Spring football practice for NC State will start March 2, with the spring game at 1 p.m. April 9 at Carter-Finley Stadium. The ACC Network will show the game at 7 p.m.
The Wolfpack Central will start taking a look at the position groups this spring and summarize where NC State stands. Up next is the defensive line.
Defensive line
NC State returns two starters from the defensive line and two others who started three games apiece last year. The Wolfpack will likely play 5-6 defensive linemen “starter” snaps, but picking the top three will be interesting.
Senior nose tackle Cory Durden has lost 11 pounds and is coming off a breakout campaign where he earned first-team All-ACC. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder proved to be a terrific replacement for the injured C.J. Clark. The Florida State transfer had his breakout game in the big win over Clemson with six tackles and 1.5 sacks against the Tigers. He also proved durable, playing at least 40 snaps over his last nine games.
Durden started eight out of 12 games and finished with 31 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and seven quarterback hurries.
The 6-2, 295-pound Davin Vann, a sophomore, took advantage of injuries and proved he could be an elite lineman. He only started three games, but he finished with 26 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and nine quarterback hurries. He had a season-high five stops in the loss at Wake Forest.
Junior defensive end Savion Jackson started the first nine games before suffering a season-ending knee injury after 12 snaps at Florida State. The 6-2, 290-pounder had 23 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss, with five quarterback hurries, but no sacks. He has 51 tackles and one sack in 29 career games.
The 6-foot-3, 300-pound Clark will be interesting to see if he settles back in at nose tackle, or does he slide out and play one of the defensive end spots. He played 91 snaps in three games, and had one solo tackle and seven assists for eight tackles.
Projected starters: Senior nose tackle Cory Durden; junior defensive end Savion Jackson and sophomore defensive end Davin Vann.
Projected backups: Redshirt sophomore nose tackle/defensive end C.J. Clark; redshirt sophomore nose tackle Joshua Harris; redshirt freshmen defensive ends Travali Price, Claude Larkins and Zyun Reeves; freshman defensive tackle Davin Jackson.
Comments: Adding depth behind the four former starters will be crucial.
Redshirt sophomore nose tackle Joshua Harris has struggled living up to his Rivals.com four-star status. He weight over 350 pounds in 2020, and lost 25 pounds for last year. It helped him get on the field and he had 10 tackles (two solo) in 115 snaps, and he started against Louisiana Tech. Harris’ playing time will likely depend on whether Durden and Clark remain at nose tackle.
The loss of defensive ends Terrell Dawkins and Ibrahim Kante has opened the door for redshirt freshmen Travali Price, Claude Larkins and Zyun Reeves. Price is intriguing at 6-4 and 265 pounds. Like many members of the class of 2021, he didn’t have a senior season at Lincolnton (N.C.) North Lincoln High.
Rivals.com ranked Price the No. 25 strongside defensive end in the country and No. 18 overall player in the state of North Carolina in the class of 2021.
Reeves used his redshirt season to get healthy, and he also didn’t have a senior season at Kernersville (N.C.) East Forsyth. Larkins played in just six games his senior year and had 26 tackles and two sacks at Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Chaminade-Madonna.
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