NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 46
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 46 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 46 in Pack history.
NC State Football And The No. 46
• Wearing No. 46 for NC State football this fall is redshirt freshman nose tackle Nick Campbell, a product of Lake Minneola High in Minneola, Fla. Campbell is a name that Wolfpack fans could hear from in 2023.
There is an opening for the 6-foot-4, 290-pounder given the lack of proven depth at nose tackle. Fifth-year redshirt junior C.J. Clark is expected to start, and sophomore Brandon Cleveland is favored to be the top reserve. Cleveland, however, is a converted defensive end that is learning to play in the middle of the line.
Campbell could be the top competition for Cleveland to be the top reserve for NC State. Campbell received a cup of tea while redshirting last year, logging nine snaps in the lopsided win over UConn. He was also a well-regarded recruit. Both of his older brothers played college football, and Campbell had offers from over 15 current Power Five programs.
• The 1946 NC State football team achieved quite a few milestones, including the unusual one of having zero yards passing in a game, which came against Vanderbilt.
Yet, that Wolfpack defense was tough to move against. VMI finished with -37 yards on the ground against NC State in 1946, still the program record for fewest allowed in a game. Overall, the 1946 defense gave up 946 yards rushing, the fewest in a single year for NC State. The 161.4 yards allowed per game is also a program best.
That defense additionally recovered an astounding 26 fumbles, which also remains the school mark for the most gained in a season.
Interestingly, in that aforementioned VMI contest, George Allen became the first ever NC State running back to officially gain 100 yards in a game, rushing 18 times for 111 yards. Another noteworthy individual accomplishment was defender Howard Turner’s 105-yard interception return for a score vs. Duke, the longest play in NC State history.
Turner also had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Clemson that year. That held up for 61 years as the longest kickoff runback for NC State.
Overall, NC State went 8-3 in 1946 and achieved the Pack’s first rankings in the Associated Press poll, debuting at No. 19 on Oct. 7, rising to as high as No. 12 two weeks later before finishing at No. 18 in the final rendition.
The 1946 squad was also the first NC State football team to reach a bowl game, losing to No. 14 Oklahoma in the Gator’s Bowl on New Year’s Day.
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