North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Football Prospectus: Defensive Line
6/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 18, 2004
A former linebacker, NC State head coach Chuck Amato gets a gleam in his eye when he discusses his 2004 defensive unit. The group boasts more experience than in Amato's previous campaigns, with six seniors and four juniors penciled in as possible starters.
"We played a lot of young players last season," he said. "But this season we'll reap the benefits of that. We have so many players with experience and we have solid senior leadership. We have some guys who are tough and fast."
The defensive front was completely new heading into last year, but what a difference a year makes. Mario Williams (6-7, 271, So.) earned freshman All-America honors from numerous publications and despite being a rookie, was often a dominating force at end, tallying 13 tackles for loss. Renaldo Moses (6-5, 211, *Jr.) started five games at the other end before suffering a season-ending knee injury, but hopes to be back for fall camp.
Speedy Manny Lawson (6-5, 220, Jr.) moved from outside linebacker to end where he started the bowl game, and he stayed at that slot in spring drills. Chip Cross (6-1, 256, *Jr.) also saw action at tackle and end.
Two young players, Maurice Charles (6-2, 250, So.) and James Martin, II (6-1, 228, So.) both played frequently as freshmen at end, combining for 616 total snaps. Martin will have to redshirt the 2004 campaign after undergoing ACL reconstruction this summer.
At tackle, John McCargo (6-2, 289, *So.) was one of the Pack's top performers, also earning freshman All-America accolades. "Johnny Mack" tallied 14 tackles for loss, one off the team lead. Dwayne Herndon (6-3, 280, *Jr.) has a wealth of potential and showed continued improvement over the latter part of the season, starting six contests down the stretch.
Two players who redshirted last season will provide depth at tackle: Martrel Brown (6-2, 274, *Fr.) and Kennie Covington (6-3, 268, *Jr.).
"We've got numbers on the defensive line, so we've got depth," Amato said. "Now we've got to make sure that it's quality depth. There is plenty of talent and plenty of speed and we're awfully tall up front, which gives us leverage. We need to find out how tough we can be. We need to be nasty, stirring things up and dominating on the defensive line."
Monday, June 21st, a look at the linebackers.
The NC State football prospectus was prepared by Annabelle Vaughan, NC State's Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations.
