The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1000643
102 ■ THE WOLFPACKER NICKELS BY MATT CARTER A fter his first spring coaching the nickels, Aaron Henry feels good — and a big reason why is redshirt junior Stephen Griffin. NC State badly wanted the 6-3, 211-pounder when he was a star at South Mecklenburg High in Charlotte, but at the time Griffin was SEC-bound after selecting Tennessee. Griffin played as a true freshman with the Vols and started a game his second year, but when he decided that he wanted a fresh start NC State quickly rediscovered the feelings it had for him when he was a coveted high school recruit. After redshirting last fall, Griffin auditioned for the nickel spot and passed with flying colors. Henry noted, though, it was a battle to get Griffin away from the safeties room and in with the nickels. "We end up putting him at nickel because he's a very athletic, long, rangy kid, and he's more than physical enough," Henry ex- plained. "He has the football sense, and I think that an undervalued trait at the nickel position in our defense is intelligence." The nickel in NC State's defense is a quasi safety and corner, Henry added. "In every defense it's a tad bit different, but in our defense spe- cifically what we ask our nickels to do is force them to cover a lot more, so it's a mixture between a corner and a safety," he said. "Stephen Griffin is kind of an anomaly. Most of those guys may not be as fast as some corners, but they can probably move just as well side to side. They may not be as big as our safeties. "Now Stephen Griffin is just as fast as our corners and just as big as our safeties. In a perfect world, you would like those kind of guys. That's a luxury for me right now. All in all, they have to be able to cover, that's probably the biggest thing. "In the NFL, a lot of guys would tell you the nickel position is the hardest position on the field." The task for Henry is to establish depth behind Griffin. Redshirt junior Freddie Phillips Jr. had two surger- ies to repair a torn Achilles tendon he suffered in the season opener last fall and missed the spring. Redshirt junior walk-on Stephen Morrison is a converted wide receiver. Incoming freshman Tanner Ingle has Henry excited. Ingle is a good athlete that registered a 105.06 Nike Rating (which measures athleticism through a series of drills) at the Orlando Nike Camp, the 26th best among hundreds at the event. He was electronically timed at 4.50 seconds in the 40-yard dash and 4.15 seconds in the shuttle. Ingle also registered a 35.0-inch vertical leap. On the field, Ingle helped Dr. Phillips in Orlando win the 8-A state title, the largest classification in Florida, by making 101 tack- les. Ironically, like Griffin, Ingle was originally headed to Tennes- see before switching his pledge. "He's chomping at the bit to get here," Henry noted. "That kid texts me every day, 'Hey coach, I'm working.' I know he's been training, he's been working out. It's been awesome." There is also a chance that Southeast Raleigh High product Tyler IMPACT POSITION With A New Coach And New Faces, Nickel Is Making Its Mark On The Defense Nickel Roster STARTER No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 21 Stephen Griffin R-Jr. 6-3 211 Charlotte Tennessee transfer played in 19 games and started one for the Vols before arriving at NC State. RESERVE No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 13 Stephen Morrison 5th-Sr. 5-11 216 Weddington, N.C. Walk-on from Weddington High led NC State in special teams tackles last season with 10. WAITING IN THE WINGS No. Name Yr. Ht. Wt. Hometown 10 Tanner Ingle Fr. 5-10 185 Orlando, Fla. Former Tennessee commit was ranked the No. 48 athlete nationally by Rivals.com. 7 Freddie Phillips Jr. R-Jr. 6-1 205 Pelion, S.C. Last year's reserve at nickel redshirted after injuring his Achilles' tendon in the season opener against South Carolina and missing the rest of the year. Did not participate in spring practices. ■ By The Numbers 0 Years that NC State has had a full-time assistant coach dedicated to only coaching the nickels. Aaron Henry took on the role in the spring. 4 Number of seasons entering this fall where NC State has gone with a 4-2-5 defense that uses a nickel. This will be the fifth season in that alignment. 6 Interceptions made by the nickel over the past four seasons — three by Shawn Boone last season and three by Niles Clark from 2015-16. YEAR-BY-YEAR NICKEL TACKLING LEADER Year Player Tackles 2017 Shawn Boone 63 2016 Dravious Wright 64 2015 Dravious Wright 43 2014 Dravious Wright 57 Second-year assistant Aaron Henry shifted from coaching safeties to nickels in the spring. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN