New coach Dwayne Ledford looks forward to rebuilding NC State OL
Former NFL player Dwayne Ledford had it great at Appalachian State. In his fourth year with the program mentoring the offensive line and third as the co-offensive coordinator for the run game, the Mountaineers became the first Sun Belt team ever to win 11 games, setting a national record for most victories in a former Football Championship Subdivision team’s first year as a full-fledged Football Bowl Subdivision member.
Despite leading a group that lost 124 career starts to graduation after the 2014 campaign, Ledford’s blockers ranked fourth in the FBS in sacks allowed (0.85 per contest) and the ground game was sixth in the land with 271.5 yards per game. The former East Carolina lineman — he played three years on the defensive side before flipping to the offensive line, where he then played in the NFL for seven seasons — coached three front-liners to All-Sun Belt first- or second-team honors last fall.
Thanks to the success the Marion, N.C., native was having about an hour north of his hometown in Boone, Ledford wasn’t going to leave his current situation for just any job. According to a report from FootballScoop.com, he even turned down a chance to return to his alma mater before taking the post at NCSU Jan. 14, becoming the Wolfpack’s offensive line coach and run game coordinator.
“I was at a very good place, we had a very successful season, so it was going to take a really good place, a good situation [to leave],” Ledford explained. “Growing up in this state, I’ve always admired NC State and its football program.
“It was a great opportunity for my wife and I, our family.”
Ledford got an up-close view of Raleigh and NC State football while his NFL career was winding down. After being released by the San Francisco 49ers — one of five professional teams he played for — he and his wife, a fellow North Carolina native, had to find a place to live.
After also considering Austin, Texas, the draw of home won out with both sides of the family living within the state’s borders. Raleigh quickly grew on the young couple, and they stayed for an estimated eight years.
“It’s a place we really enjoyed, and we talked about it a lot when we moved from it,” Ledford said. “We’re glad we get to come back to it.”
The playing career came to a close in 2006, but the big man — he stands 6-4, played at just less than 300 pounds and looks like he could still stop pass rushers in their tracks — had already started down the coaching path. He was a football strength and conditioning coach at North Carolina in 2005 and an offensive line intern with the NFL Europe’s Frankfurt Galaxy in the spring of 2006.
Once his retirement became official, he took over as the Galaxy’s tight ends and tackles coach in the spring of 2007 and then coached the blockers at Sanderson High School in Raleigh that fall. He returned to ECU, working with the offensive line as a graduate assistant, for two Conference USA title-winning years in 2008-09.
One-year stops at Tennessee State and Gardner-Webb followed while he worked his way up in his new profession, and then he became the offensive line coach at Appalachian State. After a successful campaign in 2012, he was elevated to co-offensive coordinator for the run game while his team transitioned from the FCS level to big-time college football.
Ledford would have been in a great situation in 2016 had he stayed in Boone, but in Raleigh he must replace three senior starters from last year’s line with a room full of underclassmen. Surprisingly, that challenge was one of the most appealing factors to the NCSU job for the 39-year-old.
“I love that, I really do,” he said. “If you look at the breakdown at App State when I went over there, by class, it’s about the same — a bunch of young guys, not a lot of seniors. I liked that a lot because those guys, they just want to work hard.
“It’s just fun to see where they are and watch them continue to grow and develop. We’ve got some great players, and I’m looking forward to coming and being a part of it.”
There will be plenty of developing in Raleigh under Ledford’s watch. Although two-year starting guard Tony Adams, a rising junior, returns to anchor the interior of the offensive line and the duo who split right tackle duties last season, Will Richardson and Tyler Jones, will be redshirt sophomores, that’s basically the extent of meaningful game experience up front on the Pack roster. The group combines for 40 career starts heading into the 2016 season, 23 of which belong to Adams.
Having all that clay to mold is exactly where the coach’s familiarity in the trenches will come in handy. Ledford noted he puts a premium on athleticism and toughness above all other attributes.
He knows from first-hand experience that how big a recruit is or how long a player has dominated as a blocker aren’t nearly as important — he entered college at 230 pounds and left as a 290-pound road grader, then reached the highest level of football as a front-line protector despite playing offense only in his final year of college.
“I’m just excited, real excited,” he said. “I’m eager because this excitement, this energy, the players are going to see that, and I want them to embrace that. I want them to take that and carry it on to the practice field, the classroom and in to games on Saturday.
“I’m very thankful and very blessed for this opportunity.”
Ledford and his family decided once before to move to Raleigh when they could have picked anywhere in the country to live, and they couldn’t be happier to call it home once again.
The Wolfpacker will have more from Ledford on the 2016 signess along the offensive line later.