The ups and downs on NC State football’s path to the field for 2020 have been well-documented, but it is best told by the Wolfpack players who have experienced it firsthand.

And there are few stronger leaders to state than redshirt junior linebacker Isaiah Moore.

“We’ve been through a lot as a football team, and I think now we are in a place where we are finally in game week,” Moore said. “It’s something we’ve been waiting for a long time, and we want to go out there and play the best ball we can.”

Thus you can excuse the Wolfpack players if they sounded a little more excited than normal to talk about actual football, like how to defend Wake Forest’s challenging run-pass option offense.

“They have a really unique system with a long mesh on their zone read,” Moore noted. “We are definitely going to have to be prepared for that and … hold our gaps as long as we can, hold the play as long as the read carries out. It’s something that we’ve seen before.”

Gap integrity was another key that Moore noted.

For junior cornerback Teshaun Smith, he believed that getting an opportunity to research Wake Forest during its opener against No. 1 Clemson should be an advantage for the Wolfpack.

“For example, the whole [Wake Forest] wide receiver corps has either graduated, or Sage Surratt, he opted out,” Smith noted. “So it was good to see the new wide receivers on the field.”

One of the main objectives for the defense once they return to the field is to establish the unit as one of the top in the ACC.

“We want to be strong as a whole defense,” Moore said. “That’s the key. Everybody has to do their part, whether it’s D-line, linebacker or secondary."

“I’m very confident in our defense. … I think our defense is much faster from the d-line standpoint all the way to the secondary standpoint,” Smith added.

Moore noted that, “2020 has been crazy for a lot of different reasons.”

Which is why being back on the field and engaging in football talk feels better than ever.

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