NC State defense is preparing for an up-tempo challenge
The NC State football team is taking nothing lightly about Saturday’s primetime showdown with Texas Tech. Just ask Wolfpack defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson.
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“We had the best Tuesday practice since I’ve been here,” Gibson, in his third season with NC State football, said.
Why?
“I just think watching [Texas Tech’s] film got our attention,” Gibson noted. “A great opponent at night at home, going to be a great atmosphere.”
In particular, Gibson has a lot of respect for the Red Raiders’ first-year offense coordinator Zach Kittley. Kittley’s roots date back to his days as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech when he helped coach NFL star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
Kittley has worked his way up the coaching ladder, and last year helped Western Kentucky quarterback Bailey Zappe become just the sixth QB in history to throw for at least 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in the same season.
Gibson noted that NC State will see a similar offense at Texas Tech that Kittley was running at Western Kentucky.
“He’s been in the Air Raid family for a long time,” Gibson added.
That means Saturday could be an active day for the NC State secondary. In an overtime win over ranked Houston last weekend, Texas Tech attempted 59 passes.
“It’s an up-tempo team that passes a lot, so that’s more opportunity for us to make plays,” NC State third-year sophomore cornerback Aydan White noted. “I think that is more like a secondary’s dream to have a team that passes a lot.”
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However, White and his NC State teammates will need to be prepared for a lot of snaps, not just passes. Texas Tech officially had 103 plays vs. Houston. Gibson noted that the Wolfpack defensive coaches are preparing to have upwards of 25 players ready to have snaps Saturday.
Gibson has some experience against these types of offenses. He was a defensive coordinator at West Virginia, Texas Tech’s conference rival in the Big 12, for 5 seasons prior to arriving at NC State.
“With these teams, they are going to go as fast as they can to run a lot of plays,” Gibson said. “I was a defensive coordinator in the Big 12 for 5 years. It was every week with that.”
One key that Gibson identified for NC State is being multiple on defense.
“They use a lot of up-tempo to try to get you on your heels,” Gibson said. “We have to do a great job and be able to get lined up and not blow calls and coverages.
“We can’t just stay simple and stay in the same call all night. Because if we do, they’ll pick us apart.”
Gibson also noted third down defenses will be key.
“We have to try to limit the big plays and get them off the field,” Gibson stated. “We have to be really good on third down. That’s our goal.”
