#Wolfpack2020: Kicking insurance

NC State's recruiting class includes kicker Ian Williams, even though reliable incumbent Christopher Dunn still has two year of eligibility remaining

NC State has one of the best, most reliable kickers in college football in Christopher Dunn.

But that hasn't always been the case.

There was a three-year stretch before Dunn's arrival in which the Wolfpack's field goal attempts were an adventure and extra points were anything but automatic.

Coach Dave Doeren was reminded of that recently when during a game at Georgia Tech, Dunn suffered an injury that almost prevented him from kicking. It was an incident that convined Doeren to include a kicker in his 2020 recruiting class, even though Dunn still has two seasons of religibility remaining.

"I don’t know if you guys saw in the Georgia Tech game where Chris pulled a muscle kicking in that game and could barely swing his leg," Doeren said Wednesday at a press conference introducting his newest group of signees, including kicker Ian Williams. "He was a tough kid to be able to make his attempts in that game. I don’t ever want to be in a situation again as a coach where I can’t make field goals."

Williams, who helped Charlotte's Weddington High School to back-to-back 3A state championships, is the No. 6-ranked kicker in the nation .

He made 7 of 12 field goals as a senior this season, with a long of 45 yards. He hit a 52-yarder as a junior while going 18 of 21. He also punted 31 times for an average of 39.6 yards and kicked off 84 times with 73 touchbacks.

"I went to a Weddington game this year and that guy can kick," Doeren said. "He can kick, he can punt, he can kickoff. He’s very talented."

Because of his versatility, Williams can be an insurance policy for both Dunn and punter Trenton Gill -- who also handles kickoffs for the Wolfpack -- before eventually becoming the heir apparant for one or both.

"One, (he can) compete with who we have because that keeps them on edge," Doern said. "But if he doesn’t win the job and he redshirts, (it's good) to know that we have someone for four games in case something were to happen to Trenton or something would happen to Chris Dunn, so that we can perform on special teams the way that we did this year with our specialists. 

"And then to have that to carry on after they leave, so I’m not replacing a senior with a true freshman down the road."