Why running back Duke Scott was an easy choice to wear NC State's coveted No. 1 jersey

CHARLOTTE — Not just anyone gets to wear the coveted No. 1 football jersey at NC State. It is an honor, bestowed upon players — and people — who earn the distinction.

When head coach Dave Doeren considered the Wolfpack candidates this season, it didn’t take long for him to land on the one for No. 1.

Third-year running back Jayden “Duke” Scott was an easy pick.

“That represents the totality of who we are,” Doeren explained of the jersey number at the ACC Kickoff event in Charlotte on Wednesday. “Obviously he's got to be a really good player, which we all know Duke is a really good player, okay?”

“He's got to be a guy in the off-season that's a grinder, that just kills it in the off-season program, which he's on the Freak List, right? The guy's gifted as an athlete, as a weight room guy.

“He's got to be a guy that treats people with respect. He's a leader, cared about in the locker room. He's got to be a guy that handles his academic load the right way. Really a total representation of a student-athlete. It really wasn't hard.”

Scott checked all the boxes. 

In 13 games last season, he rushed 106 times for 581 yards and four touchdowns and had 15 receptions for 132 yards. But he showed out when given the chance behind starter Hollywood Smothers, who is now at Texas. Scott had 196 rushing yards in the Wolfpack’s upset of then-No. 8 Georgia Tech. He rushed for 108 yards in NC State’s dominant bowl game victory over Memphis.

He made writer Bruce Feldman’s annual “Freaks List” before the 2025 season. Scott, at 5-foot-10 and 225 pounds, can power clean 405 pounds, squat 575 pounds and run a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash. He is majoring in engineering and design education. 

The soft-spoken Scott said he likes to build computers in his spare time. He plays the trumpet.

And now he’s No. 1.

“It means everything to me,” Scott said. “Getting that coveted honor as No. 1, it's something that I take pride in since I got here on campus. My grades, my work ethic, how I lead the team. Being able to represent my team in that way, being that face, it just means everything to me. I'm extremely excited about it.”

Scott leads the Wolfpack’s new-look running back room. Without Smothers, who led the team with 938 rushing yards last season, Scott is the only non-quarterback to rush for more than 19 yards for NC State left on the roster. Though North Carolina transfer Davion Gause could push for time in the Wolfpack’s largely untested backfield, it is clear from his number that Scott is going to carry a heavy load.

“He's a special young man,” Doeren said. “I know he's going to wear the number well. He's earned the opportunity to wear it. I know that he'll go out and play well for us in that number.”