8/28/2018 football Edit

NC State football roundtable: Who will lead the Pack in tackles?

Matt Carter and Jacey Zembal

Editors

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Fifth-year senior Germaine Pratt is sure to be a lot of people's pick to lead NC State in tackles. (Ken Martin/The Wolfpacker)

Earlier Tuesday, we had our roundtable discussion over who will lead the team in receptions and receiving yards. Presuming that senior Reggie Gallaspy Jr. will pace the Pack in rushing, we have shifted our focus to the defensive side of the football.

The first question is who will lead NC State in tackles. Last year it was Jerod Fernandez, who had 98 tackles, 18 more than anyone else on the team. But Fernandez is in Washington trying to make the Redskins' roster.

So who will lead NC State in tackles this year. We make our guesses, and you can share yours, too. A link below will take you to a poll on the Wolves' Den message board asking that same question.

Who will lead NC State in tackles?

Matt Carter

The popular opinion here will probably be fifth-year senior linebacker Germaine Pratt, and understandably so. The defensive coaches have not been shy about expressing their high expectations for Pratt this fall, and he was fourth on the team last year in tackles (69) despite not starting a single game and splitting reps primarily with Airius Moore, now in the Arizona Cardinals' training camp.

One would make a logical conclusion that if Pratt had not split time, he could have challenged Fernandez for the team lead in tackles.

That said, I am going to outside what I expect to be the conventional wisdom and go with redshirt junior safety Jarius Morehead. It's not unusual for a safety to lead NCSU in tackles. Josh Jones did it in 2016, Hakim Jones in 2014 and Earl Wolff in 2012. Thus three of the last seven years a safety has led NC State in tackles.

Morehead, in his first full season as a starter, was second on NC State's defense with 80 tackles last fall, and with a new-look defensive line he could be called upon to make more plays in the box this season.

There is also the undeniable pattern. Since 2012, every even year the team has been led by a safety in tackles. In odds years its been a linebacker. Need I say more?

Jacey Zembal

Pratt was the fourth-leading tackler for NC State and he didn’t start a game. Elevating to being the No. 1 spot is not just expected, but he needs to have a big year.

Pratt played safety his first two years before redshirting and making the move to outside linebacker while rehabbing from shoulder surgery. He finished with 69 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two passes broken up and two interceptions for 98 yards. He had a pick six, going 25 yards for a score against Louisville, and he also got a touchdown off a blocked punt against Notre Dame.

Now, the middle linebacker should be the leading tackler for the Wolfpack, but redshirt freshman Isaiah Moore is still trying to find his way. Pratt needs to play at an All-ACC-caliber level this season and that means averaging at least seven tackles a contest, which would be 91-plus tackles on the season.

In a perfect world, the 6-foot-3, 240-pound Pratt evokes comparisons to when NC State had Nate Irving, Terrell Manning and Audie Cole at linebacker. The former High Point, N.C., product has the potential to play professionally like those three, but will need a strong senior year.