The Wolfpacker

March 2019

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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82 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PROS Joe Thuney Is Already One Of NC State's Best Pros Ever BY RYAN TICE O ffensive linemen never get the attention they deserve. It's just the nature of the position — most fans watch the ball, not what happens in the trenches. It's understandable that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady received his due after Super Bowl LIII, his record sixth NFL championship. Although offensive linemen are usually looked at as a collective unit, it's not right that guard Joe Thuney is accomplishing history and establishing himself as one of the most successful professional ath- letes ever from NC State in a too-often- overlooked corner. But such is life for an offensive guard. Thuney just became the first player in NFL history to start three Super Bowls in his first three seasons. Beyond that, the left guard has opened every game of his profes- sional career so far, and this year became the first Patriot to play every offensive snap in a season since 2013 (when center Ryan Wendell and Brady both did it). According to The Dayton Daily News, Thuney had played 99.7 percent of the Patriots' offensive snaps since he joined the squad heading into the latest Super Bowl — and he played all 72 offensive snaps in that game. "He's one our best players," head coach Bill Belichick said in mid-November, ac- cording to MassLive.com. "One of our most consistent players." Before the Super Bowl, Brady called him a "hard-nosed, tough kid" who "has been as dependable, as consistent, as any- body on our team." Thuney's path to where he is now has been about as unlikely as the former sixth- round draft pick that he protects. He was a two-star recruit when he pledged to NC State in December 2010. Despite helping Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio, win two state titles and setting a school record with 44 starts, his other offers included only Buf- falo, Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt, West Vir- ginia and Youngstown State. Prep head coach Ed Domsitz told The Wolfpacker in February 2011 the only rea- son Notre Dame and Ohio State didn't offer was because of Thuney's weight — the 6-5 athlete checked in at only 230 pounds. At the time, he even compared Thuney to seven-time Pro Bowl center Nick Mangold, whom he also coached. "Think about how many offensive line- men were recruited before Joe Thuney," Domsitz recently told Boston.com. "I would have loved to have seen him go to Ohio State or Notre Dame, someplace around here, but it didn't work out that way, and for Joe it turned out to be a great experience down at NC State." From Raleigh, he was drafted in the third round of the 2016 NFL Draft and quickly became a mainstay at left guard. Though he experienced the typical ups and downs as a rookie, he has always been at his best on Super Bowl Sunday. In his first appear- ance on the sport's biggest stage, he posted a season-high grade (75.9) according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). This season, PFF dubbed Thuney as the seventh-best guard in the NFL. Once again, though, he was at his best in the playoffs and a key cog on a unit that allowed Brady to be sacked only once in three postsea- son contests. He was also recognized by his team for helping offseason acquisition Trent Brown get acclimated at left tackle. "Joe Thuney is a huge part of the team," star tight end Rob Gronkowski said be- fore the Super Bowl. "Without him, we wouldn't be far." Super Bowl LIII drove that point home even more. With the back-to-back reign- ing NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald on the opposite side of the trenches, Thuney would play a key role in a defense-heavy contest. On the game's lone touchdown drive, most focused on Gronkowski's 18- and 29- yard catches; the latter gave New England the ball at the 2-yard line. However, those two plays have some- thing else in common — Thuney was left one on one against Donald, the tackle who totaled 20.5 sacks this year. Both times, Thuney stoned the star, al- lowing Brady time to compete the team's longest and ninth-longest gains of the game. The TV show "NFL Turning Point" highlighted Thuney's work on both plays, and then showed Donald saying on the Thuney is just the third former Wolfpacker to win two Super Bowls as a player. PHOTO BY DAVID SILVERMAN/COURTESY NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

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