Football beginning to occur, per reports

It’s fall camp No. 12 at NC State for Dave Doeren. (His first pictured above.)

Welcome to football, everyone. It’s the final day of July, and we can begin to see the light at the end of the offseason tunnel.

I’m looking at those unpleasant green non-contact jerseys with a tear in my eye, just thinking about how there’s football. There’s plenty to keep an eye on as competition for playing time begins in earnest.

1.) How do things shake out at safety and nickel? What does Devan Boykin’s recovery timeline look like? How do the three transfers—Ja’Had Carter, KJ Martin, DK Kaufman—figure in?

2.) With State set at both offensive tackle spots, what about the guard positions? Does someone challenge Tim McKay at right guard (seems unlikely) or does the only serious competition emerge on the left side? Is Anthony Carter 100% after missing the spring? How about Dawson Jaramillo, who missed last season with an injury?

3.) It’s a new era at long snapper. Will our long snaps remain straight and true?

4.) Which linebackers are ready to make an impact, beyond Sean Brown, Devon Betty, and Caden Fordham? There’s unproven but promising youth here: Elijah Groves, Kelvon McBride, Kamal Bonner. Groves was a highly-rated recruit but did not enroll early. McBride and Bonner redshirted as freshmen last year, though Bonner did see a handful of defensive snaps.