{"id":65684,"date":"2024-08-13T20:29:23","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T01:29:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/?p=65684"},"modified":"2024-08-13T20:29:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T01:29:23","slug":"nc-state-wr-coach-joker-phillips-this-is-as-talented-of-a-group-as-ive-ever-had","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/nc-state-wr-coach-joker-phillips-this-is-as-talented-of-a-group-as-ive-ever-had\/","title":{"rendered":"NC State WR coach Joker Phillips: \u2018This is as talented [of a group] as I\u2019ve ever had\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

It has been the topic of fall camp, but NC State\u2019s<\/a> wide receivers room continues to impress on the practice field each day. The Wolfpack overhauled the group over the offseason, bringing in transfers Noah Rogers<\/a><\/strong> (Ohio State) and Wesley Grimes<\/a><\/strong> (Wake Forest), in addition to a talented freshman class.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pair those newcomers with sophomore star wideout Kevin \u201cKC\u201d Concepcion<\/a><\/strong> and the Pack\u2019s route runners continue to make waves in each fall camp practice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For NC State wide receivers coach Joker Phillips<\/a><\/strong>, these wide receivers are the \u201cmost young, talented group\u201d that he has worked with in his 37 years in college football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of draft picks in there, talent wise,\u201d Phillips said Tuesday. \u201cThis is as talented [of a group] as I\u2019ve ever had. The most talented group that I\u2019ve been around from top to bottom. I\u2019ve been around talented guys like this, but not this deep. It\u2019s fun to be a part of, it\u2019s fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the talent is evident, the Wolfpack built the wide receiver room through past relationships. Rogers and Grimes are both Raleigh natives that ended up elsewhere before going in the transfer portal this offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And NC State was glad to be there to scoop them up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s world, it\u2019s good to be in second sometimes,\u201d Phillips said with a laugh. \u201cWe were in second with [Grimes], second with Noah [Rogers.] When things didn\u2019t work out, we were able to get them back here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips thought Concepcion\u2019s standout freshman season, which was capped by an ACC Rookie of the Year honor, was also helpful in the Pack recruiting the local wide receivers back to Raleigh.<\/p>\n

The Wolfpack, in turn, has a talented group of wideouts, but Phillips\u2019 challenge this fall camp was getting them all on the college level. He\u2019s dealing with five scholarship true freshmen at wideout, including former North Carolina commit Keenan Jackson<\/a><\/strong>, who has impressed in camp. And he can add Rogers into that group since the former Buckeye redshirted last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It has been a learning process for NC State\u2019s wide receivers, who had a good practice Tuesday, Phillips said. That was different from last week, where he wasn\u2019t happy with how they performed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, the Pack wants its wide receivers to string good practices in a row. Then, NC State will be in business.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m 61 years old, I\u2019ve seen a lot. The younger you are, it\u2019s hard to focus all the time, and it has shown up some,\u201d Phillips said. \u201cWe just have to continue to stack days.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even though there have been some slight bumps in the road, NC State\u2019s wide receivers continue to dazzle on the practice field.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wolfpack quarterback Grayson McCall<\/a><\/strong>, a former three-time Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year, has been impressed with the wideouts to this point. It appears they will make his job simple this fall.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they push each other every day,\u201d McCall said. \u201cThey come to work and I think I\u2019ve done a good job bringing those guys together and getting them on the same page. They do a fantastic job. There\u2019s so many playmakers around me, it makes my job so much easier to find the open guy, get it in the fast guy\u2019s hands and let him run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the Wolfpack wideouts have just over two weeks worth of practices remaining before they get to lace up their cleats for NC State\u2019s season opener against Western Carolina on Aug. 29. And if fall camp has been any indication, the Pack will be just fine at the wide receiver position this season.<\/p>\n

The post NC State WR coach Joker Phillips: \u2018This is as talented [of a group] as I\u2019ve ever had\u2019<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It has been the topic of fall camp, but NC State\u2019s wide receivers room continues…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65684"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65684\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65725,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65684\/revisions\/65725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}