Jacarrius Peak Walks Away With Prestigious Weekly Award

The NC State left tackle architected one of his best outings of the season in the Wolfpack's win over UNC.
Oct 19, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak (65) before the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Berkeley, California, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak (65) before the game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

RALEIGH — NC State finished the 2025 regular season in style, throttling North Carolina in Saturday's rivalry matchup at Carter-Finley Stadium. It was a dominant offensive performance for the Wolfpack offense, as that group scored on its first four drives of the game.

A major reason for NC State's success was the play of its offensive line. Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey took just one sack in the victory and passed for 201 yards and a pair of touchdowns, in large part due to some stellar blocking from his linemen. The most important member of the bunch was junior left tackle Jacarrius Peak, who was announced as the ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week.


Inside Peak's performance

Jacarrius Pea
Nov 30, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak (65) reacts in the first quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Peak became the sixth member of the Wolfpack to earn ACC player of the week honors at any position in 2025 after he went 70 snaps against the Tar Heels. In his first season protecting Bailey's blind side, he has been the steadiest member of the NC State offensive line. Peak has allowed just three sacks on the season and never allowed a pressure in the UNC win.

The left tackle finished with one knockdown and nine pancake blocks to go along with his 100% pass blocking grade. According to Pro Football Focus, he finished with a pass blocking score of 81.0, among the highest on the team. His efforts aided the monster rushing effort of backup quarterback and Wolfpack gadget Will Wilson. The freshman scored four touchdowns on the ground.

Peak became the second Wolfpack offensive lineman to earn player of the week honors, joining sophomore right tackle Teague Andersen. Both of the tackles performed well against the Tar Heels, finishing a strong season as a tandem, particularly in pass blocking. Andersen allowed just one sack on the year and improved his pressures allowed as the season went on.

Wilson credited his whole offensive line, including Peak and Andersen, for one of his best plays of the game. The freshman quarterback took off on a designed run from the North Carolina 15-yard line. He got stopped around the six-yard line, but a group of the linemen stacked up behind him and carried him into the endzone for one of his four touchdowns.

Peak came in late and helped provide one of the final pushes of the pile. It ended up being Wilson's favorite play of the game.

"That was amazing. That was fun," Wilson said, holding back laughter after the game. "I got took for a ride. When I got tackled, next thing I know, my feet were in the air and I'm just enjoying the ride, protecting the ball. That was fun."


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Tucker Sennett
TUCKER SENNETT

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.

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