NC State vs. Marshall: Key Thundering Herd players to watch

NC State heads into its road game against Marshall as the favorite to win, though it shouldn’t expect that to come easily. Marshall returns a significant amount of experience from a team that won eight games last season, which several players on both sides of the ball who can be difference-makers.

You might remember some of them.

Defensive lineman Ryan Bee

Bee is expected to return to the field this weekend after missing the first two games of the season with an injury. He’s a preseason all-conference selection after finishing 2017 with 51 tackles, including 5.5 sacks. His size (6’7, 280) can make him a tough guy to handle.

Wide receiver Tyre Brady

You may recall—or perhaps you’ve blocked it out—Brady destroying the NC State secondary in Raleigh last season. He caught 11 passes for 248 yards and one touchdown against the Wolfpack. That’s an average of 22.6 yards per reception. He was a total nightmare.

Through two games this season, he has 15 catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns.

Linebacker Chase Hancock

Hancock had 10 tackles against NC State last year, and finished 2017 with 128 of ‘em. He also had 9.5 tackles for loss and seven quarterback hurries. He’s averaging 11.5 tackles per game so far in 2018; he’s also broken up three passes and forced a fumble.

Quarterback Isaiah Green

While the above three guys have lots of college football experience between them, Green has exactly two games to his credit. So far so good (though strength of schedule caveats apply), as he’s thrown only one pick in 76 passing attempts.

Green is completing nearly 62% of his throws while averaging 7.2 yards per attempt, and if he keeps that up, the Herd may not miss Chase Litton all that much after all. But he’ll have to pass a few legitimate tests first.