Natalie Folsom, Agromeck Photo Editor
Graduate Cory Durden celebrates with teammates after sacking the Clemson quarterback in Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Durden had 1.5 sacks with a 7 sack yardage. The Wolfpack beat Clemson 27-21 in double overtime. This win defeated the losing-streak.
Death, taxes and the 2021 NC State defense. Very few things in life are guaranteed, but this Wolfpack defense showing up week in and week out is becoming a commonality. Despite being down multiple starters against the Florida State Seminoles this week, the Wolfpack embraced a “next man up” mentality and earned impressive grades in Tallahassee, Florida.
Linebackers
Freshman linebacker Devon Betty made his first career start on Saturday alongside sophomore Drake Thomas and redshirt junior Vi Jones. Betty had a strong outing, racking up seven tackles, including two tackles for loss. Junior linebacker Vi Jones, who has impressed in recent weeks, had another strong performance in Tallahassee with six tackles and a sack. Outside of a few times allowing receptions over the middle and in the flats, this was a very impressive showing from a linebacking corps without their leader, junior linebacker Isaiah Moore, who is out for the rest of the season with an injury.
Grade: B+
Defensive line
Entering week 10, the Seminoles had rushed for an average of 190.6 yards per game. On Saturday against the Wolfpack, they managed only 38 yards on the ground, averaging a mere 1.4 yards per carry. A major reason for this lack of success rushing was the Wolfpack defensive line.
The Wolfpack defensive line was led by senior defensive tackle Cory Durden, who made his return to Tallahassee after transferring from Florida State last December. Alongside Durden, freshman defensive tackle Davin Vann put together an impressive performance, constantly finding himself in the Seminoles backfield and picking up a sack on Saturday afternoon. Overall the Wolfpack defensive line dominated the Seminoles up front and won the battle in the trenches.
Grade: A+
Secondary
The Wolfpack secondary played a big part in holding Seminoles quarterback McKenzie Milton to a 32.5 QBR. Milton finished the day with 233 yards and completed just 50% of his passes against the Wolfpack secondary. No receiver on the Florida State offense had over 50 receiving yards on Saturday afternoon.
Freshman nickel Joshua Pierre-Louis filled in for injured junior nickel Tyler Baker-Wiliams and managed an interception and assisted in a tackle for loss against the Seminoles. Junior safety Tanner Ingle led the Woflpack in tackles with 13 on Saturday afternoon.
Grade: A
The Wolfpack had lots of young players step up to fill the shoes of injured veteran players in this week’s game. While the Florida State offense has some weapons, it doesn’t compare to what will be the Wolfpack defense’s hardest challenge of the season next week against Wake Forest. It will be very interesting to see how this vaunted Wolfpack defense matches up against one of the top offenses in the country.