Here is a position-by-position analysis of the performance of the 2015 NC State football team’s defense.
Defensive Line
Grade: B+
The Wolfpack sacked the opposing quarterback 32 times, ranking 33rd in the country and tied with Florida State — a team with multiple four- and five-star recruits on defensive line. Of the Wolfpack’s 32 total sacks, 27.5 came from defensive lineman, led by graduate defensive end Mike Rose, who ranked 12th nationally in sacks with 10.5. But Rose wasn’t alone, as many younger members of the defensive line produced as well, pointing to a bright future for years to come. Sophomore Bradley Chubb recorded 5.5 sacks in his first year as a defensive end, freshman Darian Roseboro had four and sophomore B.J. Hill finished the season with 3.5 sacks. Additionally, the defensive line was able to stop rushers behind line of scrimmage often, ranking 35th among 128 teams with 6.8 tackles for a loss per game.
Linebackers
Grade: C+
The linebacker group was a difficult one to judge because it didn’t seem to stand out; while it wasn’t necessarily a weakness, it lacked in dynamic game-changers. Everyone who played meaningful snaps did an admirable job and they certainly have the potential to grow from young, solid players into guys who can take a game over and alter the game plan of opposing offenses. Sophomore Airius Moore led the Wolfpack defense with 77 tackles, including eight behind the line of scrimmage. The coaching staff rotated redshirt sophomore Jerod Fernandez, freshman Riley Nicholson and redshirt junior M.J. Salahuddin perhaps in an effort to find one to really take a stranglehold on the position. For the most part, the linebackers were good against the run (sans the UNC and Clemson games) and had their inconsistencies on the occasions they dropped into pass coverage.
Secondary
Grade: D+
The secondary was without a doubt the biggest weakness of the defense. When two of the team’s top-four tacklers are safeties, it usually means cornerbacks are getting beat in coverage far too often. Some will point to the team’s yards allowed rankings as proof that the defense was good. But when you look at individual games, those stats are skewed from four early season games against non-conference cupcakes, plus games against Boston College and Wake Forest (both rank in the bottom 11 nationally in offensive yards). When the Pack played average-to-good teams, they often gave up big passing plays. In the games the defensive backs didn’t give up a ton of passing yards, they tended to give up a passing play when a stop was needed the most. The defense ranked 104th out of 128 FBS teams in passes defended with 32.
Special Teams
Grade: B
As expected with multiple freshmen in key roles, NC State special teams saw their struggles this season, especially early on, but ultimately the good far outweighed the bad. Freshman kicker Kyle Bambard struggled, connecting on just 7-of-14 field goals with a long of 37 yards. While he was wildly inconsistent with his accuracy, Bambard has all the tools to be successful when he gets that part of his game down. A.J. Cole proved to be one of the top freshman punters in college football, averaging 41.7 yards a punt with a long of 72 yards, while the punt coverage team did its job as the Pack finished 29th nationally in net punting yards. The Wolfpack excelled in the return game as freshman Nyheim Hines averaged 26.3 yards per kickoff return (19th nationally) and scored one touchdown. Junior Bra’Lon Cherry averaged 13.3 yards per punt return (12th nationally) and earned All-ACC honorable mention on special teams as voted by the media.
