The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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a half years, while junior All-American cornerback David Amerson has started for basically both of his years on campus. Fifth-year seniors Earl Wolff, a safety, and C.J. Wilson, a cornerback, combine with fourth-year safety Brandan Bishop to round out the group. However, when the Wolfpack took the T field for the first day of preseason practice on July 31, there was a new face on the back line with the first-team defense — junior Dontae Johnson, who lined up at cornerback in place of Wilson. BY RYAN TICE he NC State secondary returns all four starters from a year ago. Three of those defensive backs have started for at least two and felt like I did pretty well. The coaches trusted me to do well, and I'm in a good position now. But I'm not satisfied where I'm at, I'm still working on everything." The entire coaching staff loves John- son's versatility and expects him to play a big role in the defense this fall. He emerged as a playmaker down the stretch last year, totaling at least 37 snaps in each of the team's last four games of the year and recording three sacks and 16 tackles during that span. "Dontae is able to play both safety po- Dontae Johnson Will Line Up Wherever He Is Needed This Fall Seeing the playing field is nothing new Swiss Army Knife The Pack's sitions, play corner and play the nickel position for us," head coach Tom O'Brien said. "He's really a smart kid, he has good football savvy and good football sense, and he certainly has enough ability to play for Johnson, who has appeared in all but one of the team's games over the past two years and started three times. However, the majority of his experience comes at safety or playing in the nickel package. The 6-3, 196-pounder was moved to cor- nerback this spring by the coaches and is adjusting to playing on the outside well. "Dontae has done a great job," defensive backs coach Mike Reed said. "Dontae's football IQ is better than a lot of people's, and that's what allows him to play inside and outside. Dontae is used to playing on slot receivers, and it's a lot easier to go from playing on the slots to outside than from outside to inside. He's an athlete, he can run, and he has great hips and good feet. I feel very confident putting Dontae out on the edge and letting him play." Although Johnson never played corner before the spring experiment, he contends that he is settled in at his new position. "It's a little different coming from safety, but I've played the nickel spot," he explained. "It's extending me out more, but it's not that big of a challenge. "To have never played the position, I Johnson emerged as a playmaker down the stretch in 2011, totaling at least 37 snaps in each of the last four games while recording three sacks and 16 tackles. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN all of those positions. We're just fortunate that he's here for us right now." The landscape of college football is always changing and, as more teams gravitate towards a spread offense, the defense's substitution packages become more and more important. With the plethora of teams likely to utilize three or four wide receivers on the Pack's 2012 slate, defensive coordina- tor Mike Archer — who noted the Pack played in its nickel package about 75 per- cent of the time during the last six games of 2011 — expects Johnson to line up in his customary spot in the nickel this season, in addition to also playing on the outside. "We're going to do both," the coach said. "He's played inside, he's a very ef- fective blitzer, he understands the nickel position and he's very smart. He makes a lot of the calls and checks for us. The nickel is going to be his primary position, but we've got to have some flexibility to be able to put him at the corner and move people around because teams are going to be very aware of where Amerson is." When Johnson is lined up on the outside opposite of Amerson, State has something that every team in the country would envy — a pair of athletic, 6-3 corners that can shut down opponents, no matter how big of a receiver they send out. I see a lot of things faster. I think that was the reason they moved me out there be- cause I was able to grasp information fast and recognize routes." Johnson noted he brings his aggressive mindset from playing safety and nickel back to his new position, while his versa- tility and speed also helps on the outside. However, there are subtle differences be- tween the positions, and he has attacked that challenge with extra film study. "I've been watching film from three perspectives — safety, corner and from the linebacker perspective for when I play nickel," Johnson said. "It's a little chal- lenging at times. At first it was a little overwhelming to me, but now that I have a year under my belt, picking up the corner stuff isn't that hard." The Pennington, N.J., native has em- braced the way that the coaches move him around on the field, and he thinks it will pay dividends in 2012. "I was ecstatic to move to cornerback. It gets me on the field, and I would do anything to help this team win," he said. "If the coaches trust me to move to corner and play at this level, I'm down for it. I took it as a challenge to make myself and the team better. "I'll do whatever I have to do to help this team, if it's me playing Sam line- backer, I'll do it." ■ SEPTEMBER 2012 ■ 31 "We've got two big corners, and that's unusual now," Archer said. "They look like what you are looking for in the NFL. We're very fortunate to have those two type of guys physically." Johnson, who noted his focus is to make sure that he improves every day, is relying on his previous experience, whether in the nickel back role or at safety, to help ease the adjustment to a new spot on the field. "It helps a lot because of the fact that, at the nickel spot, I was able to see things from the inside-out," he said. "I was able to see the routes and the combinations. Moving outside, I just now have to cover a different aspect of the route combination. I still see them and recognize them. "At corner, I'm looking outside-in, but