Group of Redshirt Freshmen Stepping Up For NC State

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Roster retention became one of the hardest tasks for a college football coach over the past two seasons. At NC State, head coach Dave Doeren worked hard in the offseason to bring back players who either contributed a season ago or could contribute more moving forward.

Doeren's mixture of veteran transfer additions and younger returners has fueled the Wolfpack to a 3-0 start in 2025, with strong wins over conference foes in back-to-back weeks. Leaning on young players has long been a strength of the Wolfpack.

The team deployed four redshirt freshmen in significant roles throughout the first three weeks, showing Doeren's continued trust in his developmental program and the Wolfpack schemes, both offensively and defensively.

Rookies in the Secondary

Safeties Ronnie Royal III and Brody Barnhardt arrived in Raleigh a season ago after highly productive high school careers in Alabama and North Carolina.

The duo waited on the sidelines for much of the 2024 season, soaking up as much knowledge as they could from the veterans in front of them. After a staff overhaul during the offseason, they became projects for safeties coach Charlton Warren and defensive coordinator DJ Eliot.

"(Warren) is a military type of coach, so he's on us. But, he's teaching us everything we need to know," Barnhardt said. "He's going over different calls they might call, different situations and everything we need to know."

Warren and Eliot inserted both Royal and Barnhardt into the starting lineup against Wake Forest, making the entire safety corps redshirt freshmen. The duo had its struggles, but Royal came away with a late interception to effectively put the game away, the first of his young career.

"Me and Ronnie, we're going through the same thing, both being younger safeties that are playing," Barnhardt said. "Good thing we've got JJ (Johnson) and Renté (Hinton), some of the older guys in the safety room, to help us with what we need."

Baby Game Wrecker

Defensive end Chase Bond hasn't seen the field a ton in 2025, but he's made plays when possible. In the opener against East Carolina, Bond blew up an end-around play and sacked ECU quarterback Mike Wright in the backfield for a big loss.

Bond also gets the opportunity to learn from transfers Cian Slone and Sabastian Harsh, both of whom are off to phenomenal starts for the Wolfpack in 2025.

Changing the Pace

Throughout the offseason, Doeren and strength coach Dantonio Burnette raved about the physical development of running back Duke Scott. Even with the improved physical traits, Scott was always going to play second fiddle to star tailback Hollywood Smothers in 2025.

Even so, Scott is carving out a role for himself as the team's change-of-pace running back. He performed well in the win over Wake Forest, finishing with seven rushes for 23 yards and two catches for 17 yards. Eventually, Scott will be the top back for the Wolfpack, but just needs to wait his turn.

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