Tuffy III is the new NC State live mascot

The new North Carolina State Wolfpack mascot is here – Tuffy III.

Tuffy III is a direct descendant of the original North Carolina State mascot Tuffy I, and this news was previously announced by The Raleigh News-Observer.

Tuffy III is a Tamaskan, which is either a fringe breed or a common tag given to Siberian Husky/Alaskan Malamute/German Shepherd mixes. They are fuzzy and wolflike and known for their pointy ears, and since NC State has shifted back to the Looney Tunes-style cartoon wolf logo in recent years, this makes a lot of sense.

“We chose the puppy that closest resembled Tuffy I and had the same mannerism and tolerance, hopefully the same level of motivation and sense of adventure he’s going to need to make it on the field,” Tuffy III’s puppy raiser Lisa Downey said in the release video that was posted on the North Carolina State athletics Twitter page.

Tuffy III will be ready to cheer on the NC State Wolfpack this pupcoming football season.

Downey and her husband Joe also were the caregivers for the Wolfpack’s previous live mascot, Tuffy II, who passed away in October 2020 from a heart condition.

It seems likely that North Carolina State fan dog Moose McCreery, the Labrador of country music star Scotty McCreery, would enjoy a game of tug-of-war with the newest live mascot for their school.

During the 2020 college football season, which was greatly altered by the still-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, NC State went 8-4 (7-3 ACC) with a trip to the , where they lost 23-21 in the Gator Bowl to the SEC’s Kentucky Wildcats. The Wolfpack’s nonconference clashes with the Delaware State Hornets, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Troy Trojans were all canceled because of the pandemic.

The North Carolina State 2021 football season begins with a home contest at Carter-Finley Stadium on September 2 at 6:30 p.m. ET against the South Florida Bulls. See our FanSided Network sister site Saturday Blitz for more college football information.