‘D’ line is backbone for N.C. State
Seniors form one of top units in the country
Defensive linemen live in their own world with its own vocabulary. To be called a “dude,” for example, is pretty high praise. To be a “war daddy,” on the other hand, is a descriptor saved for the very best — and North Carolina State’s four senior defensive linemen aren’t there quite yet.
“When you’re termed a war daddy, you are it. You are the man,” N.C. State defensive line coach Kevin Patrick said.
So while defensive end Kentavius Street may be a dude, Patrick said, and though fellow end Bradley Chubb’s quick reaction times make him “like one of the XMen,” meaning Nightcrawler, the teleporting mutant … they’re not war daddies, not yet. Likewise with tackles Justin Jones, the “twitchiest” of the group, and B.J. Hill, whom Patrick terms “the silent assassin.”
“Mass kicks ass, you know what I mean? Being able to win the line of scrimmage as a defensive lineman is first and foremost,” N.C. State coach Dave Doeren said.
The high standard has been set: Be a war daddy. The potential is there for these four seniors, a tightknit unit driven by one another, their defensive coaches and the heavy task placed on their shoulders — not only to car- ry the Wolfpack defense but also to set the tone for a program aiming to take the next step after three bowl berths in a row.
“Whatever we do, that’s how the team is going to react,” Chubb said. “I feel like we’ve got to be that spark for the team. All four of us believe that. And it’s good to put pressure on our shoulders, because it holds us to a higher standard.”
N.C. State’s recent benchmark for line play came in 2005, when the Wolfpack’s defensive front featured four future NFL draft picks, three in the first round and one, end Mario Williams, who was chosen first overall. “This defensive line has that ability,” Doeren said.
One of the four seniors, Chubb, considered entering the NFL draft as the Wolfpack began preparing for their bowl game. Doeren crunched the numbers, pointing out the difference in signing bonus between the first end taken in the draft and the sixth or seventh, where Chubb was generally ranked by scouting services. “He can do more,” Doeren said. “That’s why he came back.”
That played a part in his return, as did the opportunity to complete a journey with his three teammates. The group enrolled in 2014, on the heels of the Wolfpack’s rocky nine-loss debut under Doeren, and has developed a bond that goes beyond football — with weekly dinners, inside jokes and handshakes that tell the story of a cohesive unit ready to embrace the challenge of lifting N.C. State beyond the seven-win plateau.
“We came in together and bonded together,” Chubb said. “We’re going to have some hard times, and it’s definitely frustrating. But to know that those guys are going to have my back and I’ve got their back, it just makes everything better.”
Off the field, the connection among the Wolfpack’s foursome might be seen in the pregame handshakes and questionable math. Each lineman has an individualized shake with the other: Jones and Hill will bow and dance, for example; Jones and Chubb will do a one-two boxing combination capped with an uppercut; and Hill and Street will stand face to face, pantomime fixing their make-believe ties and then shake hands.
During a team dinner earlier in their college careers, Jones was on his phone looking at a picture of the foursome and came to a conclusion. “We’re all connected with math,” he said, walking a reporter through the numbers: Jones wears No. 27, and adding two and seven gets nine, Chubb’s jersey number. Street is No. 35, and adding three and five gets eight. Combining nine and eight gets Hill, No. 98.
“He told us that and we busted out laughing,” Chubb said. “Now it’s become a thing.”
On the field, meanwhile, each lineman fits a role. Street and Chubb fill the box score from their spots on the outside; the pair combined for 151⁄2 sacks and 31 tackles for losses a year ago, cementing their status as one of the Football Bowl Subdivision’s most productive end tandems heading into 2017. Jones is a 330-pound ball of energy, Patrick said, with a quick first step that belies his size.
Hill is the underrated and overlooked foundational piece — “If he’s not the best, he’s right next to the best,” Patrick said. N.C. State relies on his ability to swallow blockers and create pressure from his spot at nose tackle, creating a positive trickle-down effect on the entire defense.
“I think of ourselves as the rock wall,” Street said. “We believe we can make every play. I think that’s what pushed us to the level where we are now.”
Few teams on the Football Bowl Subdivision level — maybe Alabama, Ohio State and a handful of other elites — can tout a line with four starters seemingly destined for the NFL. That face alone might help separate N.C. State from the middle of the pack in the Atlantic Coast Conference, for instance, and put a challenge to Florida State and Clemson for control of the Atlantic Division.
It also makes this one of the unique teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. While others take their cue from quarterback play, an inventive offensive scheme or explosive skill talent, the Wolfpack will take a different tack: Following the lead of its defensive line. If these four seniors embrace the challenge — and become war daddies in the process — the Wolfpack just might exceed expectations.
“You feel their presence in everything they do,” Patrick said. “When the big guys do it, not only will this defense follow, the whole team will follow.
“It can change a game — hell, it can change a game before it even starts.”