The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2014 ■ 33 BY MATT CARTER W hen NC State second-year de- fensive line coach Ryan Nielsen is asked about fifth-year senior end Art Norman, the response is a string of positive attributes: "Toughness." "Durability." "Work ethic." "Intelligent." For Nielsen, those qualities make Norman not only fun to coach, but also a playmaker that defies the conventional size for a de- fensive end. Norman is listed at 6-0 and 254 pounds on the NCSU roster. To put that into perspective, former India- napolis Colt and current San Diego Charger Dwight Freeney is considered the poster boy for undersized defensive ends in the NFL. The seven-time Pro Bowler has notched 108 career sacks in his 12 years entering the 2014 season. Yet even the supposedly diminutive Freeney is 6-1 and 268. Still, Nielsen is a believer in Norman. "He's got it all even though he's not 6-2 or 6-5," Nielsen said. "He's just a great football player." Indeed, with a huge senior season, Nor- man could prove himself as one of the most prolific pass rushers ever to step on the field for the Pack. His 17 sacks in three years have him tied with Ray Agnew and George Ander- son for seventh-most ever at State. He needs 8.5 more this fall to tie Mario Williams for the most. Norman is not one to read his own press clippings, so it is not surprising that he did not know until this summer when Nielsen told him that he was within striking distance of the school's all-time sacks record. He ac- knowledges, though, it would be a big deal for him and is a goal worth shooting for. "I would love to have that legacy," Nor- man said. It is a legacy that almost did not happen. Proving Himself Norman comes from an athletic family. His older brother Warren Norman was a standout running back who burst onto the scene when he rushed for 1,558 yards and 27 touchdowns as a junior at Chamblee High in Stone Mountain, Ga. Art Norman was a year behind his brother. That same year Warren was making a name for himself, Norman left his mark as a sopho- more defensive end. He recorded 59 tackles, including 16 for loss and two sacks. Norman would continue to be a playmaker on defense, piling up 36 tackles for loss and 17 sacks over his final two seasons. While Norman was matching his brother on the field, their recruitments were a dif- ferent story. Warren had offers to consider from Vanderbilt, Georgia Tech and Iowa State before settling on the Commodores. Art Nor- man knew why he was not being afforded the same opportunities. "People kind of put me into D-IAA types just because of my height," he said. "I always believed I could play at a higher level." Norman was set to attend Cornell from the prestigious Ivy League. He was not gung-ho about the distance from home, but his father told him that he could not turn down that op- portunity. So in early December 2009, Nor- man essentially verbally committed. Path To Raleigh The commitment to Cornell did not change Norman's belief in himself. He still wanted to attend a higher-profile program. But when a coaching change occurred at Cornell, he was told he might not have the option of going there anymore. His decision was in flux. It was right around that time that former NCSU defensive backs coach Mike Reid was at Chamblee looking at an offensive tackle. Norman gave Reid his film. "He said he was going to take it back for laughs cause I was short," Norman recalled. It's not an uncommon reaction. NCSU red- shirt junior defensive end Mike Rose admit- ted the first time he saw Norman he thought he was a linebacker or maybe even a safety. Reid did not laugh when he put in Nor- man's film. Neither did defensive line coach Keith Willis. They both made it back to Chamblee, but this time to see Norman. They wanted him to officially visit, but they did not promise a scholarship because they were waiting to hear back from other targets. When Norman was eventually offered, he immediately accepted and became one of the last recruits in the 2010 class. His first fall as NCSU was eye opening. The linemen were bigger and faster, and the speed of the game more hectic. For a mo- ment, Norman had his doubts. "I was like, 'Maybe I wasn't as good as I thought,'" he admitted. A heart-to-heart talk with Willis changed that. Willis told Norman that the young player reminded the coach of himself. Willis stood only 6-1 and 260 pounds, but he played 11 seasons in the NFL and had 59 career sacks. That newly instilled confidence helped Norman start eight times as a redshirt fresh- man, while compiling 27 tackles, 10 stops for loss and seven sacks. After adding 5.5 sacks as a sophomore, Norman was faced with a coaching change. It could have been unsettling for Norman. Willis was a coach willing to overlook his size and focus on his play. Fortunately for Norman, Nielsen was in the same mold. "He's got all those intangibles, and when you have all those intangibles you can see why he has success," Nielsen said. In five years, Norman has gone from won- dering if he belonged to, as Rose stated, the unquestioned leader of the defensive line. When the defensive linemen were tasked with getting stronger this offseason, Norman led the way by adding 10-15 pounds. Norman has also focused on being more vocal in his final go round with the Pack, which he admitted requires him to come out of his shell more. "I think it kind of works out, too, like that because sometimes when you are too vocal people tend to stop listening to you," Norman pointed out. "So the team knows when I need to say something it's serious." Nielsen knows why the other linemen figu- ratively look up to Norman. "When you come out here with the same work ethic every day, guys see you work, and it puts you as a leader," Nielsen said. "Lead- ership is not always about talking, it's about action, and he's got a bunch of action. "He's made a lot of plays, and Art Norman has played in a lot of football games for us. He's done a great job. They see him work out, they see him practice, they see him in the meeting rooms taking notes. When he says something they listen to him." It is yet another a big compliment from Nielsen for someone "undersized." ■ Size DoeS Not MATTER Fifth-Year Senior Defensive End Art Norman Has Proved Doubters Wrong With 17 sacks in three years, Norman needs 8.5 more in 2014 to tie Mario Williams for the most quarterback takedowns in NC State history. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN