The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/846301
78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2017 DEFENSE Q&A BY MATT CARTER N C State fifth-year defensive coor- dinator/linebackers coach Dave Huxtable has watched an evolu- tion occur on his unit during his time in Raleigh. What began as a young, inexperienced defense that took its lumps while laboring through growing pains has matured into an experienced group that turned a corner in 2016. Last year's unit could be fairly labeled a top-25 defense, and the numbers nationally among the Football Bowl Subdi- vision provide the proof: • Eighth in rushing defense (108.6 yards allowed per game) • 22nd in sacks (38) • 24th in total defense (351.2 yards sur- rendered per game) • 25th in third-down conversion rate al- lowed (34.9 percent) • 27th in scoring defense (22.8 points given up per game) • 32nd in tackles for losses (89) • 33rd in quarterback efficiency rating allowed (122.21) And the best news for Huxtable: eight starters are back from that team and all eight are seniors. After four years, the defend- ers know Huxtable's schemes to the point where the install of the defensive package took less time than ever in the spring. Did the spring seem different with all the veterans on the roster, and did that pres- ence mean you were further ahead? "We're at a point now where they do understand the system. You're not at a point where we're having to spend so much time on that. You can really now get bare knuck- les of getting better at the fundamentals and techniques of things. "You are not working so much on adjust- ments and all those things. You are work- ing more at them becoming a pro at their fundamentals and techniques. "I thought last year — and I know that was then and this is now — but I thought defensively those guys made great strides. A lot of them are back. We're a year older, more experienced, bigger, stronger — that confidence level is there. I am really ex- cited about the group and the way they worked this spring." With so many seniors on the defense, do you worry any about leadership or are you looking for one or two to step up? "I don't know when I've been around a group of guys that are as close together as a unit as these guys, this group of defensive players. There is no selfishness on this de- fensive unit. They know that it's going to take 11 or more to win the championships. "It's really cool to see how they've all bonded together as a unit. It's not a de- fensive line group, a linebacker group or a DB group. They are a defensive group. You are only as strong as your seniors, and POISED FOR GREATNESS Defensive Coordinator Dave Huxtable's Unit Is Preparing For A Big Season Huxtable's 2016 unit ranked eighth nationally in rushing defense (108.6 yards allowed per game), and also finished 22nd in sacks (38), 24th in total defense (351.2 yards allowed per game) and 27th in scoring defense (22.8 points allowed per game). PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN