 347 Cincinnati The former Rivals.com two-star prospect out of Brooklyn (N.Y.) ASA junior college provides depth at both guard spots. He originally attended Western Michigan. RESERVES ( cont. ) 64 Tylar Reagan R-Fr. 6-5 294 Jacksonville, Fla. The former Rivals.com three-star prospect in the class of 2013 redshirted last year. He'll provide depth at left tackle. 72 Patrick Roane R-Fr. 6-7 295 Hope Mills, N.C. The Rivals.com three-star prospect in the class of 2013 redshirted last season. Roane played right tackle in practice last year, but has added weight and will start off as a reserve at left tackle. WAITING IN THE WINGS No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 52 Cole Blankenship R-Fr. 6-2 286 Mocksville, N.C. Blankenship can play both center and guard, and has been enrolled since the 2013 spring semester. 57 Peter Daniel R-Fr. 6-6 257 Raleigh The Broughton High product walked on and redshirted last year. 53 Tyler Jones Fr. 6-3 277 Stone Mountain, Ga. Jones earned 2013 5A all-state honorable mention honors from the Atlanta Journal Constitution his senior year at Stephenson High. He originally committed to Mississippi State before switching to NC State. 56 Bryce Kennedy R-So. 6-3 308 Southern Pines, N.C. Kennedy redshirted his first year and then competed on the scout team last year, and is looking to play in his first Wolfpack game at guard. Rivals.com ranked Kennedy a three-star prospect in the class of 2012, and he originally selected North Carolina before switching to NC State. 70 Terronne Prescod Fr. 6-5 347 Decatur, Ga. Prescod was able to enroll early and participate in NC State's spring practices this past March and April. He played guard for Columbia High and will continue at the position in college. 66 Will Richardson Fr. 6-6 308 Burlington, N.C. Richardson grew up in Danville, Va., before moving to Burlington and attending Cummings High. He originally committed to Virginia, but a late switch to NC State gives the Wolfpack a left tackle to groom for the future. 76 Eric Shute Fr. 6-5 290 Glen Ellyn, Ill. Shute earned all-state honors from the Chicago Tribune after battling through injuries at Glenbard West High. 59 John Tu'uta R-So. 6-2 279 Fredericksburg, Va. The former prep school standout at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy redshirted his first year and played on the scout team last year. Rivals.com ranked him as two-star prospect in the class of 2012. Quick Facts Position Coach: Mike Uremovich (2nd season) Returning Starters: RT Tyson Chandler (23 career starts), C Quinton Schooley (12), LG Joe Thuney (11) and RG Alex Barr (10) Starter Lost: G Duran Christophe (30) FYI: Athlon ranked NC State's offensive line No. 11 in the ACC … Lindy's predicted redshirt junior guard Joe Thuney would be third-team All-ACC … Thuney, who was elected to the 2013 Leadership Council for the NCSU football team, won the Jim Ritcher Award as the team's most valuable offensive lineman … Redshirt freshman center Cole Blankenship enrolled early in 2013 and participated in his second spring practice this year … Redshirt freshman right tackle Tylar Reagan of Jacksonville (Fla.) Bertram Trail High was rated as the No. 28 offensive guard in the nation and the No. 96 overall player in Florida in the class of 2013 by Rivals.com … Freshman Tony Adams, who played with NCSU sophomore cornerback Jack Tocho at Charlotte (N.C.) Independence High, was a Rivals.com three-star prospect … Ri - vals.com ranked massive 6-5, 347-pound Terronne Prescod as the No. 28 overall offensive guard in the country and No. 64 overall player in Georgia in the class of 2014 … Rivals.com ranked 6-3, 277-pound Tyler Jones as the No. 48 player in Georgia and No. 48 offensive guard in the country in the class of 2014 … Burlington (N.C.) Cummings left tackle Will Richardson originally commit- ted to Virginia and then switched to NC State last December. Rivals.com ranked the 6-6, 308-pounder as the No. 61 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 23 player in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2014 … NCSU offensive line coach Mike Uremovich went back to his home state to snag Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard West offensive lineman Eric Shute. Rivals.com ranked him No. 35 in the state of Illinois in the class of 2014. Offensive Linemen Roster Getting To Know: Tyson Chandler Fifth-year senior offensive tackle Tyson Chandler can accurately call him- self one of the elder statesmen of the NC State football team. He graduated from North Plainfield (N.J.) High in the spring of 2009, but for academic reasons Chandler needed to spend a year at Fork Union (Va.) Military Academy — an experience that Chandler described as "humbling." "Out of high school, I had a great support system," Chandler recalled, citing his coach Robert Lake in particular. "I had the town behind me. Ev - eryone wanted me to succeed. At the moment I wasn't eligible, I felt like I let a lot of people down." His year at Fork Union worked out for him; Chandler noted the only two things he had a chance to concentrate on were his grades and football. That did not make life easy, though. Finding ways to communicate with the outside world proved difficult. "For the first 30 days, you couldn't even talk to your family or anything except for like five minutes, you got one phone call I think," Chandler remembered. Arriving at NC State was Chandler's first college football accomplishment. His second was transition- ing himself into a starting right tackle. He played exclusively defense throughout his prep career, piling up 92 tackles, including 36 for loss, in his final two seasons at North Plainfield. Then, shortly before his first preseason camp at NC State, Chandler was told that he was moving to offensive tackle. Chandler is quick to credit the coaches he has worked with — first Jim Bridge and then Mike Uremovich — for helping him make the move, but there were understandable bumps along the road. "I used to get mad, like literally," Chandler said. "Sometimes it was depressing. Now I can look at it, and I can make calls and can do different things. "I am an offensive lineman. That is really rewarding to realize where I came from and where I am today. It's a very rewarding life experience." The 6-7, 354-pound Chandler has started 23 games after admittedly being thrown into the fire his redshirt sophomore season. He feels "very comfortable" taking a leadership role, not only on the of- fensive line, but also with the team. He also wants to take the next step to cap his long and twisting journey. "Being one of the best tackles in the ACC," Chandler said. "I would have come a very long ways." — Matt Carter CHANDLER 66-68.OLs.indd 68 6/27/14 12:06 PM