Notebook: NC State's youthful mistakes proved costly
NC State head coach Dave Doeren talks often about how freshmen will make mistakes but need to grow and learn from them. He will also say that at this time of the season, a freshman is essentially a sophomore.
Three NC State turnovers were committed by either a freshman or redshirt freshman, two of which led to 14 points in Louisville's 34-20 win Saturday. Redshirt freshman quarterback Devin Leary had his shovel pass picked off by middle linebacker Dorian Etheridge at the UL 43-yard line, and the Cardinals eventually turned the turnover into seven points.
On the first play of NC State’s first drive in the second half, freshman wide receiver Keyon Lesane fumbled at the NCSU 40-yard line. Louisville again scored a touchdown to surge to a 20-10 lead.
The other NCSU fumble was by freshman running back Zonovan Knight in the first quarter, but the Cardinals didn’t get any points from it.
Doeren noted that the turnovers were typical of younger players.
“I thought the guys played really hard, but we don’t make enough plays,” Doeren said. “We had four balls on defense that went through our hands tonight that should have been interceptions.
“We can’t turn the football over the way that we are, and have any hope for winning. I love the competitive spirit of my football team. I think they are battling.”
Fifth-year senior strong safety Jarius Morehead recalled the early days of his NC State career, and what that was like.
“You have to keep your head up and build what we did well tonight and what we didn’t do, just build off of that,” Morehead said. “It’s a little different because you can’t say as much because it might be called bullying. We try to keep their heads up.”
James Smith-Williams Goes Through A Scare
NC State's defense played without five different cornerbacks plus a pair of linebackers against the Cardinals.
The Wolfpack were missing senior Nick McCloud, junior Chris Ingram, redshirt freshman Taiyon Palmer, sophomore Teshaun Smith and sophomore De’Von Graves at cornerback. Even freshman backup Cecil Powell got banged up for a bit during the game.
NCSU welcomed back redshirt sophomore middle linebacker Isaiah Moore, but were missing junior starter Louis Acceus and redshirt freshman Payton Wilson.
However, the scariest scenario occurred when fifth-year senior defensive end James Smith-Williams appeared to be knocked out cold in the fourth quarter. A stretcher and cart both came on to field. Luckily, Smith-Williams was able to eventually pop back up and walked off the field on his own power to the locker room.
“James Smith-Williams is OK,” Doeren said. “He is alert and downstairs and OK. I don’t know if he’ll be back for next week [Thursday at Georgia Tech] or not, but I wanted everyone aware he is OK.”
The one common theme for any serious injury on the field is when players, coaches and support staff for both teams immediately react to what just took place on the field. That was the case for Smith-Williams.
Longtime teammate Morehead was gravely concerned at first.
“When it happened, I was like ‘I came in with this guy,’” Morehead said. “I’ve built a relationship with him. The guys that went down this year, and then James, he’s very important to the team. He’s one of the guys that you lean on. It was a sad experience.”
The sadness turned into relief when Morehead talked Smith-Williams after the game.
“I was happy, and he was just downstairs laughing and joking,” Morehead said. “He’s fine.”
NCSU Welcomes Back Running Back Ricky Person Jr.
NC State did welcome back sophomore running back Ricky Person Jr., who had missed the previous four games due to injury. Person had a scary scenario unfold against Florida State Sept. 28, but he never felt he was done for the season.
“I worked my [butt] off to get back,” Person said. “I feel great. It felt good [to score]. We work for it, and it’s just another touchdown. It’s back to the lab we go.”
Person ran a nifty route to catch a 16-yard touchdown in the third quarter, and he finished with four carries for 10 yards plus two catches for 28 yards and the score.
“I saw the corner drop down and the safety came inside the box,” Person said. “Once I saw that, I’m wide open, touchdown.”
Person enjoyed a decorated prep career at Wake Forest (N.C.) Heritage High, but has battled through an assortment of injuries from his wrist to his hamstring to offseason hip surgery following his freshman year. He wasn't able to practice in the spring, and he missed four contests last year.
Person is ready to battle over the last two games — at Georgia Tech and home versus North Carolina.
“We are going to show what we are supposed to do,” Person said. “I’ve been working a lot to come back and help my team.”
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