Looking back at the West Virginia tape on Sunday was a true “film don’t lie” moment for the NC State football defense.
Fifth-year senior safety Jarius Morehead had another name for the session following the 44-27 loss at West Virginia: “Tell The Truth Sunday.”
WVU entered the game struggling mightily on offense, but quickly found its confidence in the first quarter. The Mountaineers passed for 272 yards, rushed for another 179 and picked up 25 first downs before the game was over. Just as important, it had only one turnover, an interception by NCSU freshman linebacker Drake Thomas.
“I saw a lot of mistakes,” Morehead said. “The coaches kept it real. We came out Monday and Tuesday ready to work.”
Actors Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson had their famous scene together about the truth in “A Few Good Men.” Morehead said that the unit can handle the truth.
“We want the truth,” he said. “Whatever the coaches have to say, we want them to be honest and not try to sugarcoat anything. Whatever they have have on their mind, say it.”
West Virginia had 28 carries and passed 40 times versus NCSU, and it played at a fast tempo due to the previously mentioned 25 first downs.
“They did a great job with the tempo and knowing that West Virginia had that defense [3-3-5], the one we are playing now, for almost like 12 years, they knew how to beat it,” Morehead said. “They came out in tempo and executed what they were taught.”
Redshirt freshman Buck linebacker Payton Wilson has now moved into an “or” with redshirt junior Brock Miller on the depth chart. Wilson said that last Saturday was an difficult balance between playing fast but not too fast.
“Our focus defensively,” Wilson said of what he noticed on film. “Before the game, we could kind of tell we didn’t have the energy and were just drained.
“They hit us immediately, and we responded. The second half, our focus just wasn’t there. We weren’t playing slow, but honestly, I was playing too fast and not fitting the right gap at times.”
Head coach Dave Doeren said the defense wasn’t ready for some of the aspects of WVU’s offense, since they didn’t show certain things they used versus NC State in previous games against James Madison and Missouri. Wilson said between the tempo and subtle new wrinkles threw the defense off some.
“They just came out with different stuff that we hadn’t seen,” Wilson said. “Stuff we weren’t repping during the week or different formations and schemes. I should have adapted faster.”
NC State hosts Ball State at 7 p.m. Saturday. The Cardinals are 1-2 with losses to Indiana and Florida Atlantic, but are averaging 37.3 points per game, thanks in part to scoring 57 against Fordham.
“What we put on tape against West Virginia wasn’t good enough,” Morehead said. “Ball State is a real good team. The quarterback [Drew Plitt] is probably the best quarterback we’ve played so far. ... You can’t take them lightly.”
Wilson said Doeren preaches they need to treat each opponent the same way.
“They are going to have athletes,” Wilson said. “We just have to come out and play our best football.”
Senior corner Kishawn Miller moving into a starting role
NC State senior cornerback Kishawn Miller played his high school football at Mill Creek High in Hoschton, Ga. He then went to George Military College in Milledgeville, Ga., before being spotted by Wolfpack coaches at a satellite camp in the summer of 2017.
Yet Miller’s true home is nowhere near Georgia.
“Born and raised in Buffalo,” Miller said. “I still have my grandmother, all my brothers, all my cousins [there]. So all my family is in Buffalo.
"When I go home, Buffalo is where I go visit.”
Miller’s hoping he has found another home in NC State’s starting lineup. He will get a chance Saturday against Ball State, making what will be his second career start. Last season, Miller started the opener against James Madison.
Miller is not changing anything about his approach to the game, however.
“Just continue to work, just continue to do what got me here,” Miler said. “What got me to NC State in the first place — that work-hard mentality. It’s in my blood, so it’s just something I am going to continue to do.”
Earlier this week, Doeren noted that Miller had to overcome a lot to get to this point, which Miller confirmed. He arrived at NC State with a torn ACL that required surgery.
Then last year against Boston College he suffered another knee injury.
“Of course, it was hard to overcome,” Miller said. “But I am definitely the type of guy that no matter what, I just continue to come out here and work. It was a hard thing to go through, but just having the trainers and coaches and my teammates support me made it 10 times easier.”
Miller added that one of the biggest differences between a year ago, besides being as healthy as he has been at any point, is now he understands how to manage his time.
“Having a better grip on my outside life so I can come back to the [Murphy Center] during the night or during whenever, getting the extra learning in,” he said.
Just getting the chance to play is also “special,” according to Miller.
“It was definitely a surreal feeling because it was a dream of mine coming from junior college, and then coming here and just being recruited — it’s definitely a great feeling,” he said.
Defensive line must overcome injuries
Don’t expect defensive line coach Kevin Patrick to use excuses or complain about the number of injuries he has had at his position group. A pair of four-star freshmen in Joshua Harris and C.J. Clark have battled injuries; in the case of Clark since before arriving early for spring practices.
Sixth-year senior end Deonte Holden missed the opener, while redshirt junior tackle Val Martin sat out week two versus Western Carolina.
During that WCU game, fifth-year senior end James Smith-Williams and redshirt freshman end Joseph Boletepeli were banged up and could not play against West Virginia. Smith-Williams is NC State’s best pass rusher, and his absence was notable in Morgantown.
“Anytime you have a guy like that not out there, you surely miss him,” Patrick said.
But Patrick truly embraces a “next man up” mentality.
“Whoever is ready to play, I’m ready to play them,” he explained. “I don’t get too far ahead. I’m worried about today. … That’s all I’m thinking about right now.”
Patrick, though, acknowledged that a byproduct of some of the injuries is that players with a lack of experience were seeing more snaps than before. And there was no way to simulate for them what they were going to face at West Virginia.
“That was a fast team,” Patrick said of WVU. “We have a bunch of young guys playing in a different environment than they have been accustomed to in the first two games. It should be valuable for our young guys down the road. You’re looking to see how they respond off that game.
“You have to go through it. Watching an away game and being on that field in an away game — it’s different.”
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