When it comes to Saturday’s game at West Virginia, NC State will have a little bit of inside information thanks to safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator Tony Gibson.

Gibson is a Van, W.Va., native who went to school at Glenville State in Glenville, W.Va. He had two different coaching stints at WVU — from 2001-07 leading the defensive backs, and then from 2013-18 when he spent the last five seasons coaching the linebackers and coordinating the defense.

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When West Virginia’s former head coach Dana Holgorsen left for the same position at Houston during the offseason, Gibson was one of the candidates who interviewed to replace Holgorsen. West Virginia decided to hire Neal Brown from Troy instead.

When asked Wednesday if he felt he had a fair shot at the job, Gibson said, “You’d have to ask their administration.”

“But I prepared the best I could for it,” Gibson added. “Obviously they made a great choice in Neal. He’s a great football coach. He has experience, and he turned Troy around and won a lot of games.

“He’s a heck of a coach, and I know we’ll get their best shot.”

Gibson is not having sleepless nights yet thinking about his return to Morgantown, but he suspects it might come soon. He noted he spent 13 years there in total, and it’s where his children grew up.

Then there is the fact that he helped lure a lot of the current West Virginia players to the school and also coached some of them. Many of those players were vocal in their displeasure over his departure when Gibson was announced as a new assistant coach at NC State. They had hoped he would be their head coach.

“Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, but there’s a lot of kids there that I care about, that I recruited, that I coached,” Gibson said. “That’s the emotional side of it, but the football and the competitive side of it, I want to win — I don’t care who we are playing, where we’re playing, what time we’re playing.

“I want to make sure our guys are prepared and go in and give their best effort and make sure we’re prepared to go win a football game.”

To that end, Gibson has already told the team some of what it might expect when it plays at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, and he will do so again Friday during the walkthrough.

“It’s just another game at this point,” Gibson said. “I can’t get caught up in the emotion of going home, at a place I spent a lot of years at and helped recruit a bunch of the guys. What I have to do is do a great job of preparing our guys and making sure they are ready to play.

“Obviously I've got some great insight of what the crowd is going to be like and all of that to pass on to them, but right now my focus is to get our guys ready.”

The good news is Gibson also knows where the visiting locker room is located. He spent a year at Pittsburgh — West Virginia’s hated rival — in 2011.

“Obviously the hatred for Pitt there added a little extra,” Gibson said. “I don’t think they hate NC State right now.”

NC State sophomore Tyler Baker-Williams was trying to find himself a year ago. The Raleigh native played some running back and safety, but it wasn’t until this past spring he found a positional home.

Baker-Williams is starting to hit his stride at nickel under assistant coach Aaron Henry, and has enjoyed the most extensive action of his young Wolfpack career. He played 25 snaps in relief of fifth-year senior starter Stephen Griffin, accumulating three tackles and two passes broken up against Western Carolina. The 6-1, 205-pounder was in for a career-high 39 plays in the season opener versus East Carolina, but didn’t record any statistics.

Baker-Williams was encouraged by his play against WCU and how he is starting to garner a good amount of snaps. He compared it to being back in high school and gave himself a “B or C” for his efforts against the Catamounts.

“It’s very different from a year ago after playing running back and safety,” Baker-Williams said. “I was just moving around doing what is best for the team. I feel like I found my spot now at nickel, and I am enjoying it.”

Baker-Williams started his prep career at Raleigh Ravenscroft, and then made the move to Southeast Raleigh High for his last two years. He caught the eye of the NC State coaching staff while participating in a June camp, and it was an easy decision to pick the Wolfpack after he received a scholarship offer.

The main question was what position would Baker-Williams settle in at. He was a quality wide receiver and played a variety of defensive positions, from outside linebacker to safety while at Southeast Raleigh.

“Southeast prepared me a lot because I played everywhere,” Baker-Williams said. “Coach [Daniel] Finn, I miss him, but he prepared me. When I got here, it was a smooth transition.”

Nickel takes advantage of his all-around athleticism.

“At nickel, it’s like a hybrid where you can cover and fit the gap,” Baker-Williams said. “It’s a physical position, but you also have to be on your P’s and Q’s when it comes to the covering part.

“In the middle of the field, the quickest receivers, you have to guard them. You have to be locked in on every play.”

Baker-Williams has consistently received praise from the Wolfpack coaches for being one of the most athletic players on the team. He’s now learning how to translate that to the field.

“I feel like I’m filling in [the deficiencies to become a more polished player], and I know what I need to get better at,” Baker-Williams said.

NC State sophomore cornerback Teshaun Smith knows he has to be ready when called upon, and he was needed against Western Carolina last Saturday.

Senior cornerback Nick McCloud got injured in the season opener against East Carolina, and missed the Western Carolina contest. McCloud is also not listed on this week’s depth chart. In stepped Smith, who finished with three tackles in 36 snaps against the Catamounts.

The 6-3, 180-pounder started twice last year and played in 11 games, so he’s essentially like having a “third starter” at the position because he knows how to be ready.

Smith finished with 11 tackles a year ago and added an interception against North Carolina. Starting on the road at West Virginia this Saturday won’t faze him.

“I’m real confident because the older guys have prepared me, and the coaches have prepared me,” Smith said. “I’ve always been prepared for when my number is called.

“The way I practice, when game day comes around, I’m not nervous at all.”

WVU didn’t get its passing attack untracked in a 38-7 loss at Missouri last Saturday, but it does feature some fast and taller wide receivers, including former Florida State wideout George Campbell and ex-Alabama wide receiver T.J. Simmons.

“They are really disciplined,” Smith said. “They have a lot of talent in the receiving corps, but we’ll be prepared.”

Missouri was also able to deflect some passes and pounce on footballs that went off the hands of WVU receivers to create some turnovers.

“Our coaches put us in the right position to make plays, so if it happens, it happens,” Smith said. “We are just ready to go and play.”

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