Can North Carolina State Wolfpack Win With Doeren?

Defense

Just like the offense, if the defense is to improve this year it has to start in the trenches, with the four best players on the front line returning. The rush defense ranked 81st in the country last year, but more experience and depth should improve that this year. Senior tackle Thomas Teal will be the leader of the group, standing at 6’1″ 308 pounds and recording 10.5 tackles for a loss and 3 sacks last year. Next to him, senior end Art Norman should be able to wreak more havoc this year after 9 tackles for a loss and 4.5 sacks last year. Sophomore tackle Monty Nelson could become the full-time starter after 19.5 tackles and 7 tackles for a loss last year. He clearly has the most potential, but senior tackle T.Y. McGill can still play. Tackle Carlos Gray and end Darryl Cato-Bishop are not serious losses because they were hardly productive when they did see action. Meanwhile, in limited action as a freshman, sophomore Drew Davis managed 3 tackles for a loss and could become the full-time starter his sophomore season. Junior Mike Rose will also be in the rotation after 4 tackles for a loss and 2 sacks last year. Perhaps the strength of the line, though, is in Doeren’s recruiting. Ends Kentavius Street and Justin Jones have lots of potential as Rivals 4-stars, and there are four other freshmen in the system to provide depth this year. Like the offensive line, the unit is vastly deeper, more experienced, and has more talent than last year. Look for serious improvements on the line.

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Senior linebacker Brandon Pittman is the only returning starter at the position after 50.5 tackles, 8 tackles for a loss, and 3 sacks. But the new starters could be better than the ones who left. Senior Rodman Noel has lots of talent and just needs a year as a starter to prove what he can do, and the same holds true for junior M.J. Salahuddin. Redshirt freshmen Jerod Fernandez and Artemis Robinson will provide depth, but depth doesn’t go much further than that at this position. This is an area Doeren will have to focus on building if he doesn’t want lack of depth to hold him back in the future like it did last year. Don’t expect much improvement here this year because of that.

Nov 9, 2013; Durham, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils running back Shaquille Powell (28) carries the ball against North Carolina State Wolfpack linebacker Brandon Pittman (39) and cornerback Jack Tocho (29) at Wallace Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Dolejs-USA TODAY Sports

Luckily for the Wolfpack, the strength of the defense last year was the secondary, and three of four starters are back. Free safety Dontae Johnson is gone, but junior cornerback Juston Burris had an interception and 6 passes broken up last year, and look for a breakout year from sophomore cornerback Jack Tocho, who had 2 interceptions as a freshman last year. Junior safeties Hakim Jones had 2 interceptions and 8 passes broken up, and junior Tim Buckley could see a larger role this year as well. To offset the loss of Johnson, Doeren can turn to senior Jarvis Byrd, who has plenty of experience, redshirt freshman Josh Jones, or true freshman Germaine Pratt, who was a 4-star on Rivals and has the most potential at the position. Byrd will likely win the job, though. Like the trenches, this unit should be much deeper, more experienced, and more talented thanks to Doeren’s recruiting.

Overall, the only major questions for the Wolfpack defense revolve around linebacker and if it is good enough to be a strong force with experience. The unit should be better as a whole, and the improvement should be much more dramatic than it will likely be on offense.