Junior defensive lineman Kentavius Street’s focus this offseason was simple — he needed to get faster. That’s because he was bumping back out from tackle, where he played most of last year, to end, where he lined up as a freshman.

Although he’s still listed on GoPack.com’s official roster as a tackle, he said he has lined up exclusively on the edge this spring. He notes the biggest change between the two spots is operating with more space around him, but there are some other subtle differences.

“I just have to be a lot more responsible with my eyes,” he explained. “I can’t just be teeing off like I did at d-tackle. I’ve just got to be a lot more patient, read a lot more things; it’s a lot more things mentally.

“This offseason, I just focused on being a lot quicker with my first step. I can get on tackles a lot faster now because they’re kicking back a lot faster than the guards did.”

Street, who has the size and mindset to play either inside or outside in the trenches, is a fan of the move and noted the tackle position is still in good hands with several experienced big men manning the middle.

Classmate B.J. Hill leads the way after starting every game last fall, while senior Monty Nelson, junior Justin Jones and sophomore Eurndraus Bryant also saw the field. The foursome combined for 97 stops, 20.5 tackles for loss, seven sacks, eight quarterback hurries, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery in 2015.

“With guys like that, I don’t have to worry about things [at defensive tackle],” Street said.

He is also confident in some of the Pack’s youngsters up front who have not seen the game field yet, specifically one redshirt freshman defensive end that checks in at 6-foot-6, 285 pounds.

“Tyrone Riley has made a lot of progression,” Street said. “He’s come from being this shy player to now trying to take over things. He’s learning his pass rush, he’s learning his body because he’s got a lot of length — he’s growing into his body and that’s really impressive.

“[At a recent practice], he came in with kind of a bull rush and ran the tackle completely over, it was amazing.”

That’s high praise from someone like the 6-2, 290-pound Street, who is capable of some amazing athletic achievements of his own. WTVD’s Mark Armstrong reported last July that Street could power clean 330 pounds, squat 635 and bench press 450 while still being able to vertically jump 39-plus inches.

He’s obviously continuing to improve those incredible numbers, but hence the focus on speed. He’s proven how strong he is in the weight room, and going into his third year in Dave Huxtable’s defense, he’s pretty comfortable mentally too — regardless of whether he lines up along the interior or on the edge of the unit.

“I know the defense like the back of my hand so now I’m just trying to play as fast as possible,” he said.

One other area of focus for Street has been leadership. Now an upperclassman, he’s trying to act like one by leading his position group and the team as a whole — and he’s not the only one stepping up in that department.

“We have a lot more guys being more vocal now, so that’s always great for a defense,” he noted.

Up front specifically, NC State must replace the veteran presence and production of graduated defensive end Mike Rose, who paced the squad with 15 tackles for loss and 10.5 sacks last year. Street, who started nine games at tackle and notched 31 tackles, three tackles for loss, 0.5 sacks, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery, is confident he can provide a boost in both aspects from his new spot.

“With the seniors, we kind of took a backseat; we let them take the lead since they had been through everything,” Street said. “Now we’re taking the helm and we’re doing things our way.

“It’s been going great. I feel like the defense is growing really well as a whole. We start from the ground-up with the d-line, back to the secondary. We’re really building things, playing faster, playing smarter, playing a lot tougher.”

The unit hopes to show exactly that in Saturday’s annual Kay Yow Spring Game. Street keeps it simple once again when talking about the defense's goals in the final scrimmage of the spring.

“We’re expecting a dominant performance,” he said. “No points given up.”

Read more about NC State’s practices in The Wolfpacker’s spring football headquarters