NC State DL Justin Terrell, Josh Alexander-Felton could have increased roles in Military Bowl

Freshman defensive lineman Justin Terrell’s first six months on NC State‘s campus have been full of learning experiences. 

He arrived in Raleigh over the summer, and he noted he didn’t have the right mentality for preseason conditioning. Eventually, he worked through it and felt like himself again. Later on this fall, Terrell had his “Welcome to College Football” moment on the practice field as graduate center Zeke Correll pancaked the young nose tackle. 

That, too, was a learning opportunity for the former three-star recruit — one he can laugh about now. 

“It’s not my best moment,” Terrell said with a smirk this week, “but I got him back.”

Now, Terrell and fellow freshman defensive lineman Josh Alexander-Felton have the chance to see increased playing time in the Wolfpack’s Military Bowl appearance against East Carolina on Dec. 28. 

NC State is without redshirt sophomore nose tackle DJ Jackson, the primary backup to Brandon Cleveland, since he entered the transfer portal (and committed to Liberty), which opened the door for Terrell to earn more snaps. The defensive tackle now is listed as NC State’s top reserve at nose tackle on its bowl depth chart. Alexander-Felton, meanwhile, continues to impress on the practice field and could find himself on the field at defensive end more often as well.

The two defensive linemen played a total of 28 total snaps on defense this season as both preserved their redshirts and can use the bowl game to their advantage. Alexander-Felton appeared in two games and made one tackle, while Terrell played in three contests this fall. 

“I’m very excited to see what they do,” Cleveland said of Alexander-Felton and Terrell last week. “They’re like little brothers to me, so I’m going to keep pushing them and help them be the best they can be.”

But for Terrell, who seemed to earn a slightly bigger role by the end of the regular season with rotational snaps at Georgia Tech and North Carolina over the final two weeks, the leap he has made since he joined the Pack has been immense. 

The Rome, Ga., native admitted he wasn’t prepared for the Wolfpack’s preseason conditioning, which led to a negative mentality. He was able to flip that switch in his head, which in turn, allowed Terrell to continue to develop along NC State’s defensive line. 

“I’ve seen good, positive change in myself,” Terrell said. “We have great coaches who want you to work, want you to play early and had a great plan for me when I first got here. When I came here in the summer until now, it’s a big change.”

The 6-foot-3, 280-pound defensive tackle said he tuned out all the outside noise and wasn’t worried about not playing as a freshman. Of course, his goal was to make an impact on the field, but he was more focused on improving himself for the future. 

And both seemed to happen down the stretch of the season. 

“When you first come in here, a lot of people do tell you you might not play,” Terrell said. “I just learned to keep my head up, keep working, keep grinding. Now, I’m here. It’s working.”

While Alexander-Felton and Terrell have the opportunity to earn a season-high snap count in the Military Bowl, the extra practices NC State received ahead of its postseason game might be more valuable. 

NC State coach Dave Doeren is a proponent of a development program, which NC State hangs its hat on each year, and the opportunity to see young players with increased practice reps is the ultimate prize of a bowl game. 

“That’s what’s so important about the bowl for the team is the visual for the coaches to see where these guys are at and to be able to provide really honest feedback going into the offseason for them,” Doeren said.

The Wolfpack has seen a glimpse of the future along the defensive line as Alexander-Felton and Terrell continue to take steps forward on the team’s practice fields. Now, they’ll have an opportunity to put that on display at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium next Saturday against the Pirates.