Potential Under-the-Radar Difference Makers

Here's a look at five players with the potential to have breakout seasons and become difference makers for the NC State football team in 2020

The NC State football team is going to need its best players to be at their best to have a chance at bouncing back from last year's 4-8 disappointment.

It's a group that includes defensive tackle Alim McNeill, linebacker Isaiah Moore, running back Zonovan Knight, wide receiver Emeka Emezie and quarterback Devin Leary.

But in order for the Wolfpack to have a truly successful season in 2020, it's also going to need some others to step up and become difference makers.

Here is a look at five under-the-radar players that have the potential to fill that role:

• Nickel Tyler Baker-Williams: One of the few Wolfpack defensive backs to stay healthy for the entire 2019 season, Baker-Williams split time at nickel with Stephen Griffin. He recorded 39 tackles, including 2.5 for losses, had a half sack, a quarterback pressure and three pass breakups. Earlier this summer, Pro Football Focus College ranked the 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior as the highest-rated returning slot corner in the ACC and the fourth-highest among all Power Five programs. With Griffin having graduated, Baker-Williams will have significantly more opportunities to shine now that's he's become the clear-cut starter at his position.

• LB Vi Jones: State's linebacker room is already a crowded one, with three of the team's top four tacklers (Payton Wilson, Moore and Louis Acceuss) all back, along with experienced backups Drake Thomas and C.J. Hart. But coach Dave Doeren and defensive coordinator Tony Gibson will still fine a way to get Jones onto the field as much as possible because of his experience and his bloodlines. The son of former Dallas Cowboys and three-time Super Bowl champion linebacker Robert Jones and the brother of current Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Zay Jones, Vi sat out last season after transferring from Southern Cal. A former high school All-American, he played in 22 games during his two seasons with the Trojans.

• WR Devin Carter: The sophomore had a strong debut season, ranking third on the team with 32 catches for 456 yards last season and his average of 14.6 yards per reception was best among Wolfpack wide receivers. A big receiver at 6-4, 212 pounds, he not only has the size to make the tough catches in traffic, but also the speed to get downfield for big plays. He promises to be even more productive this season -- not only because of the experience he gained as a rookie, but also because of the chemistry he and Leary seem to have developed. Twenty of Carter's 32 catches and four of his five longest gains last year came in the six games that Leary played the majority of the snaps under center.

• DE Terrell Dawkins: Although the 6-5, 255-pound redshirt freshman barely got his feet wet by seeing action in four games on special teams last year, Doeren has dropped several hints that he has big plans for Dawkins in 2020. For one thing, he allowed the former three-star recruit to become the first Wolfpack player ever to wear the No. 0 -- which has become legal this season under NCAA rules. Doeren has also specifically mentioned Dawkins' performance at practice in each of his preseason Zoom calls with the media, suggesting that the youngster will play a prominent role at a position that last both starters from last season.

•  CB Rakeim Ashford: A late addition to the Wolfpack's 2020 recruiting class, the junior college transfer was brought in to bolster a secondary that had its troubles defending the pass over the past two seasons. A 6-1, 190-pound Mississippi native, Ashford has a knack for being around the ball, as indicated by his team-leading four interceptions for Jones College last year. That's a big deal, considering that State picked off only four passes as a team in 2019. Ashford's chances of stepping right in and making an immediate contribution were enhanced by his performance in the Wolfpack's first preseason scimmage, held just before practice was shutdown by a COVID-19 outbreak. "He had a really good day," Doeren said, with "a lot of nice tackles, a big pass breakup (and) an interception."

Among the other potential breakout candidates are wide receiver Porter Rooks, defensive tackle Davon Vann and defensive back Devan Boykin -- all true freshmen -- along with sophomore defensive end Savion Jackson and redshirt freshman running back Delbert Mimms III. 

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