NC State released their Depth Chart for the season opening football game against East Carolina this Saturday.

Here’s a look at the Defensive side of the ball followed by a breakdown.

(via GoPack)

Defensive End

Graduate Senior James Smith-Williams started all of 2018, and is one of the starters at Defensive End once again. Last year Smith-Williams racked up 9.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. He was 1 of 4 players to earn the title of Captain last night.

Smith-Williams will be backed up by both Redshirt Sophomore Ibrahim Kante and True Freshman Savion Jackson, with an “OR” separating their names. Kante saw action in all 13 games last year, and started in the regular season finale against East Carolina. He 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 1 sack in 204 plays. Kante flashed as a special talent last season, which means Jackson has made a big impression quickly to be on the 2-deep. Doeren spoke highly of Jackson in his press conference today. Jackson was also named to the FWAA’s Freshman All-American Watch List recently.

Redshirt Freshman Joseph Boletepeli will be the other starting Defensive End on the other side of Smith-Williams in Week 1. Boletepeli played in 3 games last year, picking up 2 tackles on 32 plays. Boletepeli is one of the highlights of this depth chart, working his way past both Graduate Senior Deonte Holden and Redshirt Sophomore Xavier Lyas.

Holden and Lyas have an “OR” between their names as the backups to Boletepeli.

Holden was impressive in 2018, which makes Boletepeli’s arise that much impressive. In 2018, Holden had 9.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 410 snaps. Holden is playing a rare 6th year of eligibility this year.

After not playing in the first 7 games, Lyas played 82 snaps over the final 6 games, picking up 2 of his 2.5 sacks in the FSU game.

Nose Tackle

Like Boletepeli, Redshirt Junior Val Martin pulled off a shocker, earning the starting Nose Tackle job over Sophomore Alim McNeil.

Martin, like Larrell Murchison beside him, is a JUCO transfer. Martin didn’t play in the first 8 games of 2018, but 66 snaps in the final 4 games (6 tackles). Maybe it took a little time for Martin to catch up to the speed of the game, but it’s obvious that he caught up. Martin’s named flashed on the depth chart at Nose Tackle last year behind Eurndraus Bryant from time to time.

Martin beat out McNeil for the job, who earned Freshman All-American honors last year. McNeil saw action in all 13 games last year (started against Wake Forest), picking up 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in 400 plays from scrimmage (Martin only played 66 snaps). McNeil played at Rush Tackle behind Murchison last year, and has moved to Nose this year.

Rush Tackle

Redshirt Senior Larrell Murchison started all 13 games last season, making a name for himself. Murchison tallied 8 tackles for loss and 4 sacks in 536 snaps in 2018. He earned the team’s Cary Brewbaker Award for Defensive Lineman of the Year, as well as the Alpha Wolf Rising Award, which is given to the Most Improved Player. Murchison is heading into his final year with NFL Draft buzz.

Redshirt Sophomore Dante Johnson is listed as Murchison’s backup. Johnson has yet to see the field over his first two years in Raleigh due to injuries. Johnson might be listed as Murchison’s backup because True Freshman Joshua Harris and C.J. Clark are both dinged up right now.

Middle Linebacker

Redshirt Sophomore Isaiah Moore played in all 13 games last season, starting all but one. He earned the team’s Freshman of the Year award in 2018. Moore ranked 3rd on the team in tackles (69), tackles for loss (7.5) and QB Hurries (6).

Redshirt Freshman CJ Hart played 4 games on Special Teams last year, and has generated good buzz in camp, but it seems as if True Freshman Drake Thomas has made a bigger splash. Both Thomas and Hart are listed as Moore’s backup heading into Week 1, with an “OR” between their names, but Thomas is listed first. Thomas is the brother of Wide Receiver Thayer Thomas, and one of the hardest hitting and instinctual linebackers I’ve seen on high school film.

Weakside Linebacker

Junior Louis Acceus was Moore’s backup last season, but now will fill the shoes of Germaine Pratt at Weakside Linebacker. Acceus played in 12 games in 2018, starting in 1 (Marshall). He had 25 tackles in 200 plays.

Some thought that Redshirt Junior Brock Miller might beat out Acceus for the starting job, but he finds himself behind him, with an “OR” in between his name and True Freshman Payton Wilson. Miller played in all 13 games, starting against UNC and Texas A&M, picking up 6 tackles in each. What Acceus and Miller both realize, is that a healthy Wilson is a very good football player.

Nickel

After battling injury at the beginning of the season, Redshirt Senior Stephen Giffin (Tennessee Transfer) started the final 6 games of 2018. Some of this had to do with getting healthy, and some of it had to do with the struggle of Tanner Ingle. Griffin played in all 13 games (482 plays), picking up 41 tackles and 5 pass breakups.

Sophomore Tyler Baker-Williams will be backing up Griffin heading into Week 1. Baker-Williams came to NC State as a Safety, played a little Running Back due to necessity at the beginning of 2018, and found his way back to Safety at the end of the year.

Cornerback

Senior Nick McCloud returns as the starter at Left Cornerback, and earned the title of Captain last night. McCloud had 10 passes defended (8 breakups and 2 interceptions), which ranked 10th in the ACC.

Sophomore Teshaun Smith was one of only two Freshman to start multiple games for NC State last season, and saw action in 11 games. In 322 snaps, Smith had 9 tackles, 1 pass breakup, and 1 interception. Smith will enter Week 1 as McCloud’s backup.

Like McCloud, Junior Chris Ingram returns as the starter at Right Cornerback. Ingram played in all 13 games last year, starting in all but one. He also had 10 passes defended (9 breakups and 1 interception), which ranked 10th in the ACC.

Senior Kishawn Miller shocked some by starting over Ingram in the season opener last year, but quickly lost the job to him. Miller played in 9 games last year, picking up 7 tackles (1 for loss) in 78 plays. He enters as the backup to Ingram in Week 1.

Safety

Redshirt Senior Jarius Morehead was tabbed as a Captain last night, and is entering his 3rd season as a starter at Strong Safety. Morehead started in all 13 games in 2018, picking up 81 tackles, 4 pass breakups, and 3 interceptions. He earned the team award for best defensive back.

Sophomore De’Von Graves played in 8 games as a True Freshman, and saw action from the line of scrimmage in 5 of them at Cornerback (33 plays – 3 tackles). Graves has been moved from Safety to Cornerback.

Sophomore Tanner Ingle has been moved from Nickel to Free Safety, and enters Week 1 as the starter. Free Safety seems like a better fit for Ingle, who is the best contact player on the team according to Doeren, giving himself space to roam. In 2018, Ingle started at Nickel the first 7 games of the season, racking up 44 tackles (3 for loss).

Redshirt Junior Isaiah Stallings saw action at Safety in 6 games (65 snaps) in 2018, and enters 2019 as Ingle’s backup.

Place Kicker

Sophomore Chris Dunn obviously returns as the starter at Place Kicker. As a Freshman, he was a 2nd Team All-ACC performer. His 21 field goals broke the school record, and his 120 points scored were also a school record. Dunn led the ACC in field goal percentage (88.5%), and ranked 8th in the FBS.

Redshirt Sophomore Trenton Gill will serve as Dunn’s backup heading into Week 1.

Punter & Holder

Redshirt Sophomore Trenton Gill was awarded a scholarship last night, and was named the starting punter over Redshirt Sophomore Mackenzie Morgan heading into Week 1. Gill played in one game in 2018 against ECU, kicking the ball off 3 times, with one going for a touchback.

Gill has big shoes to fill, following after AJ Cole, who recently won the starting punting job for the Oakland Raiders.

Long Snapper

True Freshman Joe Shimko will now fill the shoes of 4-year starter Tyler Griffiths. When Shimko committed to NC State, he was ranked as the #7 long snapper in the 2020 recruiting class. Redshirt Junior Jackson Quiggle will back up Shimko.

Punt Returner

Redshirt Sophomore Thayer Thomas returns as the Wolfpack’s Punt Returner in 2019. He returned all 15 punts in 2018, averaging 9.3 yards per return, which ranked 6th in the ACC.

Graduate Senior Tabari Hines, who also is a Slot Receiver, will be backing up Thomas at Punt Returner. Hines wasn’t exactly spectacular at returning punts at Wake Forest, averaging 3.1 yards per return (28 returns).

Kick Returner

True Freshman Keyon Lesane has earned the starting Kick Returner job heading into Week 1. He will fill the shoes of Receiver Maurice Trowell who returned 17 of 20 kickoffs last year. Trowell averaged 22.0 yards per kickoff return in 2018.

Redshirt Freshman Trent Pennix will be backing up Lesane heading into Week 1, and will look to apply his newfound speed.