NC State’s injury luck last season was, generally speaking, pretty good—just not in the secondary.
The Wolfpack had its starting safety tandem on the field for a grand total of five plays before Jakeen Harris went down for the season against UConn; Rakeim Ashford was also hurt in that game and later had his season cut short. Aydan White and Devan Boykin were nicked up, and Boykin later tore an ACL in bowl practice, which is about as bad as one’s luck can get.
Injuries do at least provide opportunities for reserves they might not otherwise get, but if we could avoid another epidemic here, that’d be nice.
Shyheim Battle could have returned but opted instead to take his NFL shot. Jakeen Harris could have returned but opted instead to make a very unfortunate transfer decision. Robert Kennedy might actually be the toughest of these three to replace, given that NC State has more talent waiting in the wings at the other two spots.
Boykin was excellent when healthy last season and NC State needs him to be good in 2024, whenever he finally gets back on the field. The December knee injury forced him to miss all of the spring, and while he’s close to recovered at this point, he may need to ease back into the rotation in September.
White’s decision to exit the portal and come back changed State’s outlook in the secondary substantially. It looks like State will be able to replace Battle’s quality play in the form of Brandon Cisse, who has impressed throughout the offseason, but White would have been a whole different ball o’ wax. Some notes from ESPN on White’s career:
He has been targeted 116 times since the start of the 2022 season, and he has allowed just three completions of more than 20 yards. Opposing QBs have posted a woeful 10.9 raw QBR when targeting White in that span, and he has allowed just 4.1 yards per target, tied for the fifth-lowest mark among Power 5 DBs. Of the four players ahead of him, one is still active and three were previous All-Americans, including two who were selected in the first round of this year’s NFL draft.
So yeah, glad you’re back, Aydan. The ability to leave its corners on an island has been key to opening up what Tony Gibson likes to do defensively, and there Cisse still needs to prove himself when it counts, but we know we can count on White.
NC State made a lot of portal additions in the secondary to bolster depth and give it options at nickel, which is where the most uncertainty lies heading into this fall. Tamarcus Cooley (Maryland) may be the heir apparent there, though he’s young. It’s possible we could see one of State’s safety transfers here as well.
Those safeties—Ja’Had Carter (Ohio State), DK Kaufman (Auburn), and Kerry Martin (Akron)—bring proven quality and some flexibility, and with Sean Brown’s move to linebacker plus Boykin’s uncertain status, all three could be heavy in the rotation early. Bishop Fitzgerald returns to the fold there, too.
Veteran Devon Marshall was a productive corner at Villanova and should make the two-deep, while Corey Coley (Maryland) and Jackson Vick should contribute.
NC State has talented young players on the back end that could force their way into playing time also: Daemon Fagan, Zack Meyers, and Ronnie Royal were four-star prospects who will be a big part of the future at safety, though obviously State isn’t counting on that just yet.
Thanks to the portal adds, NC State has as much depth in the secondary as I can remember. The staff did well to shield the team from more possible injury calamity, and while it may take some time for everyone to get sorted once the lights come on, the secondary should be a strength.