Grading the Defense in NC State's Week 2 Win
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RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Wolfpack defense suffered from major issues in the second week of the season but still came away with a victory. NC State escaped Virginia in a 35-31 shootout only a week after the team held East Carolina to 17 points.
It was a tale of two halves for the Wolfpack defense. The Cavaliers scored 24 points in the first half, dominating on the ground with running back J'Mari Taylor. However, NC State tightened things up in the second half, holding Virginia to just one touchdown. Third down woes plagued the Wolfpack throughout the game. Virginia converted on 13 of its 19 third downs. One of the failures led to a fourth-down touchdown carry for Taylor, however, washing away any hopefulness for a stop.
Pro Football Focus grades each member of the team's performance during the game. The model takes into account every play in the game and adds it all up to create the player's total grade. Any grade from the 70s to 80s is considered a good performance. The 60s are average. Below 60 would be poor and above 80 would be elite.
How Did PFF view NC State's Defense?
Pass Rush/Defensive Line
- Senior defensive end Sabastian Harsh - 81.9
- Senior JACK Cian Slone - 78.8
- Senior JACK Tra Thomas - 77.0
- Freshman nose tackle Josiah Victor - 73.0
- Senior nose tackle Chazz Wallace - 72.4
- Senior nose tackle Brandon Cleveland - 71.3
- Redshirt freshman defensive end Chase Bond - 64.1
- Sophomore defensive end Isaiah Shirley - 60.0
- Senior defensive end Travali Prive - 59.1
Harsh and Slone once again dominated for the Wolfpack defense. The duo finished as the highest graded players for NC State's defense for the second week in a row. Slone's rating was slightly inflated because of his game-winning interception, boosting his coverage grade. However, the veteran performed admirably once again. Harsh finished with an 80.4 run defense grade despite playing on the edge. Cleveland's return to the starting lineup helped at times against Virginia's potent rushing attack in the second half.
Linebackers
- Junior AJ Richardson - 63.2
- Junior Kenny Soares Jr. - 57.1
- Senior Sean Brown - 55.6
- Senior Caden Fordham - 53.5
Saturday was not a good day for the Wolfpack linebackers. PFF took note of the many missed tackles by the group in the first half, particularly Brown and Fordham. Despite missing four tackles, Brown made up for his struggles with improvement in the second half. Overall, the team missed 15 tackles, with Brown's four being the most on the roster.
Fordham struggled mightily in coverage and finished with a 44.2 pass coverage grade. Soares contributed to a fourth-down tackle with Harsh to stop a critical Virginia drive in the fourth quarter. Not one of the linebackers finished in the top 10 overall grades on the defense. It was a far cry from the impressive opening performance by the linebacker corps, although Brown and Fordham led the rallying cry for the defense in the locker room at halftime, still finding a way to be impactful off the field.
The Secondary
- Redshirt freshman strong safety Brody Barnhardt - 68.7
- Senior cornerback Devon Marshall - 65.9
- Junior nickel Jackson Vick - 64.4
- Redshirt freshman free safety Ronnie Royal III - 61.9
- Senior cornerback Jamel Johnson - 61.4
- Sophomore cornerback Brian Nelson II - 59.2
- Senior strong safety JJ Johnson - 58.5
The secondary was a mixed bag once again in the second week of the season. Missed tackles were also an issue for the defensive backs, as Nelson and Vick each missed two in the game. While Jamel Johnson improved his grade, he did get picked on down the stretch by Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris.
Barnhardt was the surprise performer for the Pack defense. The redshirt freshman finished with six tackles in his elevated role. His efforts tackling Cavalier ball carriers earned him an 83.8 tackle grade. He also starred against the run, finishing with a 78.1 rush defense grade.
Overall, it was a far inferior performance for the Wolfpack in the second week of the season. However, first-year coordinator DJ Eliot's unit held on when it counted.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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