Can North Carolina State Wolfpack Win With Doeren?

Special Teams

As Doeren continues to try to build a program, if he is going to go bowling he certainly has the assets in the kicking game to steal some wins. Senior punter Wil Baumann is back after averaging 42 yards per punt last year and nailing 19 of his 67 punts inside the 20. He’s not going to blow you away with his skills set, but he is good enough to get the job done.

Sep 7, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack offensive lineman Ali Kassem (61) congratulates kicker Niklas Sade (32) after his game-winning field goal against the Richmond Spiders at Carter Finley Stadium. North Carolina State won 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

Place kicking, on the other hand, is a position that could will the Wolfpack to wins with senior Niklas Sade. Sade was Mr. Reliable when he needed to be, going 31 of 31 on extra points and 14 of 15 on kicks under 40 yards. Those are the most important pieces of consistency you want from a kicker. To add to that, he was 5 of 8 on kicks 40 yards and beyond, and one of those misses came from 50. So the guy clearly has the leg strength to kick field goals into the 40s, and that could make a huge difference going forward for the Wolfpack this year. Most notably, Sade made a 48-yard field goal to beat Richmond 23-21, so you know that he’s also very clutch. That counts for a lot.