2/25/2020 football Edit

Charley Wiles excited about new challenge at NC State

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

New NC State defensive line coach Charley Wiles, who had been at Virginia Tech since 1996 and was part of a celebrated trio with head coach Frank Beamer and defensive coordinator Bud Foster during much of that time period, feels rejuvenated in many ways by his new job at NC State.

NC State defensive line coach Charley Wiles was previously at Virginia Tech from 1996-2019. (Matt Carter/TheWolfpacker.com)

Seeing him in red and white and with adidas gear will probably take some getting used to for his former Hokies family of ex-players and coaches.

“It’s really kind of exciting to be honest with you,” Wiles said. “Change is always a little scary in anything you do. The No. 1 thing was my wife was fired up about the new chapter and moving to Raleigh.”

Coming to NC State and a having chance to live in the Triangle area is a pretty good new chapter for Wiles, who has known Wolfpack defensive coordinator Tony Gibson for a few decades. He also understands playing North Carolina every year, which Virginia Tech did in the Coastal Division.

Gibson was previously at West Virginia, which played against Virginia Tech in the past.

NC State will be playing a 3-3-5 defensive alignment for the second year in a row, and Wiles doesn’t think he’ll have that much of an adjustment to make.

“There is a lot of overlap,” he said. “The technique stuff is not changing. Schematically, we are lining up a little different. I know this league and we were evolving with Bud to playing some three-down stuff.”

Wiles is already looking forward to working with junior nose tackle Alim McNeill, and recruited several of the Wolfpack defensive linemen while at his previous job.

“Alim McNeill is pretty ideal [at nose tackle],” Wiles said. “He’s big, athletic and he can run. He’s just finding out how good he could be. Alim is exactly what you are looking for at that position.”

Finding two defensive ends will be one of the priorities this spring.

“There won’t be any [differences] with right or left [defensive ends],” Wiles said. “There are more bodies in America that can be that hybrid D-end, D-tackle, can they be big enough to be a D-tackle in a four-down or are they stuck in that 260 [pound range]?

“I think there are a lot more kids who can fit into a three-down [defense] than a four-down.”