In Monday’s issue following Saturday’s 2017 Kay Yow Spring Game, we broke down each position on the NC State football team’s offense as it stacks up at the conclusion of spring practice. In this issue, we will look at the defense.
Defensive Line
The most talented position group on the whole team returns all four of its starters, as Kentavius Street, Justin Jones, B.J. Hill and Bradley Chubb all return for their senior years. Led by Chubb, who tallied a team-high 22 tackles for a loss and 10.5 sacks, this group was integral in allowing just one 100-yard rusher in the entirety of last season. Hill and Jones are both disruptive defensive tackles who are stellar against both the run and the pass, and Street adds another solid option as the end opposite Chubb.
In addition to the four seniors, junior Darian Roseboro is a key rotational player who ranked second on the team with seven sacks last year. Redshirt sophomores James Smith-Williams and Tyrone Riley will also likely see time in the defensive end rotation after seeing limited action last year. In the defensive tackle rotation behind Hill and Jones, look for junior Eurndraus Bryant, redshirt sophomore Quentez Johnson and redshirt freshman Shug Frazier to compete for minutes.
“I think we’ve got a lot of depth,” redshirt senior linebacker Jerod Fernandez said. “We’ve got a lot of guys returning, a lot of guys with experience, whether it’s special teams or on the field defensively. I just think we’re going to be really good, and I like to see everybody play well.”
Linebackers
While the defensive line is a formidable group, don’t forget about the linebackers. Airius Moore and Fernandez have been mainstays as starters at the position for the past few years (Moore as a sophomore and Fernandez as a redshirt freshman) and are each entering their senior year with the team. Both of them are key parts of the defense, as Fernandez was second in tackles last year with 88 while Moore was third with 86 and second in TFLs with 13.5.
This group is also very deep, as junior Riley Nicholson and redshirt junior Germaine Pratt each saw significant playing time in the Spring Game. Nicholson is very good against the run, as he has seen time in past years and even got a start last year. Pratt, meanwhile, is just a year removed from switching from safety to linebacker and was all over the field, recording six tackles, two TFLs and a quarterback pressure in the Spring Game.
“Other than the one big play we gave up on the trick play, I thought they kept the ball in front of them,” head coach Dave Doeren said. “We weren’t tackling, so you can’t really talk about that, but the gap integrity looks pretty good. The big thing with coach [Dave] Huxtable is he wants to leverage the ball and tackle well. He wants to win on the line of scrimmage and establish that. I think the guys understand the standard of what we’re looking for there.”
While the Wolfpack typically plays in a 4-2-5, with a nickel taking the place of a third linebacker from the traditional 4-3 scheme, the team could be prompted to throw three linebackers on the field in running situations due to the talent and depth of this position group.
Defensive Backs
The secondary is really the only defensive position group that took a major hit in the offseason, as Jack Tocho, Dravious Wright and Niles Clark graduated, and Josh Jones declared for the 2017 NFL Draft. Seniors Mike Stevens and Shawn Boone will reprise their roles at cornerback and safety, respectively, while redshirt sophomore Jarius Morehead started at safety and sophomore Nick McCloud started at cornerback in the Spring Game. Additionally, sophomore Trae Meadows saw the majority of the first-team reps at nickel, with junior Freddie Phillips seeing some time with the second team.
Look for redshirt junior Dexter Wright to crack the rotation in some shape or form as well, whether it be as an in-the-box safety, nickel or coverage linebacker, as he has been used in these roles in the past. Redshirt senior Johnathan Alston could also fight for minutes if Stevens or McCloud struggle after he redshirted last season to adjust to the switch from wide receiver to cornerback.
Special Teams
The Spring Game showcased more special-teams drills than usual. Junior Nyheim Hines is dynamic as a kick returner and is expected to reprise that role and possibly take over punt returning duties after Bra’Lon Cherry graduated. However, sophomore Kelvin Harmon also looked impressive in these drills and could end up getting a chance as a returner to take some of the pressure off Hines.
The biggest surprise of the day was junior Kyle Bambard, who made 6 of 7 field-goal attempts, including a 47-yarder, after converting just 50 percent in each of his last two seasons. He could end up challenging junior transfer Carson Wise to regain his role back if he can duplicate the consistency in the Spring Game on a much larger level.
