Wolfpack Tight End Secures First-Team All-ACC Selection
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RALEIGH — While NC State's 7-5 finish to the 2025 regular season was loaded with ups and downs, a handful of Wolfpack players were viewed as some of the best in the ACC. Senior tight end Justin Joly did enough to earn First-Team All-ACC honors, according to a league announcement.
Joly, who transferred in from UConn prior to the 2024 season, capped off his Wolfpack career in style, following up a strong debut season with NC State by surpassing his scoring and reception totals in 2025. His improvement as a pass blocker was also noticeable throughout the year, as he worked well alongside fellow senior tight ends Cody Hardy and Dante Daniels.
Breaking down Joly's final season in Raleigh
It took the senior tight end longer than he wanted to get in the scoring column. However, when he finally broke through in the third game of the season against Wake Forest, Joly scored twice, catching four passes from sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey for 22 yards. From that point, the tight end was off to the races, ultimately scoring seven touchdowns, the most by any Wolfpack pass catcher.
Joly finished the year with 47 receptions for 468 yards, slightly lower than his output in the 2024 season from a yardage standpoint. However, he missed the upset victory over then No. 8 Georgia Tech after he suffered an injury during his best performance of the season the week prior against Pittsburgh. In the loss to the Panthers, he caught six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
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
His highlight of the season came on the same play he suffered the injury against the Panthers. Freshman wide receiver Teddy Hoffmann caught a pass from Bailey behind blockers and set up for a double pass play. Joly found himself uncovered behind the Pitt secondary and caught a deep ball from the wideout, taking it 59 yards. It was the first 100-plus yard receiving effort of Joly's career.
While he more than proved himself as one of the best pass-catching tight ends and as an improved run-blocker, Joly's reputation as a teammate was discussed throughout the entire season by his compatriots, especially fellow tight ends Hardy and Daniels. That trio developed a special chemistry with each other and first-year tight ends coach Gavin Locklear, a former Wolfpack wide receiver.
As for the future, Joly will certainly be looked at as a potential NFL tight end during the coming months. The senior tight end has to weigh the decision between beginning the draft preparation process and playing in the Wolfpack's postseason bowl game over the coming weeks.
Even if he doesn't play, Joly will walk away with a tie for the most touchdown receptions in a season by a Wolfpack tight end and as a player who finished the 2025 regular season tied for the most scores among all power conference tight ends. Not bad company.
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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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