North Carolina State University Athletics
Jones Leads Way for Improved Secondary Play
10/2/2016 8:36:00 AM | Football
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Wolfpack to Celebrate #CF50 with Nationally Televised Contest vs. Notre Dame
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State free safety Josh Jones had some regrets about his sophomore season in 2015. He didn't play up to his expectations. Neither he nor the Wolfpack defense played up to their coaches' expectations.
He was determined to be better as a junior, without being bothered by what happened last year.
"There's no rewind button in life," Jones said following Saturday's 33-16 victory over Wake Forest at Carter-Finley Stadium. "You have to keep moving forward."
Against the Deacons, the junior free safety from Walled Lake, Michigan, did that by knocking the Demon Deacons backwards with a team-high 12 tackles, his first sack of the year and his second tackle for loss.
He had two pass break-ups against a Wake Forest offense that was trying to go deep against a Wolfpack defense that, by plan, left its secondary isolated against Deacon receivers.
"We were loading the box because of their run game," said Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren after the game. "We felt like we needed to play some tighter coverage to keep them from nickel and diming us, which is what they had done to some teams.
"With that, there are going to be some deep balls and we needed our secondary to play well. They did a good job of executing our plan."
Jones, in particular, was key to what defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable wanted to do. On Wake's first two possessions, Jones charged up from his safety position to stop Deacon running back Matt Colburn, who entered the game following back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances, for gains of zero and one yards, putting the Deacs in long-yardage situations. Wake managed just one first down in those first two possessions, and before the first quarter ended, the Wolfpack had built a 17-0 lead.
"Our offense helped us out big-time," Jones said. "They were clicking, and the defense did what we were supposed to do. We still have some things to clean up, but overall we played great."
Doeren had the same assessment, and was particularly happy that both the offense and defense came out clicking.
"We talked about it all week; Wake is a team that wants to play a four-quarter game," Doeren said. "We didn't feel like they were built offensively to catch up. We felt like they were built to control the ball and keep their defense off the field and grind you out. If we could get a lead, we would be making them beat us left-handed."
Colburn finished the game with just 39 yards rushing on 10 carries. While Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford threw for 263 yards, he was sacked four times and had just two passes that went longer than 25 yards against the Wolfpack secondary.
For Jones, it felt good to be the guy complimented in the postgame interviews by coaches and teammates who have noticed his offseason commitment to improvement and maturity. It doesn't erase his negative memories of last year, but it's a move in the right direction for this season.
"I wouldn't say it was a big step for me personally," Jones said. "But it what my coaches expect out of me. It is what I expect out of myself.
"Each and every week, I'm going to go out and prepare to the best of my abilities."
By Tim Peeler
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Wolfpack to Celebrate #CF50 with Nationally Televised Contest vs. Notre Dame
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State free safety Josh Jones had some regrets about his sophomore season in 2015. He didn't play up to his expectations. Neither he nor the Wolfpack defense played up to their coaches' expectations.
He was determined to be better as a junior, without being bothered by what happened last year.
"There's no rewind button in life," Jones said following Saturday's 33-16 victory over Wake Forest at Carter-Finley Stadium. "You have to keep moving forward."
Against the Deacons, the junior free safety from Walled Lake, Michigan, did that by knocking the Demon Deacons backwards with a team-high 12 tackles, his first sack of the year and his second tackle for loss.
He had two pass break-ups against a Wake Forest offense that was trying to go deep against a Wolfpack defense that, by plan, left its secondary isolated against Deacon receivers.
"We were loading the box because of their run game," said Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren after the game. "We felt like we needed to play some tighter coverage to keep them from nickel and diming us, which is what they had done to some teams.
"With that, there are going to be some deep balls and we needed our secondary to play well. They did a good job of executing our plan."
Jones, in particular, was key to what defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable wanted to do. On Wake's first two possessions, Jones charged up from his safety position to stop Deacon running back Matt Colburn, who entered the game following back-to-back 100-yard rushing performances, for gains of zero and one yards, putting the Deacs in long-yardage situations. Wake managed just one first down in those first two possessions, and before the first quarter ended, the Wolfpack had built a 17-0 lead.
"Our offense helped us out big-time," Jones said. "They were clicking, and the defense did what we were supposed to do. We still have some things to clean up, but overall we played great."
Doeren had the same assessment, and was particularly happy that both the offense and defense came out clicking.
"We talked about it all week; Wake is a team that wants to play a four-quarter game," Doeren said. "We didn't feel like they were built offensively to catch up. We felt like they were built to control the ball and keep their defense off the field and grind you out. If we could get a lead, we would be making them beat us left-handed."
Colburn finished the game with just 39 yards rushing on 10 carries. While Wake Forest quarterback John Wolford threw for 263 yards, he was sacked four times and had just two passes that went longer than 25 yards against the Wolfpack secondary.
For Jones, it felt good to be the guy complimented in the postgame interviews by coaches and teammates who have noticed his offseason commitment to improvement and maturity. It doesn't erase his negative memories of last year, but it's a move in the right direction for this season.
"I wouldn't say it was a big step for me personally," Jones said. "But it what my coaches expect out of me. It is what I expect out of myself.
"Each and every week, I'm going to go out and prepare to the best of my abilities."
By Tim Peeler
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Players Mentioned
SAF
/ FootballCoach Doeren Signing Day Presser (Dec. 3rd)
Wednesday, December 03
FB Players Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Postgame Presser vs UNC
Sunday, November 30
Coach Doeren Weekly Press Conference (Nov. 24)
Monday, November 24