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Dave Huxtable sees talent emerging on NC State’s defense

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Huxtable is about to begin his seventh season as NC State’s defensive coordinator.
Huxtable is about to begin his seventh season as NC State’s defensive coordinator. (Ken Martin/The Wolfpacker)
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NC State returns eight players that started at least six games last year on defense and another seven that started at least one. That total even doesn’t include senior safety Tim Kidd-Glass, who started nine games as a sophomore and played all 13 games this past fall while splitting reps with starter Dexter Wright (who was a senior in 2018).

Yet NC State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Dave Huxtable, who is set to begin his seventh season with that job title for the Wolfpack, cannot help but notice all the youth on his defense. That’s partially because it has eight players practicing who were early enrollees. A ninth — defensive tackle C.J. Clark — is sitting out spring rehabbing an injury.

“It’s a new day of college football,” said Huxtable, whose first coaching job was as a graduate assistant at Iowa State in 1982. “I’ve never had that before. It’s great that they’re here. They’re supposed to be sitting in their high school cafeteria eating lunch, but instead they are here practicing college football.

“It’s so valuable for them I know from an academic standpoint and just getting ahead in college football.”

Huxtable sees the lights turning on for some of them after 12 spring practices.

“They are not there yet, they got a long way to go, but I’ve seen a lot of improvement,” he said.

Two of those early enrollees are in his position room — linebackers Jaylon Scott and Drake Thomas. It is part of what Huxtable said is his deepest group of linebackers he has coached in Raleigh.

“I’ve got good depth,” Huxtable confirmed. “I don’t have any seniors, a bunch of young guys, but I got good, talented depth. I’m really excited about the linebackers.

“It’s been a very competitive spring with those guys. Looking forward to summer and fall camp.”

This summer and fall will also be when Huxtable gets to see redshirt freshman Payton Wilson, one of the prized recruits of the 2018 class, turn it loose after rehabbing from two separate torn ACL injuries — the first as a senior in high school then again over the summer. Huxtable said he has been trying to assure Wilson his time will come and to be patient.

“It’s harder for him than it is for me cause I understand it,” Huxtable said. “I keep telling him, ‘Payton it’s March. I need you in August. I need you in September.’ Cause it’s been a long time since he has played in a game. He is just biting at the bit to get out there cause he loves it so much. He doesn’t like it, he loves it.

“He’s going to have a great summer, and I’m really looking forward to the fall camp with him.”

Elsewhere on the defense, Huxtable likes the improvements he has seen from early enrollee Savion Jackson on the defensive line.

“I see him coming on — getting better and better, building confidence, confidence and understanding,” Huxtable said. “At first I think the speed of the game was overtaking him, and now I think he’s feeling it better.”

The secondary, though, sounded like a unit that Huxtable is eager to see reach its potential this fall.

“It’s the most talented group of DBs we’ve had since I’ve been here,” he said. “They are very talented at the corner position. We got some good depth. We’ve had some guys injured this spring that will be back this summer and for fall camp, but it’s a talented group with depth. We have some depth at the safety position.

“I am very excited about what I’ve seen from the back end.”

This Saturday for the spring game, Huxtable is mainly looking for a relatively clean performance.

“We are going to be very simple, so I don’t want to see mistakes,” he noted. “I just want to see guys play hard, have fun, play with emotion and enjoy the day.”

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