Wolfpack Secondary Looking For the Right Formula

Coming into the '09 season the defensive secondary was a concern, and after 5 games it still is. In the preseason, most people assumed that DeAndre Morgan and Clem Johnson would be starters, but everyone was wondering who would step up and claim the other to spots. Things got interesting when Coach O'Brien announced that Redshirt Freshman C.J. Wilson had beaten out DeAndre Morgan for the spot at Cornerback before the South Carolina game. Things continued to raise eyebrows when true freshman Brandan Bishop started over Senior Clem Johnson in the Wake Forest game, when Johnson was back to full strength. NC State's defense faired pretty well through the first four games, giving up only 125 yards in the air. This includes holding South Carolina to 148 passing yards and Pittsburgh to 206. With that being said, the secondary began to show signs of weaknesses in the Pitt game, showing a vulnerability to giving up the big play. In last weeks game against Wake Forest, the wheels completely fell off. Wake Forest quarterback Riley Skinner carved up the secondary for 361 yards. Despite the secondary's youth and the fact that they were facing a premier quarterback, one has to wonder what happened to the secondary against Wake Forest.

"We certainly made same changes after the game on Saturday (Wake Forest). I think the Freshmen were overwhelmed a little bit by the scope of the game," O'Brien said. "Even though they are very athletic and probably good prospects down the road, we need to settle down and go with more experience this week. We're playing against the #1 pass defense in the conference. We've made some blows back there the past couple weeks that we just can't afford. Until someone steps up and grabs the job, I guess we'll keep working until we find the right combination."

Both Earl Wolff and Brandan Bishop showed tremendous potential in the first 4 games. Wolff was all over the field making 7 tackles against South Carolina, which earned him the starting job for the next four games. Bishop made some huge plays with Pitt in the red zone, making a tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the Wolfpack's final defensive series that sealed the victory. With all of this being said, both of these young men were seemingly no where to be found in the Wake Forest game.

Senior captain Willie Young hopes to help the young secondary carry the burden. He acknowledges their youth, but also their talent and potential. Young believes that it is his responsibility to help encourage them and help them obtain their full potential.

"We've got a lot of young guys in the secondary," Young said. "It's obvious now we are going to be attacked more often there now. I've just got to do a better job encouraging those guys. I've got to tell them to keep pushing on. You've got to forget about the last play. You can't dwell upon the last play. Not in the game of football. You won't be successful at all if you dwell upon the past."

Coach O'Brien has completely shaken up the secondary in this weeks depth chart. Experience seems to be the recipe that O'Brien is going with against Duke. Seniors Clem Johnson and Bobby Floyd will be starting at both Safety positions. O'Brien had high words of praise for Senior Bobby Floyd at Monday's press conference.

"He's a leader on the football team. He always has been. He has a tremendous amount of respect from everyone on the football team. He's really a tough kid. He hits as hard as anybody. He's a Navy kind of football player. He just loves football. He doesn't care if he has a helmet or not, he's going to go out and play the game. That's the kind of players we want."

Redshirt Sophomore Justin Byers has been moved from Safety to Corner, which is the position he was recruited to play in the first place.

"He came in as a Corner and that's what he was recruited to be," O'Brien said. "Our problem last year was at Safety and we had to play him there. This past weekend he played better for us at the Boundary Corner position than he did at Safety."

The Free Corner position was left wide open in the depth chart this week. Redshirt Freshman C.J. Wilson and Redshirt Junior DeAndre Morgan will battle all week long for the starting spot.

The secondary will face a big challenge this week in the Duke passing attack, which ranks 1st in the ACC and 14th nationally. This weekend is a chance for the veterans in the secondary to step up and show their worth against a formidable foe.