The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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JULY 2017 ■ 45 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 TEAM OVERVIEW I play with some of the people I'm playing with. This is like my senior year in high school [at Charlotte Mallard Creek]. We would lose in the semifinals and never get to [the state championship game]. That se- nior year everybody had the same mindset and we won the title. "That last go around, we need to beat the Clemsons and Florida States." Doeren pointed out the body changes of seniors such as tight end Cole Cook, defen- sive tackle B.J. Hill and defensive end Brad- ley Chubb since they arrived on campus. "Every rep matters is what I've been say- ing the most to these guys," Doeren said. "The No. 1 thing in our program is no under- achievement allowed. You have to think about how you can impact a game with one rep. "We have talked about the national cham- pionship [Alabama versus Clemson] and the Super Bowl [Patriots versus Falcons], and the basketball games [UNC versus Ken- tucky]. Every single play is so important." NCSU is particularly experienced up the middle of its defense. Defensive tackles Hill and Justin Jones, inside linebackers Airius Moore and Jerod Fernandez, and strong safety Shawn Boone are all seniors. "If you are soft in the middle on either side of the line of scrimmage, it's tough," Doeren said. "It's really hard to play quar- terback if your center is getting knocked into you all day long. I love being strong inside-out on both sides of the football." No area on the field is more experienced than the defensive line. Hill, Jones and defen- sive ends Chubb and Kentavius Street are all seniors for new position coach Kevin Patrick. They are the foundation of a defense that al- lowed 22.8 points per game and had 37 sacks. When Chubb elected to pass up playing in the NFL to return to NC State, it helped set the tone for the offseason. Chubb had 58 tackles, 22 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and three forced fumbles last fall. Chubb has organically become one of the faces of the program and is currently projected to go in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. The former linebacker will be needed to take his game up a few levels to ensure that projection comes true and to perhaps get the Wolfpack over the hump. "I came back for both myself and for this team," Chubb said. "I love everybody on this team, and I just wanted to finish what we started." The defensive line could be the tone- setters for the rest of the defense. "This group could be the best group in the country," Chubb said. "I honestly be- lieve that. I thought we were one of the best last year, but we didn't get enough credit. "This year, we are definitely coming for the best spot in the nation." The Wolfpack has many different lead- ers, but Samuels said Chubb is the one who can connect with different position units. "Everybody has different relationships with everyone on the team," Samuels said. "Every- body is going to follow what Chubb does. He is a great player, why wouldn't you? He is a vocal leader, too, so people will listen to him." Moore is another former three-star pros- pect that flipped from Indiana to NC State on National Signing Day, and waited to enroll when fall camp began in August. Moore quickly carved out a niche as a freshman and has become dependable at weakside linebacker. He had 86 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss last year, and under- stands what is on the line for his senior year. Linebackers such as himself, Fernandez and redshirt junior Germaine Pratt will benefit from playing behind such a talented and deep defensive line. It also helps the front seven that many are friends with each other. Moore believes the defense can go from being great last year to another level of excel- lence this season. "We've all been to- gether for a long period of time, and we under- stand this is it," Moore said. "As seniors, espe- cially on the defensive side, that's what we want to see and that's what we want to do. I look back at it now and I cherish every sin- gle moment with my teammates because I understand it's not go- ing to be the same when we leave." The offense might not have as many returning seniors as the defense — three returning senior start- ers — but it still doesn't lack for experience. All but sophomore wide receiver Kelvin Har- mon are juniors and seniors in the post- spring "position chart" for pro- jected starters. The offense should also be aided by hav- ing offensive coordinator Eli Drinkwitz and offensive line coach Dwayne Ledford back for their second years in Raleigh. The Wolfpack averaged 27.0 points, 156.2 rushing yards and 260.5 passing yards per game last year. NCSU combined for 37 points in the two huge "what if" games, the 24-17 overtime loss at Clemson and the 24-20 defeat against Florida State. NC State averaged 17.8 points per game in the six losses, and that won't cut it in 2018. "At the end of the day, we were a 7-6 football team that felt like we under- achieved," Drinkwitz said. "There is ur- gency for everybody to not feel that way again. That is how I felt offensively because we were a 7-6 football team that could have been a lot better if we had performed better in key situations. That is my job to make sure we don't let that happen again." Drinkwitz feels like he is in familiar terri- tory after competing for league titles at Boise State, Arkansas State and Auburn in the past. "I think all of us feel like we have some- thing to prove," Drinkwitz said. "There is a chip on our shoulder. It wasn't a fluke how we competed against certain teams. We are determined not to let those mistakes in those key moments in those key games creep in again. "Whether that is to prove people wrong or to do something that has never been done before, I think it is to prove it to each other that we can do it. It may not be the expecta- tion of everybody else, but my expectation when I came to NC State was to compete for a conference championship every year." Senior right guard Tony Adams recalled the weight on his shoulders as one of the class of 2014 recruits who played early in his career. He summed up the seniors as now having "all the experience in the world." "We are ready to get the ball rolling," Adams said. "We are ready to finish games, finish drives and execute better. All we have to do is execute and nobody can stop us. Going 7-6 again is absolutely not good enough, especially with how we lost games in excruciating man- ners. We can't be 7-6 or 8-5 or 9-4. We want a double- digit win season." ■ Senior defensive end Bradley Chubb returning for his final year of eligibility was a major coup for NC State. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the No. 16 returning player in all of college football. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN