Jamious Griffin, Running back
N.C. State, led by head coach Dave Doeren, had a wonderful 2019 season. Veteran quarterback Ryan Finley guided the Wolfpack to a 9-3 regular season, with big wins over Boston College, Florida State, and in-state rival North Carolina.
But there were a few stumbles down the stretch. The Wolfpack took a shellacking from Syracuse, dropped a baffler against Wake Forest, and got stomped by Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl. The Aggies, led by head coach Jimbo Fisher, who is very familiar with Doeren following years of testy match-ups in the ACC, roasted the Wolfpack 52-13 to end the season on a sour note.
Insult may be added to injury as N.C. State continues to lose in the offseason, with one of the Wolfpack’s highest rated recruits, Jamious Griffin, a four-star running back out of Rome, Georgia, recently announcing his decommitment.
This is a bitter disappoint for the Wolfpack, whose class currently ranks no. 28 in the country and no. 3 in the ACC, behind Clemson and Florida State. Griffin is one of the top running backs in the 2019 class. But it may have hurt less had Griffin reopened his recruitment for schools outside the ACC.
Not so.
Although Griffin is strongly considering Auburn, the 5-foot-10, 205-pound Georgia native is mostly looking at ACC rivals Georgia Tech, Louisville, and Florida State.
While the Wolfpack are not thin at running back, with former four-star Reggie Gallaspy entering the NFL Draft, it’s unclear who will step up and seize the starting role. With Griffin taking his talents elsewhere, N. C. State will have to trust in Doeren’s strong record of developing talent.