The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/535299
JULY 2015 ■ 87 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2015 Getting To Know: Dravious Wright NC State has made only one coaching change since the end of last season — hiring George McDonald to mentor the wide receivers — but another group worked under a new position coach this spring. The nickel backs now work alongside the linebackers every day under defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable after head coach Dave Doeren oversaw the group last fall. "Our nickel back is very similar to a linebacker," Huxtable noted. "Obviously, they are smaller in body but have a lot of the same responsibilities as a third linebacker would on the field, as far as the run game and pass coverage. The nickel back performs outside linebacker duties for us. "Sometimes they're in the box as a linebacker; sometimes they're out of the box. I think it's important for them to all be on the same page and understand where each other fits in the scheme of the defense." Starter Dravious Wright, a junior, also likes the change although he admits that Huxtable is very demanding of his pupils. "He's going to rip us every day and make sure we can be the best that we can be," Wright explained. "He's a little bit tougher than the other coaches because he expects us to get everything right — he's the one that's teaching us and it's his defense." Wright said he will still receive tips from others on the staff, such as Doeren, safe - ties coach Clayton White or cornerbacks coach George Barlow, and he enjoys hearing the different perspectives. The 5-10, 205-pounder actually expected White to be his position coach when he arrived in Raleigh. After being overlooked in the recruiting process, the two-star pros- pect was a late addition to the 2013 signing class due to his familiarity with Doeren and his staff at Northern Illinois, which is the only other school he officially visited. Wright was one of the coach's first commits with the Red and White, and he lined up at safety his first year, although most of his playing time came on special teams. When the Pack made the move to a 4-2-5 (four defensive linemen, two linebackers, five defensive backs) defense before last season, he was the perfect player to slide in at nickel back. The Florida native played cornerback in high school and is an outstanding athlete, and he's also not afraid to hit despite his size. He thought that lining up inside the tackle box fit his playing style the best, and the coaches agreed. "I love it, and I look forward to it every day," Wright said. "I like to come up and make some hits [in the run game]. That's where all the action is at to me." Last fall, Wright played in every contest and earned the starting nod in all but one game. He finished fourth on the team with 57 tackles, including five for loss, and tied for the team lead with a pair of forced fumbles. He emerged as one of the team's best and most important defenders down the stretch when the improving unit hit its stride. "I think Dray really started playing well toward the middle to latter part of last season," Huxtable noted. "He's a very experienced guy, he played a lot of reps last year and he is going to be a really good football player for us. He plays fast, and he's a great contact guy. I wish we had a whole bunch more just like him." Tim Buckley, whom he split time with last fall, decided to give up his last year of eligi - bility this spring, so Wright is the only experienced nickel on the roster. However, the younger players at the position and the other four returning starters in the secondary are still pushing him, as well as the linebackers he now spends every practice with. One thing that has not changed is Saturday is the day Wright looks forward to the most. In the fall, that is obviously game day. In spring and summer practices, that's when it goes from, "thud" — where players hit their teammates but don't tackle them all the way — to game-like live action with a weekly scrimmage. "That's when we get to hit," Wright said with a smile he couldn't hide. "There's a lot of smack talking [during the week], but we don't get to hit. I look forward to Saturdays because we get to take them down to the ground." Regardless of the season, Saturday is when Wright get his best chance to prove that, despite lacking the prototypical size of an inside-the-box defender, he's right at home as the Pack's de facto third linebacker. — Ryan Tice Fifth-year senior cornerback Juston Burris has made 30 starts and notched five interceptions during his Wolfpack career. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN