NC State DC Tony Gibson confident Pack defense will improve ahead of Tennessee’s fast-paced offense

NC State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson was not shy about how the Wolfpack’s defense took some time to settle in against Western Carolina to open the season. NC State dropped back-to-back interceptions on the first two plays of the game and it took until the last play for the team’s first sack of the fall. 

So while the Pack’s defense slowly woke up against the Catamounts, which it was able to pitch a shutout in the fourth quarter against, Gibson knows his unit will not have that same luxury in the Duke’s Mayo Classic against Tennessee this weekend at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

“It’s time to shut up or put up right now,” Gibson said Tuesday. “It’s all out there: a nationally- ranked team in a great stadium. The world’s going to be watching, what are we going to do?”

Tennessee, which won its season opener 69-3 over Chattanooga over the weekend, boasts one of the most prolific offenses in the country. The Volunteers operate at a lightning quick pace in between plays, oftentimes sprinting back to the line to get the next snap off — that tempo led to 90 plays in the season opener alone (NC State logged 73 in its first game, in comparison). 

In order to attempt to replicate that, the Wolfpack has used two huddles in order to have a rapid-fire succession of plays coming at the team’s defense. The biggest challenge in a game like this? How NC State will communicate its play calls in a fast manner.  

“The speed of this game, we haven’t seen anything like it in preseason or fall camp, as far as the tempo they use,” Gibson said. “That’s our biggest adjustment right now. But what we’re looking for is we have to play very fundamentally sound and we have to communicate. … If we don’t, it will be ugly.”

NC State has tried to simplify its play calls down a little bit, according to graduate safety Donovan Kaufman, which would allow the entire unit to understand the play call right away. In addition to that, echoing each call will also occur on the field so all 11 defenders can stay on the same page. 

Keeping the defense together as one is not only key against the Volunteers’ fast-paced offense, but it is uber important since Tennessee has one of the top young quarterbacks in the country under center: Nico Iamaleava. 

Iamaleava made his first-career start against Chattanooga, where he threw for 314 yards and three touchdowns with a 78.6% completion rate in just the first half. He was pulled from the game at halftime after his passes were like a hot knife through butter. Iamaleva diced up the Mocs’ defense over the middle going 14-for-14 with 184 yards and all three of his scores in between the hash marks. 

“He’s very poised in the pocket. He can extend plays, he’s smart, understands their system and what they want to do,” Gibson said of Iamaleava. “We’re going to have our work cut out. We’re going to show up and hopefully be better than we were a week ago.”

Iamaleva’s smooth throwing will put pressure on NC State’s secondary, which will receive a boost from Ohio State transfer Ja’Had Carter’s return at nickel this weekend. The Pack had a few communication breakdowns in the secondary last week, but Gibson thought another week’s worth of practice would help resolve that problem going forward. 

Even though this result will not impact NC State’s quest for an ACC Championship, it could become an integral part of the Wolfpack’s College Football Playoff at-large resume. Gibson isn’t obviloous to that — and he’s rather confident his unit will be ready to go from the opening kickoff.

“Obviously, right now with the format of everything, your conference games matter. But this is a national game against a great program,” Gibson said. “We’re going to do better, I promise you that. Defensively, we’re going to be better — or they won’t play.”

Kaufman, the hard-hitting free safety from Auburn, has played on this stage before. But now, under the lights against the Volunteers, it is amplified even more with a top-25 showdown in the Queen City. 

And executing the game plan with an elite attention to detail will be key for the Wolfpack.

“You come to programs like this to play games like this,” Kaufman said. “You’re going to be in front of the world, so at the end of the day, you’re either going to be embarrassed or do what you have to do. There’s no in between.”