Future is Now For Young Wolfpack Defense

Injuries have forced freshman into major roles they weren't expecting when the season began

Greg M. Cooper/USAToday sports

Back in the 1970s, Washington Redskins coach George Allen coined the phrase "The future is now" to justify his philosophy of trading away draft picks and relying on older, more seasoned players.

It's a phrase that also applies to the current NC State defense.

Only for the opposite reason.

With many of its older, more seasoned players that started the year atop the depth chart sidelined with injuries, the Wolfpack has had to fill in the gaps with a talented group of freshmen coach Dave Doeren had hoped to stockpile for the future.

As many as seven rookies could see significant action on Saturday in State's homecoming game against defending national champion Clemson.

"This is the future," said true freshman safety Jakeen Harris. "With all these guys hurt, banged up right now, we've had to come in and just step in their shoes."

Harris is a prime example of what the Wolfpack is going through as it looks to find the two more wins it needs for bowl eligibility -- a situation Doeren has classified as "Code Red."

A special teams player who had seen only five snaps from scrimmage all season, he was pressed into service against Boston College after teammate De'Von Graves was moved to cornerback to help compensate for the loss of both injured starters at that position.

Harris was credited with eight tackles against the Eagles and eight last week against Wake Forest. But his inexperience has also showed, as has been the case with other members of the Wolfpack's defense.

"It's been a long process," Harris said. "I'm just working every day to try and better myself and put the team first."

Six freshmen or redshirt freshmen -- Harris, cornerbacks Malik Dunbar and Cecil Powell and tackle Joshua Harris, along with linebackers Payton Wilson, Drake Thomas and C.J. Hart -- played 20 or more snaps against the Deacons. A seventh, defensive end Savion Jackson, played regularly against BC before missing last week's game with an illness.

Of that group, only the linebackers had seen significant action before the midway point in the season. 

There are just as many rookies on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Devin Leary, left tackle Ickey Ekwonu and three of the team's top four rushers, Zonovan Knight, Jordan Houston and Trent Pennix.

"It's been a great opportunity for us to be able to get out on the field," said Thomas, the younger brother of Thayer Thomas, the team's second leading receiver. "We're just taking it day-by-day, learning more and more and just trying to develop as a team, as a unit."

While the influx of so many new, young players into the rotation bodes well for the future just as it did in 2016, when a young defense led by future first-round NFL draft pick Bradley Chubb too its lumps before growing and improving together, the short-term effect hasn't been pretty.

It's been a major contributing factor to State allowing a combined 89 points over its past two games. But Doeren doesn't have any other options.

Things could get even worse this week as their on-the-job training continues against a Clemson team that leads the ACC in scoring and total offense.

"We're going to try to approach the game just like any other game," Thomas said. "We're going to prepare the same, we're going to get the game plan down and get comfortable with it. We're just going to go out there and play our best and try to execute the best we can."

Clearly, the true freshman's confidence isn't lacking. But as Doeren explained earlier this week, confidence isn't the issue. 

"I think some guys like Jordan, Drake, Payton, Jakeen Harris ... those guys are getting better. They understand the value of their reps," Doeren said. "And then there are some guys we need to get better now. They haven't matured as fast, but they're playing. So it's a day-to-day thing with them. It's not a confidence thing, I think it's just a lot."

"You were in a high school classroom last year," Doeren said, "so it's the amount that has changed in their lives and the intensity of all that is different for them, you know? 

"It's just managing it all and helping them understand the grind and how important the nutrition and sleep are. It's different to have to do that your first year. I'm impressed with some of those guys and how they are dealing with it. Like you'd expect, for some it's harder."

As difficult as it's been to stay upbeat, given the circumstances, Thomas said that the moral among State's defense has yet to waver.

"We just have to stay positive and keep moving forward," he said, "have tunnel vision and block out the noise and continue to work on ourselves and get better."