Offense Grades from NC State's Week 3 Win

Sophomore quarterback CJ Bailey looks to have taken a major leap as a passer and runner in his second season with the Pack. The quarterback's growth, combined with the continued emergence of running back Hollywood Smothers, has this offense moving in a positive direction.

Pro Football Focus grades each member of the team's performance during the game. The model takes into account every play in the game and adds it all up to create the player's total grade. Any grade from the 70s to 80s is considered a good performance. The 60s are average. Below 60 would be poor and above 80 would be elite.

How PFF viewed NC State's performance against Wake Forest

The Wide Receivers

• Sophomore Noah Rogers - 71.5
• Sophomore Keenan Jackson - 63.4
• Sophomore Terrell Anderson - 61.8
• Senior Wesley Grimes - 60.3
• Freshman Teddy Hoffmann - 54.7

The dynamic group of receivers didn't explode off the stat sheet, but had a strong night for the Wolfpack. Jackson nearly made a circus catch on the sideline that would've made a solid night a great night, but he was ruled out of bounds. He was incredibly strong in run blocking situations, finishing with a 71.2 run block grade, the best of the bunch. Rogers played fewer snaps than the rest, but earned the highest score and made a few clutch catches in the game.

The Tight Ends

• Senior Cody Hardy - 82.4
• Senior Justin Joly - 68.5
• Senior Dante Daniels - 65.8

It was an impressive showing for the tight ends against Wake Forest. Joly scored his first two touchdowns of 2025, both coming on short passes in the red zone. The star got more involved in the offense as it moved deeper into Wake Forest territory and looked like the security blanket Bailey needed on key downs. The unsung hero of the game was Hardy, who finished with the second-highest score on the team. In 31 snaps, the Elon transfer was a blocking machine, finishing with a 77.3 run block score and 74.6 pass block score.

The Offensive Line

• Sophomore right tackle Teague Andersen - 81.8
• Sophomore right guard Kamen Smith - 59.2
• Junior left tackle Jacarrius Peak - 58.8
• Senior center Jalen Grant - 56.9
• Senior left guard Anthony Carter Jr. - 46.7
• Senior guard Yousef Mugharbil - 47.9

Another week, another disappointing performance from the guards on the offensive line. Carter struggled mightily with penalties, while Mugharbil played just five snaps before being relieved by Smith. Andersen's improvement was a big help in the running game, as he posted a 79.3 run block score. The shuffling of interior lineman will likely continue moving forward in the season.

Running backs

• Sophomore Hollywood Smothers - 73.4
• Redshirt freshman Duke Scott - 67.9

The Wolfpack running backs came to play on Thursday night. Smothers set a career-high rushing yards total with 164 in the game. Scott played his best game as the team's change-of-pace back and posted an impressive pass block grade of 86.8 in his 24 snaps.

Quarterback

• Sophomore CJ Bailey - 87.2

Bailey played what might've been his most complete game of the season. His poise stood out once again as he led the Wolfpack back from an early 14-0 deficit. He finished with a completion percentage over 70% for the third straight game. Freshman quarterback Will Wilson got some more chances in the game on short-yardage rushing downs as well.