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NC State

Defensive tackle Chazz Wallace exits spring practice feeling improved after redshirt season

2019_WP_Icon512x512by: The Wolfpacker04/16/25TheWolfpacker
Chazz Wallace (1)
(Photo courtesy of Chazz Wallace's Twitter)

By Noah Fleischman

Chazz Wallace never had an opportunity to take a beat at the college level. He played in all 13 games his freshman year with 10 more during his sophomore campaign at Old Dominion. The defensive tackle then transferred to Colorado as a junior, where he appeared in additional 10 contests. 

It was a fast-moving first three seasons of college football for Wallace, who racked up 58 tackles, including 5.5 for a loss, with 5 sacks. He forced 29 total quarterback pressures during that time, according to Pro Football Focus, and Wallace never had an opportunity to sit back and work on his development without balancing games for a full season. 

That was until he transferred to NC State last offseason.

Wallace had what he called an “honest conversation” with his family and Wolfpack’s coaches to determine that a development year would be useful. It led to an unconventional redshirt season during what would have been his senior year. 

“I never got a chance to reset ever,” Wallace said just before NC State’s spring practice slate ended last week. “I knew going into my last year, I needed some work at the new position. …  I just knew that it would have been a lot harder if I would have had to go the whole year, so me and the staff decided that would be best for me.”

A year to grow might have been just what Wallace needed as he was able to refocus himself going into his final year of eligibility as a nose tackle for the Pack.

“I reset everything I was doing and looked in the mirror, for real,” Wallace said. “It’s like, ‘What can I do better to make myself get to where I want to go?’”

That meant Wallace would only appear in four games in his first season in Raleigh. He appeared in those contests rather quickly as a rotational defensive lineman, playing 55 total defensive snaps through the first six weeks with 2 tackles in the process. 

He spent the rest of the season working with NC State’s strength and conditioning staff, while he also refined his game on the Wolfpack’s defensive line. Wallace, at one point, weighed in at 320 pounds, but finished the spring around 307. He expects to play at 300 pounds this fall, which will allow him to have more speed and quickness on the interior.

In addition to getting his body to where he wanted it to be, Wallace’s spring was spent on improving his mechanics. He believed that he was able to take a step forward in that department after working with defensive line coach Charley Wiles, co-defensive line coach Elisha Shaw and graduate assistant Jarrod Hewitt, a former Virginia Tech standout. 

Now, Wallace feels confident in his hand placement, knock-back technique and footwork going into a crucial fall camp. The former ODU and Colorado transfer will compete at nose tackle along with returning starter Brandon Cleveland, redshirt freshman Justin Terrell and freshman Josiah Victor. 

Wolfpack coach Dave Doeren thought Wallace did “some really good things on the defensive line” this spring. That seems to have him well-positioned going into the 2025 season. 

And for Wallace, who wanted to improve himself over the last 12 months, feels as though the developmental year went according to plan to set himself up for success in the coming fall.

“I’ve seen it pay off in the little details,” Wallace said. “Everything I’m doing, I just try to do it better every day. Even if it’s good, I can take it to another level.”

That’s exactly the mindset NC State wants Wallace to have coming off his redshirt season, reenergized for his last year of college football.

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