NC State depth chart breakdown - defensive line: ‘Big 0’ Dawkins will get his chance
Last spring the NCAA announced that football players can start wearing the jersey No. 0. Shortly after the announcement, N.C. State redshirt freshman defensive lineman Terrell Dawkins sent a text message to Dave Doeren, formally requesting a number change.
Doeren said about 10 players asked for new numbers, but Dawkins was the first to request 0.
Dawkins (6-4, 250) pleaded his case, giving Doeren reasons he felt he earned the chance to switch numbers. His numbers in the weight room had gone up. In runs and conditioning he was always ahead of the line and his grades had improved.
“My freshman year I felt like my head wasn’t in the right space,” Dawkins said. “As soon as winter workouts came around I felt like I was a whole new person in this program. I started taking things a lot more seriously.”
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Doeren wasn’t going to give him an answer right away. He wanted to see how Dawkins progressed.
A few days before camp started Doeren called Dawkins and told him he could switch to No. 0. Not sure if it was the number change, but through the first few weeks of camp, Doeren has raved about Dawkins performance in practice.
“Terrell Dawkins had a really good couple of days,” Doeren said. “He’s put on some very good weight, he’s running well, he’s improved his practice habits. He’s been very impressive, it’s been fun to see him out there.”
Dawkins played in four games primarily on special teams last season. Even though he wanted to play, he eventually realized that taking a redshirt season was best for him.
“I just wanted to see what it felt like, I just wanted to get a feel,” Dawkins said. “Those few snaps I got on special teams allowed me to see where my physicality was at, where my ability stood up against other people.”
While Dawkins isn’t expected to start this year, he should be a key rotation player on the Wolfpack line.
Here’s a breakdown of N.C. State’s defensive line position:
Who is expected to start?
Junior defensive end Ibrahim Kante (6-4, 256) started six games a year ago and had 15 tackles. He should be joined up front by junior defensive tackle Alim McNeill (6-2, 315) and a battle between transfer Daniel Joseph (6-3, 260) and sophomore Savion Jackson (6-3, 265). Expectations are high for McNeill, a Raleigh native who started seven games a year ago and finished with 28 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Joseph played in 24 contests at Penn State before transferring to N.C. State for his final season.
Who are the key reserves?
Here’s where things get interesting. Of the backups, only Jackson (if he doesn’t beat out Joseph) and senior Val Martin (6-2, 297) have major game experience. The rest of the reserves are redshirt freshmen who were highly recruited but have yet to make an impact. Gibson will lean heavily on the duo of defensive ends C.J. Clark (6-3, 298) and Terrell Dawkins (6-4, 250) as well as tackle Josh Harris (6-4, 344) to contribute right away. All three played in just four games a year ago, allowing them to maintain their redshirt status. Martin has appeared in 14 games during his two years in Raleigh.
Who might surprise us?
Doeren spoke highly of Dawkins when asked who was having a good fall camp. Dawkins has added weight and said he understands the scheme better, but has yet to play any snaps at defensive end, playing in four games on special teams a year ago. A year older, he could push for more playing time on the edge. True freshman Davin Vann (6-2, 296) has been playing at end and tackle in camp.
What are the group’s strengths?
The defensive line was stout against the run in 2019, allowing just 3.9 yards per carry. McNeill is built like the prototypical nose guard and is athletic enough to get off blocks and cause chaos. Getting stops behind the line (13 career TFLs) is what McNeill does well. He also registered 5.5 sacks. Gibson’s unit plays physical at the line of scrimmage and he will have plenty of bodies to swap in and out.
What are the group’s weaknesses?
Experience. If the regulars get hurt or can’t play because of a COVID-19 cluster, what will N.C. State get from the backups? That’s the unknown right now since most of the reserves haven’t been asked to play many significant snaps yet. Joseph, Kante and McNeill can’t be expected to play every down, so a lot of new faces will be thrown into the fire from game one. The Wolfpack finished with 35 sacks in 2019, good enough for sixth in the league. They had 26 sacks through the first six games, but just eight in the second half of the season, when opponents averaged more than 40 points per game. A closer look shows that N.C. State had 16 total sacks in back-to-back games against Florida State and Syracuse to start conference play, but cooled down as the season went on.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 11:52 AM with the headline "NC State depth chart breakdown - defensive line: ‘Big 0’ Dawkins will get his chance."
