Joly Earns Major Award For Performance Against Pitt
In this story:
RALEIGH — One of the lone bright spots in NC State's 53-34 loss against Pittsburgh was the performance of star tight end Justin Joly. His outing was impressive enough to earn him John Mackey Tight End of the Week honors.
Joly entered the 2025 season with massive expectations after his stellar debut season with the Wolfpack. While his stats weren't quite as impressive as many expected, his impact on the team's 4-4 start was massive.
Unfortunately for the Wolfpack, Joly left Saturday's matchup with an injury after making a monster play. His status moving forward remains unclear, as the first availability reports aren't out yet.
Inside Joly's Performance
Joly did all of his damage in the first half of the game. His second catch of the afternoon was a 25-yard touchdown, his fourth of the season. The tight end found the open space and allowed sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey to softly layer a pass over the linebackers for the score. He caught a series of short balls, including one for a first down, before his major contribution.
Trailing by 24-14 late in the second quarter, offensive coordinator Kurt Roper went looking through his bag of tricks. The first-year play caller dialed up a double-pass play for his star tight end. Freshman wideout Teddy Hoffmann caught a pass from Bailey behind blockers and uncorked a spiral to a wide-open Joly. The tight end took off, but tweaked something in his leg. Still, he finished off the play with a 59-yard touchdown.
A trick and a treat!
— NC State Football (@PackFootball) October 25, 2025
Justin Joly gives it his all for his second touchdown of the game and is over 100 yards for the first time in his career. #1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/j83rRzqyjZ
After the catch, Joly was helped off the field. He never returned to the game despite his best efforts. When he left the game, he had already racked up six receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns. His yardage output was a new career high.
It was Joly's second multi-score game in 2025, as he hauled in a pair of touchdown receptions against Wake Forest back in September. The two scores made him NC State's touchdown leader with five on the season, as he passed sophomore wideout Terrell Anderson, who had four of his own.
Since arriving in Raleigh, Joly hasn't been anything but productive. In just 21 appearances for the Wolfpack, he racked up 79 receptions. That total puts him at fifth all-time among tight ends in program history.
Joly figures to be in the mix for the Mackey Award for the best tight end in the nation at the end of the season if he can return from his injury.
Ensure you follow on X (Twitter) @WolfpackOnSI and @SennettTucker and never miss another breaking news story again.
Please let us know your thoughts when you like our Facebook page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
Follow SennettTucker